how can i decide what language to learn? (thelemmy.club)

submitted 19 hours ago by nonBInary@thelemmy.club to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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i genuinely have no idea if i should study italian or french. on one hand, french is probably more useful, especially since i live in the u.s. and could communicate with people from french-speaking canada. french also seems to have more speakers. however, i also have an italian study book and it seems easier to get the hang of for me than french, especially since i can't yet differentiate what people are saying and the way things are spelled in french.

i genuinely love both languages but i don't know which one i should learn, even if i'm the only one who can decide this. i have a study book for italian and busuu as a language learning app but i don't have a french book yet. should i learn italian first and then go with french? learn italian and pick up bits of french along the way?

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[-] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 2 points 18 hours ago

Flip a coin or start both on Duolingo and see which one interests you more. This is only a hard decision in your head. If you're not planning to move to somewhere where they speak either, this is just a hobby.

They are both romance languages so you'll find mental handholds in either language that can help you with the other. Similar conjugations, spellings, irregularities, etc.

The French you'll learn with internet resources or most text books will most likely be French French. As a learner, that will probably still make understanding the Quebecers an extremely hard task. It's like somebody from a Louisiana bayou talking to a Scottish highlander. On paper, they are both able to speak English but there are accents and differences in vocabulary that increase the level of difficulty, even for native speakers.

this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025

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