*** OFFICIAL BREXIT SUNLIT UPLANDS and #MEGA THREAD ***

[CoccoBill]

I'd learn Spanish first, easily the most useful IMO. Latin-based just like Portuguese, French and Italian so makes it far easier to understand those also. On the other hand German, Dutch, Swedish (or Icelandic) and other Germanic languages should be the easiest to pick up for you since you already speak English.

Everyone here studies at least 3 languages at school, Finnish, Swedish and a third one that can be picked (fairly) freely. I've studied English, Swedish, Russian and French and I regret not putting more effort into them back then, far easier to absorb info into those play-doh brains. English, Swedish and German have a lot in common, and after studying the other two, German seems to make sense to me quite easily even if I've never studied it in any way. French is quite different to those, and Russian is from another planet completely. And of course Finnish is totally different to everything else mentioned.

[Poopadoop]

On the other hand German, Dutch, Swedish (or Icelandic) and other Germanic languages should be the easiest to pick up for you since you already speak English.

English is actually about equal parts Romantic and Germanic, with a splash of ancient Greek and the odd other word picked up from other places. It's a myth that it's closer to German than French.

[OngBonga]

English is actually about equal parts Romantic and Germanic, with a splash of ancient Greek and the odd other word picked up from other places. It's a myth that it's closer to German than French.

There are definitely parts of the French language that relate to English. One word I quickly learned was "cendrier"... ashtray... which is related to the English word "incendiary", which of course basically means "causing fire". There are lots of words in English that are of Latin origin, which means the French use similar words.

But the French structure sentences differently and have gendered language. Our written language is much closer to German.

[Poopadoop]

But the French structure sentences differently

True.

and have gendered language.

German nouns have three genders, French have two, we have one.

Our written language is much closer to German.

Not a German-speaker, but I think their syntax is different to ours as well. Maybe not as much as French though, dunno.