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What language should I study?

I have taken an interest Esperanto, as it is supposed to be an easy language to learn. But my Girlfriend's dad who is from Athens thinks I should have a go at Greek. We go on vacation to the Greek Islands in August and so it would be useful then. What do you guys think? Learn Afghani? Why? I only want to learn enough to get me by!! I think it will make the holiday more interesting!! Welsh??? But I live in Jolly old England!!!

Public Comments

1. learn afghani
2. It is extremely difficult to learn a language you don't have a real reason to use - you just can't have strong enough motivation. And the more native speakers there are, the more oppotunities to learn. For these reasons alone, I would vote for Greek. You have a reason to learn it. Almost no-one speaks Esperanto - I think I have never met one, in a long life. But don't think you can learn any language between now and August! It takes years, even if you live in the relevant country. If you are very motivated, you might by then manage to learn (1) the alphabet (important for Greek) (2) the numbers (3) the days of the week (4) expressions for time of day (5) basic foods. The point I'm aiming for is so that you can now do some practical and useful things (1) look up in the newspaper what day and times of events are (2) go shopping and pay and make change (3) arrange times to meet (4) handle meals in a restaurant
3. I think that if you want to learn a different language you should choose one that will be helpful to you throughout your life. The main languages in the world are English, Spanish, Chinese/Mandarin. On the other hand, being Belgian (Flemish/French) I really appreciated it when my ex-husband learned to speak fluent French and a bit of Flemish, so he could mix with my family. If you intend to be with your Greek girldfriend for a while to come, yes, why not learn some Greek so that you can communicate with her family, even on a very basic level? I'm sure most of her family will make an effort understanding you in English. It's quite funny in multi-national families (I have Swiss family too) as people are usually very willing to make themselves understood, and any language will do as somehow someone will understand. And "gestures" always help too! A language can be learned by using it in common conversations, but if you are really serious about it, yes, go and learn the language in a more "professional" way
4. How about learning the language of Heaven...Welsh? It's an essential qualification for a good job in Welsh Wales. Beth am ddysgu iaith y Nefoedd...Cymraeg? Mae'n gymhwyster angenrheidiol i gael swydd dda yn y Gymru Gymraeg. Wales is only over the border!
5. Learning Esperanto first will facilitate the learning of any other language afterwards. Many studies have proved it. Besides, Esperanto uses many roots taken from Latin and Greek. Esperanto: * increases a pupil's awareness of language structure generally: For example: all nouns end in o, all adverbs end in e, all infinitives end in i, and other grammatical forms are marked by similarly clear endings. Estas bone iri al la urbo piede. It's good to go to town on foot. * highlights the links between languages: Topic five - the body: piedo (foot). French has pied; Italian has piede; Spanish has pie; English has pedestrian. * stimulates a love of, and interest in, language-learning through creative manipulation of the language: Maljunulo = an old person (noun) the prefix mal means 'opposite'; the word-root jun means 'young'; the suffix ul means 'a person'. * encourages a positive self-image in each pupil as a successful language learner: "I can do this!" It's been done before! Esperanto has been successfully used as a springboard to other languages for more than 80 years. "Numerous studies since the 1920s have confirmed that learning Esperanto improves the motivation of learners (because of their relatively rapid progress in the language) and improves subsequent learning of other languages. The first documented experiment was in England - Bishop Auckland, 1918-21; later studies, each concentrating on different aspects of the question, but coming to broadly similar conclusions, have been conducted in New Zealand (1924), New York (1931), Manchester (1948-'65), Sheffield (1951), Finland (1963), Hungary (1970), Germany (1980), 5 European countries (1990), Italy (1993) and Australia (2000). The plain facts are that young people enjoy learning Esperanto; they learn it up to 5 times more quickly than other languages and the skills learned are readily transferable."