Is there any point learning another language?

Don’t learn French, and Spainish isn’t a language.

Learn Latin. Root of Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, half of English, etc. I don't speak any of them (outside of some kitchen Spanish). But thanks to the Latin roots I can read the others and at least know what the gist is. Not to mention it's the language of law, and I read enough legal docs I should know what it actually means.

I believe there are like a hundred and ten ways for a hundred people to study a language and everybody needs to find their own way. I'd argue, though, that a) consistency (even if just a couple of minutes on busy days or so) and b) interest in the target language, are pretty much necessary to gain a higher level of fluency.

It’s very hard to become fluent without some type of immersion. I’d say worth it you plan to spend some time abroad

If you're in the US, nope - all business is carried out in English + foreigners usually speak English. If you're in UE or are planning to live there, yes. 

I'm fluent in 5 languages, basic in a 6th one. In total, with studies and internships, I've lived (6+ months) in 6 different countries. So in UE having fluency in other languages opens many doors. More so on jobs where having fluency in the local language is a minimum requirement.

But that's just a professional opinion. Now, if you truly enjoy a language and would love to immerse yourself in another culture, then do so. How I see it, when you have fluency in another language you start to become more curious about other cultures: You may grab some of their local literature, you can build better relationships with people who share the same language, you have the option to move there and integrate, etc. so generally having fluency in foreign languages helps one to be more adaptable and interesting.

I'm going to study again in Madrid next semester, so I may be biased 

I learnt Martian, it helped a lot

There is a difference between being fluent and being a native speaker. While fluency can be achieved through a few years of hard work, you can only truly become a native speaker if you did not grow up with that language if you move to a country that speaks and it pick up slang, phrases etc. that are more local/dialects etc. It is always worth learning another language. Personally, learning one of Mandarin/Spanish/Hindi/Urdu is cool because those have the most speakers after English

Learning language in US is equivalent of a Stupid Pet Trick. Complete waste of time that we still often require for graduation under the guise that it " makes you more worldly or well rounded. "

99.9% of people will never need or use it. Spending  time becoming more highly skilled at Math or Stem subjects would pay much bigger dividends. It should solely be an elective option in our education system. Having kids take two years of a tech class ( basic electrical, carpentry, automotive.or whatever) would actually serve them of better value in life then knowing how to conjugate a verb in fucking German . Maybe they would save $50  one day because they know how to change a car battery for themselves..an actual applied life skill.

My mom is from Germany, and I grew up learning German. I also took HS classes and my mom would talk to me German as a kid. Whenever I went to Germany to meet family, they literally never spoke German with me, I couldn’t practice it because everyone speaks English there. Imo, I think if you have the extra time, maybe it could be a good thing to do but utility of it isn’t going to be there. 

EU here

English is essential, native language is cool i guess

I learned german and it is helping me a lot when analyzing their GAP, screening the market etc. Germany is fugin huge.

I am learning ukrainian as i think the region will have a significant potential after the war and i want to be as close to the investors and owners in the region as possible.

the big question is how easy is it for you to learn languages? I know people who studied a foreign language for a couple of semesters many years ago and are comfortable speaking it whenever needed. and I know people who lived in US for 30, 40 years and are unable to speak basic English. everybody has their own abilities. if you're from the 1st category, go ahead, pick up Spanish, then French, then German. if you're from the 2nd category, don't waste time, focus on something else or spend spare time on hobbies.

Only worth it if you can study abroad. I took an Asian language in college but couldn’t study abroad because of COVID. Dropped it and haven’t kept up with it. I liked the linguistic aspect of it but you can only get so much in a classroom. I would like to pick it back up but it’s tough to carve out time at this point.

Because you can travel more easily to more places and date people who don't speak English

Learn french and spanish if youre an English speaker. they are the easiest to learn and have hundreds of millions of speakers. if you know french, Spanish, and English you can pretty much speak to half the world. 

I’ve traveled the world in my career. Europe and Asia residents know the language of business is English. I’ve never had an issue or needed to know another language while on business trips.

That said, I believe it would be enriching to know another language.

If you're learning a language for general business prospects IMO it's probably not worth it. I remember growing up hearing from parents that learning Mandarin was essential for a future career in business, which in retrospect seems a little silly. There are definitely niche roles / specific situations that require or would benefit from fluency in a different language, but I feel that knowing a different language won't give you a competitive edge for 99%+ of roles out there. Depending on the language it could take hundreds if not thousands of hours to become proficient - it'd be far better to put that time elsewhere if you want to go further in your career (e.g., networking, learning how to use specific software, etc.).

That being said there are still various benefits for learning a language. IMO the most important one is for cultural purposes. My wife and my inlaws are Korean and I've been learning it for the past few years. Yes, they speak English or are familiar with English, but to me it was an important thing to learn as the language is a part of her cultural identity and our kids will be part Korean as well. Practically speaking, me being somewhat conversational doesn't really add much to day to day life, but the hours I put into learning the language definitely has given me a greater appreciation for my wife's and future children's backgrounds. Also, it's kind of cool that we have a secretish way of communicating with each other in public.

As someone who speaks 3-4 languages fluently:

I wouldn't bother with any unless they were Spanish or French.  From a business perspective, you need to have native fluency, which won't be achieved unless you speak your intended language intensively everyday.  Many FO finance professionals I've met in London who do speak multiple languages, were from those very countries.  An italian with good english whose' responsible for Italian coverage, and Spaniards, French and so on.  Rarely do I see a native brit/English speaker who has learned a foreign language, actually utilize it in a professional standing, since the nuances of discourse are not taught when a language is learned academically.  

From a pleasure, or self-improvement angle, I'd def encourage it.  Do realize that you won't be near native fluency unless you immerse yourself in your chosen language and culture.  Language is really one of those things where you learn if you need to, but otherwise don't.  

Now, if you're of immigrant background, and are trying to learn your parent language, I wholeheartedly recommend that.  

Not everything in life has to be a bullet on your resume, dude. If you're not interested in the language, then yeah, there's not much point learning about it. For me, I love Spanish Music, the culture, the countries, etc. and therefore try to dedicate some effort to learning Spanish. You're absolutely correct that I probably won't get a job in Latin America because there's millions of native speakers who'll always be better than me at it, but that doesn't matter because it's still allowed me to:

1. Enjoy the music/movies that I mentioned attracted me to the language

2. Feel more at ease when traveling through Latin America because I can at least communicate what I need to say, even though I have trouble understanding what natives are saying unless they speak slowly

3. I'm good enough now at Spanish that I can connect with Latino-Americans pretty quickly because they can see that I am actually interested in the culture and am making an honest attempt at learning about them and am not just some weirdo red piller who's learning it to pick up girls or something

If you want to learn a language - I say do it and forget about how "useful" it is or whatever. Some languages are definitely harder, but that just means you need to be committed to tackling that challenge up front. I think there's always benefits to learning something you're interested in even if it's not something you can monetize or list on your HSW application.

Almost everyone in this thread is missing the point. Unless you NEED to learn another language due to circumstance etc., then the only real point of learning one is because you enjoy it, If you don’t then don’t, you’ll never get good enough and will end up quitting anyway. It’s just like any other hobby, you’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t actually enjoy it. So do it because you want to, not because there is a point to it.

Learn to speak Gen Z. After this summer, it is clear they are speaking a whole different language. No cap, fam. 

Started learning a fourth language. I need to warn humanity about the liberal problem in as many languages as possible.

Learning a second language also has so many different cognitive benefits that alone might make it worth it to you to learn another language (improved memory, multitasking, and delaying the onset of dementia, to name a few)

This is part of the reason I'd want to travel more internationally for work than just vacation traveling. Can't do that at my current role, but could move to Montreal in the future and learn French once and for all.

Learn latin and you get to understand the origin/ structure of many european languages

In addition to English, I speak three foreign languages - two at a native or near-native level. Incidentally, both of these are Category IV languages (the hardest category of languages for a native English speaker to develop proficiency) according to the US Foreign Service Institute. The other foreign language I have (which is much easier) is at a passable level even though I've been "learning" it (or more accurately, had exposure to it) much earlier than the other two harder languages. I have also recently started to learn a 5th language (started in the summer) which has been fun but a bit slow. 

I have not worked outside of the US, so the foreign languages have not benefited me in any way professionally - they have pretty much been relegated to neat "cocktail party trick"-status. Obviously very useful when traveling to countries that speak the language... Not useful for dating (I'm married), but I suppose they have opened up the occasional fun with flirting?

I think you need to evaluate this decision of learning a foreign language based on what your alternative activity would be?

For example, if its between: A) learn a foreign language vs. B) play video games? I personally would pick foreign language in a heartbeat (and I think most people should too).

but if it's something like: A) learn a foreign language vs. B) learn web development / programming / [insert useful skill here], then the answer is much less clear.

All of a sudden multiple people in this thread speak more than 3 languages "fluently". Yet in real life I have met not more than five people who are what I consider "fluent" in more than 2 (including English). Funny how that works. 

The only reason to learn a language is because you enjoy learning it. And the best way to learn is to move to a city that speaks this language. All else is a waste of your time.