What foreign language have you dedicated the most effort to

[Viktor77]

It's of course an established fact that many of this board's members speak multiple foreign languages at a high or even fluent level, but in the course of our lives and studies there is usually one language that we've put the most focus on, whether that was learning the language or spending time where it is spoken or acquiring a knowledge of its culture and history. So what language have you dedicated the most effort to and why did you chose that language (or did environmental factors not give you much choice)?

Do you wish you had focused on a different language from the beginning? Or perhaps if you have been working on several other languages do you plan to actively surpass your current most superior foreign language with another foreign language?

[Salmoneus]

German - entirely fruitlessly, of course.
Why German? At school, we were only taught French, Latin and German. I dropped French as soon as possible, because it's French (ugly, pointless, nonsensical, etc), but got GCSEs in Latin and German. I considered doing German at A-level (i.e. to 18) but didn't - considered it because it's more useful than Latin, and I did better in my German exams. Since then I've sporadically tried relearning some, partly because it's my default foreign language, and also because I have some German friends and friends who have German friends, etc. Whereas French people don't really seem to exist outside of cartoons.
Lately I've tried learning a bit of Irish (family honour and all that), but I doubt that'll ever exceed even my rudimentary German.

Basically, I'm just terrible at languages.

[Zaarin]

French. Private tutor in middle school, four years of high school, and two wasted semesters in college where half the students new more French than the professor, whose French was atrocious. Why? In middle school it appealed to me, and in high school and college my only alternative was Spanish. Since I don't really practice, my French is quite rusty. I can read it with moderate comprehension, but forget speaking or listening (doesn't help that most of the French material available to me is in Québecois).

I tried to teach myself Icelandic, but I lack the discipline to sit down with a book and learn a language. And of course Sigur Rós is of little help because of all the nonce lyrics they use. I'd like to learn German or Biblical Hebrew, but as mentioned above, I lack discipline.

[Grunnen]

You're probably more interested in the answers of anglophones, as those of us non-anglophones are somewhat predictable. But here it is anyway: English. Studying English was compulsory in school (as were French and German), but English is impossible to escape living in the Netherlands. Also most of my classes at university were taught in English or had English text books. I never intended to achieve the level of fluency I currently have, but having obtained it is very practical. I don't think I will ever learn any other foreign language, unless I end up living in some place where that's necessary. Although I have a rudimentary understanding of most (written) Germanic and Romance languages.

[احمکي ارش-ھجن]

I'm an anglophone.

I only know Spanish as a foreign language, so I put more focus on that.

[Viktor77]

I dropped French as soon as possible, because it's French (ugly, pointless, nonsensical, etc)...Whereas French people don't really seem to exist outside of cartoons.

I know you're just joking but this negative French attitude has intrigued me on this board for quite a while, especially since it's a bit what I study.

And so with that it won't surprise anyone that the language I've dedicated the most to is French. It was Spanish but French has surpassed Spanish now. I'm content with French as a choice, even though it was a random choice I made because I needed another minor. I did consciously choose French over Spanish for my Masters, a choice though that was dictated more by my bachelors credentials in French and the fact it was the language I used for my thesis. I do sometimes wonder if I would've enjoyed learning German more than French, but I do love French. I had fallen out of love with French last year but since coming to Belgium I have fallen back in love with the language.

You're probably more interested in the answers of anglophones, as those of us non-anglophones are somewhat predictable.

Ah, you stumbled upon something I was curious about. I half expect most non-Anglophones here to say English but I'd be curious if there were some who said some other language. And on that front, even for those who have put the most effort into English I'd be interested in if that is a choice they're happy with and if that was even a choice at all. For example, I've gathered from you that English was not much of a choice, it's just by default the language Dutch people come to acquire most proficiently due to the importance of the language in Dutch school and society and employment (I'm assuming).

[Jonlang]

Well it's not a foreign language (to me), but the other language I've dedicated most time to is Welsh, and being Welsh it's not foreign, but my first language is English. Whether this is a blessing or a travesty, I'm not sure, but that's how it is.

[linguoboy]

English. Been working on it every day for more than forty years and still have yet to master it.

[Viktor77]

English. Been working on it every day for more than forty years and still have yet to master it.

I thought you were a native speaker of English?

[Curlyjimsam]

I studied French for seven years at school, plus a History of French module as an undergraduate and a master's thesis on the history of French too (admittedly most of the latter focused on medieval French so didn't necessarily advance my knowledge of modern French all that much!). I also studied German at school for four years, but chose not to do it for A-Level because (a) the A-Level languages syllabuses have (had?) an awful lot of concentration on cultural things - a sort of subpar geography course in a language you didn't know that well - whereas I was only really interested in the language and literature, so I didn't really want to study two languages when I could do something more interesting instead and (b) my French was in most respects better than my German, I think, as I'd been studying it a year longer by that point already. I then ended up focusing on French rather than other languages later on based partly on what was available on my undergrad course and partly on the fact that French was the non-English language I knew best.

[Jonlang]

English. Been working on it every day for more than forty years and still have yet to master it.

I thought you were a native speaker of English?

I think linguoboy is American and therefore English is a foreign language, technically. I could be wrong though.

[Viktor77]

I think linguoboy is American and therefore English is a foreign language, technically. I could be wrong though.

That's awfully pedantic and we don't constantly say we speak American English.

[Matrix]

As a Canadian, I had four years of mandatory French from grades 4 to 8. I did not continue with it. I mean, I suppose it's technically not a foreign language, since it's one of the official languages of Canada... But all the francophones live on the other side of the continent. So it may as well be a foreign language. In grades 11 and 12, I took Japanese to satisfy the language requirement for graduation.

I'm not sure which one I put the most effort into. I mean, if you just count the years, I suppose it was French, but three of those years were elementary school, so, really, it was probably not the greatest education. Whereas, if I really think about it, I can form some basic sentences in Japanese, like, say, "O-mizu o nonde kudasai?" If I asked for water in French, it would probably just be "eau s.v.p". On the other hand, of the two languages, I have a better chance of understanding (written) French, if only because of the significant amount of terminology English borrowed from it, Latin, and Greek. And by "better chance" I mean "non-zero" because I don't know kanji for shit.

[zompist]

French is the language I've put the most time and formal study into.

I'd say that Mandarin is the language I've put the most effort into, because I forget so much of what I've learned.

[Viktor77]

French is the language I've put the most time and formal study into.

I'd say that Mandarin is the language I've put the most effort into, because I forget so much of what I've learned.

Is there any particular reason you chose French?

[Nortaneous]

Latin. Forgot it all after high school.

[zompist]

French is the language I've put the most time and formal study into.

Is there any particular reason you chose French?

In the dark ages, or what I call junior high school, there were only three choices— French, Spanish, and German. The latter two didn't seem interesting at the time.

I don't have any regrets, I'm just saying that if more choices were available I might have taken something else.

[Jonlang]

I think linguoboy is American and therefore English is a foreign language, technically. I could be wrong though.

That's awfully pedantic and we don't constantly say we speak American English.

Excuse me? I wasn't attacking American English. I said that I think linguoboy is American. If he is American then I was guessing that he was joking about English being a foreign language, as it is, after all, called English and not American. In the same way I could quip that English is a foreign language to me, as I am Welsh. But still I could be wrong about linguoboy's nationality all together.

[linguoboy]

English. Been working on it every day for more than forty years and still have yet to master it.

I thought you were a native speaker of English?

My native language is Babble.

[gufferdk]

If we tally up the hours spent on learning foreign languages, English is far ahead. This is likely somewhat caused by English being compulsory in Danish schools from a relatively young age. However, I feel like a lot of my fluency in English hasn't come from school but rather from constant exposure in my everyday life (TV, the internet etc.). All in all I think I have learnt more English that way, than in school. The textbooks my school has are ancient enough that they weren't made with the children's current exposure-levels in mind and in the higher grades the focus has shifted from vocabulary and basic grammar, towards more nit-picky things like placing commas and the whole who/whom thing.

Currently, the language I am putting most active effort towards learning. The choice of German was mostly that of the education system, more than that of me, though I enjoy learning it and find it interesting. I chose not to have French as "valgfag" and chose cross-cultural studies one year and cooking the next instead. The reason: it's French!

[Sglod]

I wasted about 4 years worth of free time trying (unsuccessfully) to learn Japanese. I have recently spent a fair bit of time on Welsh and French.

I wanted to take an A-Level in French, but couldn't because I didn't have a GSCE in it. My secondary school only offered French, and the teacher was an arsehole who had never been introduced to the concept of personal hygiene and is famous for getting four kids suspended for cheating in a game of Uno.

[jmcd]

Uno is srzbznz!!

@Salmoneous: It may just be that you are terrible at Western European languages.

@dyolf: I understand that possibility. It may also be pernickety in a different way: Viktor didn't include the word 'foreign' in his first question.

@Grunnen: We need more Dutch textbook writers/translators.

@gufferdk: I think I still haven't used the word 'whom' in my lifetime.

In terms of years, the (non-native) language I've studied the most is French but in terms of hours Réunion Creole probably surpasses it. Like zompist and Zaarin, my choice of French was largely due to a restricted choice at school. I would have been happier with a wider range of choice (particularly more languages from the country itself or from neighbouring countries) but I doubt I would have come to Réunion otherwise so it swings in roundabouts.

[linguoboy]

Like zompist and Zaarin, my choice of French was largely due to a restricted choice at school. I would have been happier with a wider range of choice (particularly more languages from the country itself or from neighbouring countries) but I doubt I would have come to Réunion otherwise so it swings in roundabouts.

I'm pretty envious of Zomp for having the option of German. It was my first choice when I was in high school, but sadly we were only offered French, Spanish, and Latin. (Now of course they have Chinese, which I had to teach myself using crap-ass books from the local library.)

[din]

English; mostly because I was interested in topics for which there were no Dutch websites back when the internet became more widespread. I initially didn't do all that well in my language classes in high school, but as soon as I'd discovered that languages are actually useful, I really started enjoying learning them.

I still hate using text books though. I prefer learning through writing, with a big comprehensive grammar book on my desk. Then I start trying to think in the language (all day, every day; which means I have to use a dictionary all the time) Eventually I'll start talking, too.


My second foreign language has become French, which is odd, because I never liked it much. I live in Brussels, though, and in order to live and work I need to be able to speak French. It's still not a language I'm very passionate about, but I enjoy being able to speak to the people around me. I would feel isolated if I weren't able to. I speak it well enough to hold down a (mostly) French speaking job, although I'm back in school now (in an English speaking program), so I've been using it a lot less.


Then there's German. I only studied it briefly in high school, but I used to live on the German border, and we often went to Austria for our family vacations. I also watch German tv every now and then. I have little trouble understanding what's going on in most situations, and I can talk about all kinds of things, but it probably isn't too pretty.

[hwhatting]

L1 - German; as for foreign languages, I put the most effort into those two foreign languages that I ended up knowing best (English and Russian). English was the first foreign language at school, then I added all the languages that were offered (Latin in 7th grade, French in 11th grade), but I spent much less effort on them than on Russian, which I started to learn privately from books in my last school years and then in advanced courses at university.