SpiralArchitect

Depends on the extent which you wish to use the language. If you just want to get by, speaking is easier than writing. On a regular basis, speaking a foreign language becomes more difficult.

It depends really what part of the country the language is from. For example, I am from the north-western part of the country and only have absolute command over Hindi but I can understand bits and pieces of most of the languages of the region. This includes languages like Punjabi which has a completely different scrip from Hindi. There also some 20-30 local dialects in regions like Rajasthan, UP and Bihar which I can understand fairly well. The trouble starts when you go away from a region. Bengali is very different from Hindi but there are a few words used there which have common origin with the Hindi words, so a Hindi speaker may get a general idea of what is being spoken but not the specifics. Oriya being a language spoken in regions closer to Bengal is very similar to Bengali. The southern languages are almost completely indecipherable to North Indians. But someone speaking Telugu will not have a lot of trouble with Kannada because they are spoken in neighboring states. In a nutshell, it all boils down to geographical distances really. There are of course a few exceptions.

In my opinion as a non-native English speaker, Ernest Hemingway is probably the best author to pick up. Particularly if you are still learning the language. His simple and economical use of the language where not a single word is wasted suits somebody who may lose himself in the excess of the language used by other authors. Old Man and the Sea coming in at just 100 odd pages is a prime example of Hemingway's style.

I'll agree with this. A friend of mine used Rosetta Stone for Spanish and swears by the software. It one of the most interactive softwares out there with its only flaw being that its modus operandi for different languages is too similar. What might work for Spanish or German may not work for Japanese or Hindi. Thanks everyone for the responses. I am much more confident about Rosetta Stone now.

Whatever little Japanese I know, I learnt it from watching anime with subtitles. I don't think you can grasp the language completely via this method but if you put in some effort, you can learn enough to get by. I suppose watching Daytime Japanese TV would have a similar impact.

In Hindi, thank you means "dhanyawaad" or you can also use "shukriya" even though it is an Urdu word. While there is no direct equivalent of "you're welcome" in Hindi, an appropriate response would be, "Koi Baat nahin" which basically means "No problem".

Not really started working on it but Japanese is on my agenda for the future. There is really no other reason for me other than my love for anime and manga. I am just used to watching it in Japanese with English subs and thus, understand quite a few Japanese words. Not yet knowledgeable enough to actually string together a sentence in the language though. I just want to be good enough to lose the subtitles.

Well seeing as my German learning hasn't gone splendidly well so far, I would want to continue focusing on it before I jump to something else. But if I do end up having a decent command on German, I'd like to move to Japanese next. I am a huge anime and manga nut and only watch the former in Japanese with English subs. Would be great if I could dispense with the subs.

Actually its might. As in, might is not always right. I guess it was a bit vague in the end.

Then what would the correct usage be in a situation like this? Who did you talk to? OR Whom did you talk to?

Light!! How about this one... It rhymes with fight But the saying goes, that it isn't always right.

Agreed. But you cannot really compare French and Japanese because of the difference in script. I still think that if a language is in a script understandable to all, then reading improves your ability to understand it quicker than listening to it would.

Being a mechanical engineer, the idea of working in Germany appeals to me a lot. It is common knowledge that the best automotive manufacturers are based in Germany, so a bit of knowledge of the language may help me in the future.

Google translate is not so good for a lot of languages. Spanish is not really an exception.

Its been reading for me. Nothing can touch the improvement in grasping a language that a good reading habit gives you.

On the contrary, English is taught from the age of 5 till 17-18 in India and pretty much everyone who goes to a public school learns it. The level of understanding varies from individual to individual but it is hardly an alien language here. The average Indian doesn't know English but that's because the average Indian is not educated. Everyone who is educated until class 10th or 11th has at least a rudimentary knowledge of the language.

Always loved this one. Groucho Marx was a genius. My favorite was always this one... "Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

I think if the language is one that you already understand quite a bit like English here then maybe songs can help you a bit. I personally don't think listening to English songs has helped my English much but I have a much easier time understanding thick accents now. If its a language where your knowledge is extremely limited then as I said, songs will only confuse you further.

I think its utility lies in being able to translate sites in different languages and for informal work but that's about it. I have tried translating English into German and then re-translating the result to English and getting a different result from the original. That's why I don't consider it reliable. Its handy but definitely not meant for anything remotely formal or official.

It is pretty annoying for someone who has studied British English all his life. You type in an entire post and there'll be red lines everywhere. It's not neighbour but neighbor, not colour but color, not realise but realize and so on. I know it is understandable that most of them are American but we should really have an option of switching between spell checkers.

You've spoiled this word for me. Never thought it sounded weird but now I probably won't be using it for a while.

A friend of mine suggested Rosetta Stone as a great program as far as German goes. Is it actually good for German? I've heard that Rosetta Stone's French edition isn't particularly good. Are there any other language learning softwares you'd suggest for German?

I am a mechanical engineer. One country which attracts my kind like no other is Germany. Seriously, some of the best car manufacturers are German. So learning German seemed like a no brainer to me.

As someone learning German, I think music doesn't help you learn a language much. For a newbie, it is very difficult to even catch the words being sung, let alone be able to translate them. I have a hard time understanding Rammstein songs. On the other hand, I think watching movies in a different language can help you understand it a bit. I know very little of Japanese but whatever I know I have learned from anime.

As someone whose first language is Hindi, I started learning my 2nd language at a very young age. I think I was in Kindergarten when they started teaching us English. Must have been around 4-5 years old. Started learning Sanskrit when I was in class 5th or 6th. This was the third language I started learning.