Poll: Should I learn French or Italian?

[Goofguy]

There are like four accents in French. its not that hard.

Dude, there are like four French accents in Quebec, let alone France and the rest of the French speaking world.

I'm not sure I understand your point. Are you disagreeing with me or...?

Edit: Oh, right, I think you mean accents as in the way a person speaks rather than the "accents" that go on top of and under letters to alter their pronounciation. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

My bad, I get your meaning now. You are absolutely correct, the French language really only has 4 accent marks in common usage, it just takes some getting use to.

 

[noxymoron19]

French or variations of French are way more widely used then Italian. I vote French. But if you were thinking ahead to the future I would suggest Chinese

 

[RaNDM G]

More people speak French, so I would go with that.

 

[FuktLogik]

And for the love of god and the internet, don't pay for your Rosetta Stone program.

You're not advocating piracy here, are you?

Of course not. I'm saying there are better ways to learn than a program. If there are any around, hang out with people who speak the language that you wish to learn. Use it as often as possible. Try to make an environment as close to immersion as you can. It just seems that is a hefty price for a program, when it may not be the best or easiest way for you to learn.

 

[DanielBrown]

I reckon you'd have more use for French, but personally I think it's a ugly language so my vote's on Italian.
Lots of great artists were Italian!

 

[thylasos]

French is much more widely spoken, and slightly easier at the start, though both give you a foothold in Spanish.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Besides. Assassino! Recquiascat in pacce.

No no no... That's Latin, only he pronounces it in the choral manner. Italians say 'Riposa in pace'. And even in Latin, it's debatable whether it should be 'Recquiescante in pace' (though that's only really the cut down source of the expression and is applicable on a plural basis).

Swearing at people in Italian is more fun.

Ahem: Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère!

french, cursing it is is like wiping your ass with silk

Hmmm, ninja'd after a fashion.

OT: For the sake of practicality, I'd say French, because it's a good platform to learn Spanish and Italian. Admittedly though, for English speakers, Italian is much easier to learn, and for someone who speaks (semi-)fluent French, I continually slip up when speaking Italian because of the pronunciation. Still, I find both to be quite easy on the ears, even if I prefer German (though hearing one colleague speak standard German makes me cringe 'that's how you write German, not speak it!').

 

[TiloXofXTanto]

Italian, it makes people more confused as to what you're speaking in the country that you're stuck in....unless you live in/around Italy.