so... French or Italian language?

[Flaxbee]

I have studied both. French in jr. high and high school, there is probably more French stuffed in my brain than Italian, which I studied for a year and a half in college.

I have never been able to choose, which is why, I think, I'm fluent in neither. I do not want to die having spoken only English my entire life.

French is harder for me to pronounce, though I 'hear' it well in my head -- just the outcome is enough to make a French speaker wince. I had a hell of a lot more fun in my Italian classes, to be honest, and find it easier to pronounce. But I'm never one to go strictly the easy route.

So, I'll go the cop-out route, and ask for opinions! What say you? French or Italian are your only choices. After I learn one of those, I'm going on to Korean. But I want to master French or Italian first.

[Pooka Fey]

1. C'est à vous. Choisissez de l'un ou l'autre, comme vous voulez.

Et faites un bon choix. :hi:

[RagingInMiami]

2. Italian

I just like the Italian culture better than the french culture. I like the food, music, art and history. And because I'm fluent in Spanish, Italian is easier for me to learn because it's more closely related to it than French.

[devilgrrl]

4. Yes, stick with the Italian.

Another positive is that Italians couldn't be happier when foreigners try to speak their language - they light right up. At least they did for me and I speak really heinous Italian!

[fudge stripe cookays]

20. They did for me too!

I had the most amazing conversation with three older gentlemen in a park in Florence out with their dog, and it's what absolutely convinced me that I loved Italy far more than France.

Never mind that my syntax was screwed, I had almost no vocabulary, and I was using French connecting words, they were applauding me. Especially when they found out my "chiama" was "Milena."

There were "Brava!" and "Bellisima!" all around.
FSC

[u4ic]

3. French

I took a night class in French, and my instructor wondered if this was a refresher course for me, as my pronunciations were spot on. It wasn't, as I hadn't taken a French course in 20 years, and couldn't remember my elementary school French.

I love the sound of the language. I hope to master it, no doubt it'll take me 30 years...

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Spanish!!!

Just kidding (although it is very easy to learn)! I would suggest Italian because the grammar, spelling, and pronunciation is much easier than French. Both are beautiful languages. You will also find, because of Latin, Italian has more cognates than French. Also, if you already have exposure to French, Italian will come much easier.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

6. Francais!

n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Francais. More people speak it.

I actually used it in Russia, though most people there speak English. And communication with others is the most important thing.:-)

[Telly Savalas]

10. In particular, more people in North America speak it.

Although Quebecois French is a tad different than Parisian.

[Rhiannon12866]

26. That's also an excellent point!

Welcome to DU, Telly Savalas! Glad to have you with us!:toast:

[TyeDye75]

8. Francais?

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. It's a lot more fun to curse in Italian...

Also makes it easier to learn Spanish and Portuguese if you know Italian first.

[all.of.me]

12. italiano swear words are poetic!

good god, the whole language is beautiful, but to tell someone where to go has a nice ring to it!

[FuzzySlippers]

17. Va fanculo!

:P

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. La puttana Madonna!

Schifoso!

[all.of.me]

24. va bene!!!

gli mangio le palle!

[Flaxbee]

15. yes, I'm really interested in Portuguese...

and Spanish too... and thought that if I were fluent in Italian, Spanish would be very close behind. Then Portuguese... I hope this is also "South America's Century" like it's supposed to be China's and India's... while French is beautiful, too, I had more fun with Italian and it seems like it will open doors to more complimentary languages, like learning two, maybe three, in one. If that makes sense.

Then I'll go to French and try to start learning Korean.

[all.of.me]

11. italiano

i have a hard time pronouncing french. italiano is easier for me.

[Stop_the_War]

13. Both!

I love them both!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

14. Both

In Boston we have a French library (Alliance Francais) and they have clinics where you can work on your pronounciation. You could get a tutor to work on it with you. I took many years of French so I'm more comfortable butchering the language.

Italian is great also-you can understand opera and pronounce things correctly at the Italian restaurant.

[FuzzySlippers]

16. I think French is actually easier to pronounce.

Just a lot of nasal and throat clearing sounds. With Italian, you really have to work your lips and tongue. That being said, I still like Italian better. Think I'll brush up on it myself.

[miss_kitty]

18. Portugeuse!

the ease of spanish, the sound of french!

[benny05]

21. French or Spanish

If you want to visit many places, and since a lot of English is based on French words, it's not overly difficult to learn. Having said that, I've forgotten a lot of my French, but I understand some of it when it is spoken to me. I just can't reply immediately without a phrase book.

Italian is great if you want to go out to the countryside in Italy. The Italian folks are fun to talk to outside of the big cities.

About 3 decades ago, I took Spanish as my first foreign language. I loved it. I still find it useful today.

[latteromden]

22. L'italiano e una lingua MOLTO bella. Oh, I LOVE Italian. It's wonderful.

I'm fluent in English, Norwegian, and (for the most part) Chinese, but Italian is far better than any of those three. Good choice with Korean, too. But I'd definitely say Italiano.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

23. I'm biased, but

faroese rocks! Just kidding...

Italian is my native tongue. While it may appear easy at first, it is a very difficult language to write and speak properly.

I am fluent in French as well, and I love both languages. It's a hard choice.

[all.of.me]

25. italiano IS hard!

i have a friend outside of milan who is helping me, and i'm helping him with english. so much does not translate in either direction! i just learned that there are 14 tenses in italian and only 6 in english. he says it's a miracle we can communicate at all! he also says that many italians cannot even speak proper italiano. i think languages are fascinating.