Ah, Romance languages! They’re very widespread and you can find them all around the world. They’re a very important set of languages which include: French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese and Romanian. Among them, French and Spanish are the most spoken with millions of natives and learners. Which one should you choose? In today’s new post GlobalExam will help you pick between the two:
- Why it is important to learn French
- Why it is important to learn Spanish
- Criteria to pick between French or Spanish
- Is it hard to learn both at the same time?
- Learn French online with General Français!
Now without further ado, let’s get into it!
Why is it important to study French?
Why is it important to study French? Well, French is one of the most spoken and widespread languages in the world. With millions of speakers and so many countries where it is present, you will always find someone to talk French to. It is so widespread that you will find French speaking people (native or not) on every continents:
- American continent: Canada, Quebec, Louisiana and Haiti
- European: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Andorra…
- Asian: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon….
- African: Gabon, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mayotte, Algeria, Congo etc…
- Oceania: French Polynesia (which includes Bora Bora and Tahiti), Wallis and Futuna…
Want to travel somewhre in the world to learn French? The choice is all yours! If you want to study French abroad or work abroad, you have so many options and opportunities to choose from. There are French international schools everywhere (even in countries that are not listed here) and you will always find work wherever you will go.
An important language of culture
One of the reasons you should study French is also that this language is THE language of culture. If you like books, food, poetry, paintings, fashion, architecture, history etc… France is one of the best places there is for all of these. Even if you don’t know how to speak French, it is impossible that you’ve never heard of some French culture’s greatest names such as Molière, Louis XIV, Beaudelaire, Boeuf Bourguignon, the Eiffel tower, the Tour de France, Yves St Laurent… But French culture is not only France’s culture. Just like we saw, it is so widespread that all of these countries have their own culture and their own variations of French (such as African French, Creole…) and all of these have their own culture as well.
Learning French will allow you to discover all of these wonders. When it comes to one’s career, French is also a great language to study in order to bring something important to your company. A lot of companies are looking for bilingual (or more) people because it will help them make more international trades and open various relationships. So, if you can speak French this is a great asset they can’t look past if they want to develop their company. So, because it is easier at a young age, it is good to start learning French as a child.
How important is to learn Spanish?
Spanish is also very well widespread : with over 400 million speakers you will surely find someone who speaks Spanish. Just like French! It is not as widespread as French, because it is mostly focused on Spain and the Americas but there are many more speakers.
Speaking Spanish doesn’t only mean travelling to Spain, it also allows you to go to Latin America. A lot of Hispanic people are in the USA too, so you will be able to travel to a lot of places! Here are the countries where Spanish is very important and well spoken:
- Europe: Spain, Gibraltar, Andorra (with French).
- Américas: México, Argentina, Bolivia, Panamá, Uruguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia… But it is also one of the most spoken languages in the USA, where Hispanic minorities are the largest Spanish speaking community.
Everything you can discover by knowing it
Juste like learning French, speaking Spanish will allow you to discover Spanish culture but also all of these countries’ own culture. Mainstream Spanish culture is less renowned than French’s but it doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to it.. There are a lot of great things to discover too. Spanish people are often well known for being very warm and welcoming, as well as loud. Spanish food is also famous: did you hear about tapas? tortillas? Paella Gazpacho or Churros? They’re all Spanish traditional meals. Spain also has five different official languages: Aranese, Catalan, Galician, Basque (Euskara) and Castilian (Spanish) and all of these are spoken in different regions of Spain. All of these regions have wonderful landscapes that are also very different! Again, like knowing how to speak French allows you to do it, speaking Spanish will make you more competitive when looking for a job: the language is very important for many companies as it is so widely spoken, especially in the Americas.
Some criteria to pick one of the two
Here are some criteria for you to choose which of the two languages to study.
Which language is the most spoken where you want to travel/study/work?
One of the first things to look for if you want to learn any language is to think about where you want to use it. Is it for studies? Work? Travelling? Of course, if you’re aiming at going in a French speaking country your best bet is to choose to learn French over Spanish. But sometimes it can be more complicated than that. Career wise, learn everything you can about your company. Do they sell most in French Speaking countries? Do they want to open a new market in Hispanic countries? These are questions you should always keep in mind.
Which one do you prefer?
The second thing you should keep in mind, and maybe the most important one is: which one do you prefer? Do you feel like you have more affinity with Spanish? Do you really really like French? Your motivation can be a real game changer. Try to really think about what YOU want and what you like. Choosing a language you want to learn will make it easier for you to stay motivated and focused. If, for example, you like the language of Voltaire, even if you have to start from a beginner level of French, you will progress faster than someone who has a higher level and is less motivated. So, in conclusion, it’s hard to say how long it takes to learn French or Spanish, but with the right motivation and top tips to easier studying French and Spanish, you’re sure to succeed.
Which one is the most difficult for an English speaker?
Last but not least, if you’re a native English speaker you should try to think about the difficulty. French and Spanish come from the same family language and are very similar in structures and vocabulary. On the other hand, English is a germanic language and so is very different from French and Spanish. Although very similar, they have some differences: French spelling is more phonetic than English, but less than Spanish. This makes speaking Spanish for English learners easier. Spanish is simpler to pronounce and most English speakers will find it easier to learn speaking fluently Spanish than to learn speakinf fluently in French. In terms of vocabulary, French and English are very close due to their shared history. In terms of grammar, French is less flexible than Spanish and learners will find it easier to learn a language with a regular grammar and regular patterns. There are a lot of other differences between the two languages but neither is easier than the other. So in the end, we’re coming back to our first two points: choose the language that you like or will need the most!
Is it hard to learn both French and Spanish at the same time?
Of course, if you still don’t know which one to pick, you can always choose both of them and become trilingual! This is even better than just learning a language. But is it hard to learn two languages at the same time?
Not really, especially if you are motivated and if you study on the best online resources to learn French and Spanish! Just like we said, French and Spanish are very similar because they belong the Romance languages (a set of language that comes from latin, they include: Italian, Romanian Portuguese and regional languages such as Catalan and Occitan). Consequently, you will find a lot of words that sound very similar because they have the same latin root. In terms of grammar, you will find similar structures too… because they both come from latin. If you already know some Italian, Portuguese (or any other Romance language!) It will be even easier for you to learn both French and Spanish. You will be used to grammatical structures, you will recognize vocabulary words more quickly and your brain is already trained to the gymnastics involved when learning a new language.
If you have the time and motivation, we can not recommend it enough: learn both!
Train you French or Spanish speaking skills thanks to Global General
If you’re still looking for an online solution to help you learn French and/or Spanish, then GlobalExam got you covered. Our training platform, Global General, will help you with any language you like between French, Spanish, English, Italian and German. The website is modeled on the global european program for language training and will ensure that you get the best teaching possible. Our platform offers:
- Fun and engaging lessons, to help you stay focused and motivated.
- Detailed corrections that will ensure that you understand everything properly and progress safely.
- Personal trainers that will follow your progress and help you as best as they can in your learning journey.
Training on Global General is the best option for learners that are discouraged by traditional learning methods and feel the need to find confidence in their learnings.
What are you waiting for? Hop on with us and let’s learn English together !
