What second language do you wish you could speak?

I live in the US, so Spanish would be most useful. English is the current lingua franca, so on a practical level learning a second language isn’t terribly useful for me.

Maybe some fictional language would be fun. Tolkien’s Elvish or something.

I would like to learn Japanese. I have one son who studied it in college and another who learned on his own. I like the way it sounds.

With all of the Latinos in this area, Spanish would be best.

American Sign Language

Currently learning it. But no where near enough proficiency to say that I speak it.

I speak passable Spanish—enough to get by anywhere where Spanish is spoken. So my third language would be Mandarin.

I visited Polish relatives this year, so Polish.

My grandsons are still under 5, but they are learning Korean from their Mom.
My granddaughters father is Polish, and they have Polish passports.
My other Son-in-law is from Argentina, and my daughter has learned Spanish.

I would be happy with any of those.

I am going with Spanish.

It’s a tie between Sign, and Italian. Mandarin or Japanese would be really cool too. Hard to choose.

German would be useful, because some documents I deal with at work are in German and I have a few friends who are German speaking, but everyone speaks English too.

I speak Spanish pretty well, I wish I was even better though. My grammar is terrible.

I’d choose Chinese as my wife is Chinese and it would make life easier for me when we visit China.

I wish I could communicate with my pets. It would be nice to know what they’re thinking and have them be able to understand me.

Spanish for sure. I took French and Japanese in school, but there’s not much need for either.

Polish is my second language already. I think an interesting third language could be Korean or Arabic.

Java… Or C++ . Python if only to contribute to upgrading Fluther.

^ Nice!

Spanish. Living in Texas it would be handy.

@NoMore ¡Sí, señor, lo sabe!

@Dig_Dug Well, kimosabe to you as well.

I used to speak German, when I lived there as a child. I was taught German and English.
I haven’t used German in 30 years. So. It’s lost somewhere in the depths of my brain, I guess.
If you visit the Carolinas Gulla Geechee is nice to know. I can understand it, but can’t really speak it. Ironically. Gullah folks are the same, in reverse. They can understand English, but can’t seem to speak it. Body language, voice inflection, and tone help. You kind of just struggle when you run across them. But. As with most natives, they are very friendly and don’t seem to mind the language gap.
English speakers from other places, seem to have no clue what’s going on. They think GG people are mentally ill.
Charlestonians have some Ghee Chee sayings, and vocabulary.
Some Southern accents are so thick, other’s can’t understand them… I find it amusing…

I have a rudimentary understanding of Spanish. One of my sisters, and a brother are half Puerto Rican. So they, and they’re kids speak Spanish. But. When they talk fast, I get lost quick.
That, and the fact that the US is indeed getting a massive influx of Latino people (welcome,) result in me answering Spanish. That’s the second language I would want to master.

For those jellies who know me. Yes. You’re probably hoping that I will first master English… Be patient. I’m doing my best….

^ I know when I’m on the phone with someone from India, OMG I have the damnedest time trying to understand them.

^Yeah. I feel bad for them. They’re just trying to make a living.I know it’s not their fault that capitalism has resulted in outsourcing.
Most of my interactions with Indian accented folks, on the phone, are very frustrating…

I would want to learn Arabic because, from my major in literature, I learnt that in the mid-ninth century, Arabic was the lingua franca and Bagdad was the centre of the civilised world. In Modern history, I also learnt that when the Mongolians invaded the Middle East they burnt off the Arab library -The House of Wisdom (the Grand Library of Baghdad), which had countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy. Similarly, during this period Arabs were thriving.

Personally, I’m a fan of both literature and history so hearing this surprised me and I kind of wished I spoke Arabic to understand the remaining scripts from that period.
I wonder if they still have some books.

So I guess I would choose Arabic.

^Some of humanity’s most historically relevant places, are located in the Middle East.

Religion has kept that area in constant conflict. Many people would love to visit, or study in these regions. But westerners do so, at their own risk. IF they’re even allowed access to places they wish to see.

The Great Library remains (to me,) the sad/perfect example of what organized religion leads to.
It’s interesting to think of how different this world would be now, if SO much information hadn’t been lost along with the Library.

I have a friend in Belgium that speaks NINE languages…
He knows a lot of a Russian, but doesn’t consider it a language he speaks. Yet…