Should I learn Japanese, Korean, or Mandarin?

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Yeah, it's kind of a waste if the language doesn't use a Romanized alphabet and you're not already familiar with it. But in general I just found it boring and repetitive. I definitely prefer the classroom setting, though of course that's not always a feasible option.

I see your point about the repetitiveness - but if you think about it, that is how we learn language organically. I only took one language class, and I enjoyed it, but did not find it to be a very effective way to learn. With that particular language, I have to mentally translate from my language to that language when I want to speak (and vice versa). With the languages I learned more organically, I just start talking without thinking too hard about it.

So far, the best approach for me seems to be to use Rosetta Stone or another program to learn the basics, then do Skype language exchange to build conversational skills. The second part is genuinely fun. Not only do you get to practice language with native speakers, but also meet interesting people and get a feel for their cultures.
 
Have you done this? Which languages?

Mostly Korean and Japanese. When I get home I can post a link to the site I used to find partners. It was never difficult because so many people want to learn English. 🙂
 
I think go for Chinese if you're genuinely interested in it because it IS tough, especially learning it in an English speaking country and environment. I'm technically a native speaker (Chinese was my first language but completely forgot it all when I moved to Japan when I was very young), but I had to relearn it from scratch in the States during my elementary school/middle school years. That pretty much went nowhere because it's a tough language. I spent 1 month in China one summer, and I learned way more in those 30 days than from years of Chinese school.

I rambled a bit there LOL I just wanted to say that it's pretty tough but worth it if you're really interested in learning the languages, and it seems like you are!

That being said, being a non native Chinese speaker is very impressive IMO, so go for it 🙂
 
Rosetta Stone is a great way to learn chinese or korean. as with anything, you have to spend more than a week studying to pick it up.
 
I'm really interested in learning one of the East Asian languages, except I don't know which one is most useful for a doctor! I want to be a physician (maybe ob/gyn but who knows yet) maybe do some missions with MSF (doctors without borders). I can do some rusty French. I know Japanese is really useful if you do research but I'm not that interested in becoming a physician-scientist. I know the Korean alphabet and some basic phrases but nothing for a conversation. And Mandarin sounds fun because it's so challenging but undergrad classes usually meet 5 times a week which is a lot (I would enjoy it though, just don't know how much it would take away from my other classes).
So which one should I start learning to help my career? Thank you in advance

I would do all of 'em. That's not a cop-out. Seriously, I'd do it for all the philological value I would eventually gain....
 
I vote Mandarin. However, as someone who has attempted to learn all three, I can tell you that Japanese is by far the simplest. Especially in terms of speaking. Mandarin has 4 "tones" and the same words can mean different things in a different tone.
 
"Philological?" :eyebrow:

It's a real word. Also for anyone looking to seriously learn a foreign language nothing beats the FSI courses made by the government to train it's foreign service personnel. They are in the public domain and most of the popular languages can be had for free; mp3 audio and pdf textbook. http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

There are other sites too but most will charge you for them. Most people don't have 6+ hours a day to devote to learning a new language but for French or Spanish you can go from complete beginner to near fluency with a several thousand word vocab. Not easy by any means but worth it
 
It's a real word. Also for anyone looking to seriously learn a foreign language nothing beats the FSI courses made by the government to train it's foreign service personnel. They are in the public domain and most of the popular languages can be had for free; mp3 audio and pdf textbook. http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

There are other sites too but most will charge you for them. Most people don't have 6+ hours a day to devote to learning a new language but for French or Spanish you can go from complete beginner to near fluency with a several thousand word vocab. Not easy by any means but worth it

So it is... Wow.

Wiki
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.
 
Definitely Korean after I saw this. Gangnam Style is so awesome.

32a.gif


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
 
Mandarin Chinese hands down.

一、 只有聪明的学生才能把中文学好;

二、中国的人口比较多;

哦,还有。。。宁可杀光日本鸟,也要收复钓鱼岛!
 
Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. You're not going to be using Korean or Japanese much as a doctor unless you practice in the actual country.

Out of those two, Spanish, by far, is much easier for someone who knows English already.
 
thanks for all the additional replies! I've researched some more and it seems that Japan and South Korea have more modernized health care (i.e. people have better access to it). So I suppose mandarin is the way to go!

And thanks for the word philological! Never heard that until now! 😀
 
thanks for all the additional replies! I've researched some more and it seems that Japan and South Korea have more modernized health care (i.e. people have better access to it). So I suppose mandarin is the way to go!

And thanks for the word philological! Never heard that until now! 😀

I use philological in everyday conversation. Maybe you need to learn English.










Jk. But seriously, "philological" wasn't even in my phone's dictionary of suggested words.
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Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. You're not going to be using Korean or Japanese much as a doctor unless you practice in the actual country.

Out of those two, Spanish, by far, is much easier for someone who knows English already.

Japanese is very common in Hawaii from what I hear, and I've lived in areas where there were so many Koreans that many of the stores and restaurants only spoke Korean (and also only wrote their signs in Hangul). Likewise, Chinese is extremely common if you live in, say, San Francisco. Spanish is common everywhere though.

The thing about languages though is that it really helps if you find something inherently rewarding about knowing the language. While Spanish is the most useful second language to know for an American, I hated studying it throughout K-12 because I found it and the cultures of the countries it's spoken in to be extremely boring. As a result, I took Japanese for my foreign language GER in college and loved it, even though it didn't do any favors to my GPA and was responsible for 80% of my workload that year despite me taking nothing but science classes for the rest of my credits.

The reality is that you don't need to know a second language in this country to practice medicine. There are more than enough areas where English is the only spoken language. This is especially true if you plan on catering to the same demographics most doctors do. As a result, you're not going to feel a powerful motivation to learn a language just because it might be useful one day. You need something more; do you plan on often visiting the actual country or countries where the language is spoken? Do you really love the culture? Is there something about the language itself you find fascinating?

Just study whatever you want.

Also, as an aside, don't learn Chinese because "OMG they're gonna be the next superpower!" Just because they've been experiencing large growth does not mean that growth is going to continue forever. In fact, it's already slowed down considerably, and now some analysts are even predicting a crash (although I would take anything an analyst says with a grain of salt, most of them are idiots). This whole hype/paranoia about China going on to supplant the US as a superpower has been repeated several times before in the past, and the predictions never became true. For example, before China it was Japan people were convinced was going to overtake the US as the world's dominant economic and cultural power. Then the housing bubble popped and Japan's population growth issues exacerbated things, and ever since then Japan's economy has been stagnant.
 
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