Which Languages Are Easiest?

[Ice Maiden]

Hello again

Right I wondered if anyone could advise me on the languages that are quite easy to pickup. As I'm quite young I think I'll pick a language up quite easily but I just wanted some advice on the more simple ones. Because I would like to be a Flight Attendant it would benefit me more if I'm fluent in a number of languages - will give me more of a chance to be selected. I'm trying to get as many things on my CV as possible that will make me stand out from the crowd and I believe this is one area.

Told Mandarin was easy, not sure though

Thankyou, Ice Maiden

[Totster]

I would say Mandarin is the one to learn at the moment.... and Spanish would be pretty beneficial as well

Living in Thailand you should be able to pick up Thai quite easily...

totster

[Ice Maiden]

I would say Mandarin is the one to learn at the moment.... and Spanish would be pretty beneficial as well

Living in Thailand you should be able to pick up Thai quite easily... 

totster 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Okay I'll try Mandarin then. I try to learn Thai it's just my accent, I carn't get my accent right.

[OxfordWill]

It all depends on what air line you are going to be interested in working for. Japanese is another big possibility. It is unlikely that you will need european languages. If you're working out of Thailand, that limits you of course. If you research the airlines you could work for and then see what routes you would likely be travelling, you have a short list right there.

p.s. Mandarin = hard. Not sure what level you need for air attendent though?

Edited August 24, 2005 by OxfordWill

[Ice Maiden]

It all depends on what air line you are going to be interested in working for. Japanese is another big possibility. It is unlikely that you will need european languages. If you're working out of Thailand, that limits you of course. If you research the airlines you could work for and then see what routes you would likely be travelling, you have a short list right there.

p.s. Mandarin = hard. Not sure what level you need for air attendent though?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was thinking about Japanese. But lets face it, I'm going to be working along the asian routes so the languages along these routes are going to be harder. Ooo dejavu

[OxfordWill]

Well Japanese is an easy language to speak. I think tots is right though, you will need some form of some chinese if you go with a major airline..however I am told they share languages on some flights, so you get some attendents who speak some and some who speak others. Normally there is one expert and everyone else is just able to get you another water, or so it seems. My friend who has just joined japan airways speaks english and thai and just finished a 6 month course in japanese before getting in.

[mrbojangles]

Hajimamashite, Watashi Wa BoJangles Desu, Dozo Yoroshuku.

Don't try Japanese Icey, it's barking mad. Harder than Thai.

Sayonara

[BambinA]

i thought "dog" lang. is the easiest ...

BUT .. after they bite me sometime..bleeding (made me pretend as i did not hurt ...and then i went to the loo and cry)

now methinks the easiest lang = "body language" ( smile ,laugh,cry ..etc) ohhh well well well ..seem nod in india is opposite with other places's meaning in the world

bambi

[Ice Maiden]

Well Japanese is an easy language to speak. I think tots is right though, you will need some form of some chinese if you go with a major airline..however I am told they share languages on some flights, so you get some attendents who speak some and some who speak others. Normally there is one expert and everyone else is just able to get you another water, or so it seems. My friend who has just joined japan airways speaks english and thai and just finished a 6 month course in japanese before getting in.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you don't mind me asking, what nationality is your friend? And does she work from Bangkok? The reason I'm asking is because I'm not sure if there are many british nationals working from Bangkok.

I'll try out Japanese then, I'll also have to come up with some type of certificate for my languages. The only problem I really have with languages is the fact sometimes when I'm speaking to an English friend I accidently speak Thai but I'll get out of that habit I guess.

Thanks for your advice.

[khall64au]

How about Arabic? Am sure the tips must be good!

[Ice Maiden]

How about Arabic? Am sure the tips must be good! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So many different possibilites and opinions. I'll have to have a long deep think and try out a few languages listed and see which ones I find easier or pickup better, afterall everything carn't be easy.

I'll also have to dig out my 50m swimming bage

Don't worry about it Bambi!

Edited August 24, 2005 by Ice Maiden

[OxfordWill]

If you don't mind me asking, what nationality is your friend? And does she work from Bangkok? The reason I'm asking is because I'm not sure if there are many british nationals working from Bangkok.

I'll try out Japanese then, I'll also have to come up with some type of certificate for my languages. The only problem I really have with languages is the fact sometimes when I'm speaking to an English friend I accidently speak Thai but I'll get out of that habit I guess.

Thanks for your advice.

She is Thai, and she works out of Bangkok, yes. If you like I shall ask her if she knows any British co-workers in Bangkok.

MrBojangles says Japanese is hard but I wonder if he means writing and reading, which is certainly harder than Thai, or just speaking. I think it is generally agreed that for westerners, speaking Japanese is fairly easy when compared to Chinese.

Before you start, look into the companies you might be applying to because many of them give training courses as part of the process and some even pay for it. Also, they might prefer to teach you the languages in their own way rather than have you do it for yourself (although of course if you turned up with near fluency they would not argue with that..).

The fact you accidentally speak Thai is a great sign, so keep it up.

[Ice Maiden]

OxfordWill - That would be great if you could ask her that. I will do that. It's just my age I think about because some farangs have to be 18 then some 20 or 21. So it would be also great if you could ask her that aswell?

I will look into the companies. For my first time applying I'm going to apply for a smaller airline because I'll have more chance of getting the job. Then I could get appropriate experience which would benefit me in the longterm, hopefully then I could work with a more well known airline such as KLM or Emirates.

Thankyou once again.

[Davey]

Mandarin is the language you should learn. I would also suggest Spanish and possibly Arabic.

I don't know how easy Mandarin or Arabic is, I'm guessing quite difficult. Spanish is easy, although it's easier to say when you can speak it.

Think of languages which are popular and spoke by numerous nations. Obviously Spanish is spoken in Spain and most of south America. (Mandarin - not too sure, but 1 billion people live in China, at least half of them gotta speak Mandarin right?) and Arabic should cover the middle-east.

Good luck and if you do decide to learn Spanish, let me know I am fairly fluent so if you need any help, I'll be more than happy

Good luck

Edited August 24, 2005 by Davey

[fanta rood]

Learn german, arabic and spanish. I had to learn 7 languages on my school. I speak english and dutch fluently, german good and thai/french ok. The other last two are not used anymore (latin and ancient greek).

- German is easy to learn and if you mastered german then dutch should be even easier. Dutch is very good for getting a job at KLM and alot of tourists everywhere around the world come from Netherland. German overal is more important.

- Spanish is very easy to learn. And this opens up easier learning for other latin based languages. I can alot of words in Spain, Italy and even France with my basic knowledge of latin. Same same applies vice versa

- Arabic. I have ALOT of muslim friends and they all said it wasn't very hard to learn. They were muslims born in Netherland and they had never followed any courses. They learned it just like I am trying to learn thai right now.

[helitool]

German is the easiest language for an english speaker to learn. You will probably find that when you become really fluent in a second language you will be able to swithch back and forth between your native language and it easily. The problem comes when you try to go from a second to a third language as in translating a conversation between a german and a Thai, you will mix them up.

If you find that you love learning languages and like to travel, instead of becoming a flight attendent become a simultanious translator. The pay and prestige are far better.

[WhiteShiva]

Hello again 

Right I wondered if anyone could advise me on the languages that are quite easy to pickup. As I'm quite young I think I'll pick a language up quite easily but I just wanted some advice on the more simple ones. Because I would like to be a Flight Attendant it would benefit me more if I'm fluent in a number of languages - will give me more of a chance to be selected. I'm trying to get as many things on my CV as possible that will make me stand out from the crowd and I believe this is one area.

Told Mandarin was easy, not sure though 

Thankyou, Ice Maiden 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about Malay/Indonesian? - Very easy language to learn (words are written the way they are pronounced, very little grammar, no tones), and spoken by more than 200 million people in the region.

Edited August 25, 2005 by WhiteShiva

[TokyoT]

As you indicate you are most interested in Asian routes and therefore focusing on the Asian area I would of course suggest Thai first – probably easiest for you to learn now as you live in Thailand and it will be much easier to learn and find places/ways to practice.

I don’t know about the Malay/Indonesian language, but Japanese is not too difficult to learn how to speak – if you get a good teacher. IMO much easier than Mandarin – for me Mandarin has some phonetics that are very difficult. Korean may also be an option – especially if you want to learn to read and right. If you do want to learn to read and write the language then I think Korean would be the best Asian language for you.

But I think it would be easiest for you to start with Thai – as you are here and the opportunity to learn/practice abounds.

[Ice Maiden]

Thanks for all your help guys!

[chownah]

Pig Latin would be easy to learn but be careful not to speak Pig Latin to any Moslems.

[mike_l]

This is a good page to read if you're thinking of learning Japanese

[Ice Maiden]

Pig Latin would be easy to learn but be careful not to speak Pig Latin to any Moslems.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That wasn't very nice young man.

Mike - Thankyou

[Thug]

If you wanna work for any Thai airlines for example, then you should definately know Thai & English. Spanish, Italian, or French would be a plus.

I live in Bangkok and my first language is Spanish. If you want some help on the language, we can sort out things. I can help u out on some lessons.

Good luck!

[sbk]

Ice maiden, I studied Mandarin for 3 years at University and lived in Taiwan for awhile before coming here. Learning to speak is not too hard, esp if you can hear the tones. Learning to read and write is darn near impossible. I ended up with carpal tunnel syndrome from writing out the characters trying to learn them. If you can hear tones and reproduce them then Mandarin won't be hard, the grammar is pretty simple too. Bahasa is pretty simple too, I think. We had the Indonesian satellite for a couple of years and just from watching tv and reading the Bahasa subtitles I learned quite a few words.

French is, grammatically, much more difficult than Thai, Mandarin or Bahasa (studied French for 6 years in high school).

Not sure if airlines require literacy in languages or just the ability to speak. If it only requires the ability to speak go for Mandarin or Cantonese (that is, if you can get tones).

[Ice Maiden]

Thanks once again guys

Sbk - I used to be really good at French when I was younger but I carn't seem to grasp Thai.

[Mr. Farang]

I used to be really good at French when I was younger but I carn't seem to grasp Thai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You will be able to easily grasp Thai if you formally learn the Thai alphabet first. When I first learned Thai, the teachers would not permit me to speak a word until I had mastered speaking all 32 consonant and 44 vowels. Then, like Thai children, the next step is learning to speak small words of simple one-consonant, one-vowel combinations.

I have seem some posts here, to the effect that, this forum is a great place to learn Thai. That notion is completely incorrect. If you want to learn Thai and speak it well it is no different than learning other languages - enroll in a good language school and spend years of learning, from the basic alphabet, to small words, phrases, grammar, sentences and then on to the literature.

Everyone whom I converse with (or hear speaking) in Thai who attempt to learn the language without formal step-by-step training have improper tone, grammer, and their vocabular tends toward "street Thai" and not proper "business Thai."

There are a few people here who take offense to people who speak "high Thai" simply because they were not trained in proper Thai and seem to find pleasure in "downing" others who took the time and effort to learn Thai properly. I kindly recommend you do not "attach" to that notion of thinking, enroll in school and learn Thai if you want to work in Thailand - it is very easy once you get the basic alphabet down - but learning to aspirate 32 consonants and 44 vowels correctly takes a bit of patience and time!!

Learning to speak Japanese would be very good too. Unfortunately for me, I was in Engineering School and had to drop out of my Japanese classes to focus on math and science (so I could graduate on time), but if I had another chance, I would have liked to have "stayed the course" and learned Japanese as well.

Edited August 25, 2005 by Mr. Farang

[Davey]

I used to be really good at French when I was younger but I carn't seem to grasp Thai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You will be able to easily grasp Thai if you formally learn the Thai alphabet first. When I first learned Thai, the teachers would not permit me to speak a word until I had mastered speaking all 32 consonant and 44 vowels. Then, like Thai children, the next step is learning to speak small words of simple one-consonant, one-vowel combinations.

I have seem some posts here, to the effect that, this forum is a great place to learn Thai. That notion is completely incorrect. If you want to learn Thai and speak it well it is no different than learning other languages - enroll in a good language school and spend years of learning, from the basic alphabet, to small words, phrases, grammar, sentences and then on to the literature.

Everyone whom I converse with (or hear speaking) in Thai who attempt to learn the language without formal step-by-step training have improper tone, grammer, and their vocabular tends toward "street Thai" and not proper "business Thai."

There are a few people here who take offense to people who speak "high Thai" simply because they were not trained in proper Thai and seem to find pleasure in "downing" others who took the time and effort to learn Thai properly. I kindly recommend you do not "attach" to that notion of thinking, enroll in school and learn Thai if you want to work in Thailand - it is very easy once you get the basic alphabet down - but learning to aspirate 32 consonants and 44 vowels correctly takes a bit of patience and time!!

Learning to speak Japanese would be very good too. Unfortunately for me, I was in Engineering School and had to drop out of my Japanese classes to focus on math and science (so I could graduate on time), but if I had another chance, I would have liked to have "stayed the course" and learned Japanese as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I agree ...Learn the Thai alphabet first if possible. When I began to learn Thai I just tried to memorise key words and phrases, I wasn't really getting anywhere. I then decided to give the alphabet a go (quite daunting to start with) although I got there, now learning new words and phrases just come that little bit easier.

Oh and btw Mr. Farang, 44 consonants and 32 vowels

[DavieA]

Talking Bullsiht is a great language to know. Spoken in every country around the world and gets you through all circumstances.

As you can see from my post I'm fluent in it. If you need any help let me know. lol

[mrbojangles]

MrBojangles says Japanese is hard but I wonder if he means writing and reading, which is certainly harder than Thai, or just speaking. I think it is generally agreed that for westerners, speaking Japanese is fairly easy when compared to Chinese.

Your right Oxford, Japanese is easier than Chinese. However, i studied Japanese for 3 years, yes the reading and writing is impossible for westerners to pick up (generally speaking) especially Kanji, of which there are approx 880 essential characters and 1,850 general use characters. Hiragana and katakana are not too bad though. Once you get used to the sounds it's not too bad but the grammar in the sentence structures are well, err......trust me it's barking mad

In fairness though, one of the downfalls i had, was that i had very few people to practise with.

[sbk]

Actually Mr Farang, I learned my Thai just from picking it up but then I have no need of "high Thai" or business Thai and would look a fool for speaking it where I live. That said, I do not speak "bar thai' but colloquial southern dialect which, funnily enough, all my husband's relatives speak, all my neighbors speak and everyone I interact on a day to day basis speak. So, I do alright.

However, in Ice Maiden's situation, where she would like to use it in a formal setting (ie as an airline hostess) my southern dialect would sound ridiculous, just as hers would sound ridiculous where I live. I've heard there are some great courses, check the Thai language section for the best one, I remember reading a thread on it in the past few weeks.