# two foreign languages at the same time **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182 "2001-11-30T19:18:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/1 "2001-11-30T19:18:53Z")
I am signed up for the first semester of French at my college next year; a spot just opened up in the third semester of Spanish. I have until 5:00 today to claim it. I really want to take both. Is it hard to take two foreign languages at the same time? Especially ones as close as French and Spanish? Would it be confusing? Or would it just be like taking any two classes? Would I be able to pull it off? I would like at least one response to this thread to be of the “Yes, Kristen–it will be a lot of work, but I know you can do it! I have a lot of faith in you. You’re a smart girl!” 'cause I’m really not getting much of that from my friends. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/2 "2001-11-30T19:42:02Z")
Since you seem to be interested in languages, I would definitely suggest that you go for it. It might be a little more difficult trying to _speak_ French, but with your experience in Spanish it will be easier to learn to read. I’m sure you’ll do great. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/3 "2001-11-30T20:06:52Z")
Since Maeglin already gave you the thumbs up, Hmm, I’m studying Dutch and Latin at the same time, which is going fine, as they are very different, but I have to admit that learning Dutch has completely destroyed my German-- they are close enough that things get confusing when I speak and I start subsituting similar sounding words mid-sentence. “Mag ich noch een bier hebben, alst. . . D’oh!” ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/4 "2001-11-30T20:08:52Z")
I’ve done it several times: First and second year German / third and fourth year Spanish (last two years of high school). I even took an eight-week crash course in Hungarian for part of this time, but I’m not sure that really counts. Undergrad Latin literature / first year Old English (first year of grad school) Graduate Latin lit / first semester undergrad French (spring semester, second year of grad school) I didn’t find it confusing, exactly, but I’ve long since forgotten most of the German and OE (and don’t even get me _started_ on all the things I can’t say in Hungarian.) However, that was partly because of poor teaching, and partly because I failed to keep practicing the language after the course was over. (For some reason, Old English conversation partners are very difficult to come by nowadays.) Anyway, I’d say go for it, if you like languages and you’ve got the time. As an interesting side note, I also learned that when I’m groping for words in my weakest foreign language, the word from the _second_ weakest one always pops into my head, and so on up the chain. Has anybody else experienced this? ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/5 "2001-11-30T21:47:53Z")
Yes, actually, that _does_ happen to me. One particularly grisly semester I was studying Latin, Ancient Greek, German, and Old English. The only spoken language in the mix was German. During conversation, I was _constantly_ throwing stupid little things in Greek, which was my weakest language after German. Oddly enough, my Greek teacher, an advanced grad student, happened to be in my German class for a few weeks. While it was nice to see her as uncomfortable as she made me, every time I would slip and say something Greek, she would always correct me after class, as I never managed to do it _correctly_. I never really farkled French and Latin, as I am worlds stronger in them than I am in the other languages. ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/6 "2001-11-30T22:59:33Z")
Well, here in Finland, every student’s required to take English (well, English/German/French, but most take English) starting from third grade and Swedish starting on seventh grade, so in the end, all upper elementary schoolers and high schoolers read two languages, many also a third (French/German/Russian). It hasn’t been too tough on me yet. ---
**Author:** ![JRootabega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@JRootabega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRootabega)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/7 "2001-11-30T23:07:30Z")
I took a semester of Russian in college, and then the next semester I continued with Russian and added Spanish. I didn’t so much have a problem learning Spanish as I did caring. For me, Russian was so much more interesting that Spanish just didn’t register. So you might have a problem where you favor one langugae more than the other, since you have to focus your attention on them at the same time. But I think if anything, if you can successfully start learning two languages at once, you’ll acquire them both more fully than if you just did one. Or you might just get confused, I don’t know! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/8 "2001-11-30T23:11:53Z")
Yes, Kristen–it will be a lot of work, but I know you can do it! I have a lot of faith in you. You’re a smart girl! [sub]just trying to be accomodating[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Rutabegger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@Rutabegger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rutabegger)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/9 "2001-11-30T23:12:30Z")
I’ve had the same experience with switching (foreign) languages mid-stream. I haven’t necessarily related it to the next strongest one though. With me it’s usually because they share a word. When I was learning Russian I would rattle along until I hit “and”, which is pronounced the same in Spanish (“e”), and then the rest of the phrase would come out in Spanish. Spanish is my stronger language though… ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/10 "2001-12-01T00:17:35Z")
[OFfice Space]I’d do two languages at the same time.[/Office Space] ---
**Author:** ![Ferggie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Ferggie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferggie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/11 "2001-12-01T03:27:17Z")
Eek. I took French early in high school and Spanish toward the end of college. Even with two or so years in between, the similarities frequently screwed me up. In my first Spanish class there was a young lady from Japan who was learning both Spanish and the English used to explain it. Kudos to her. In my last class, I had a prof whose English was as bad as our Spanish. So he was sympathetic to our plight and tended to let us off easy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mersavets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@Mersavets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mersavets)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/12 "2001-12-01T14:54:41Z")
A couple of years ago when I started learning Russian and German, I found I could usually avoid interference between the two. However, at my first German oral exam, probably due to nerves, I managed to say _Ich habe einen Brat_ meaning _I have a br other_ but used the Russian word for brother. My (Serbian born) teacher laughed and said she understood what I was getting at but that I should perhaps reconsider my choice of words.r ---
**Author:** ![SDP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDP)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/13 "2001-12-01T15:31:55Z")
Last year I was taking Latin, Greek, and Spanish at the same time. I had no troubles at all, even with words that could cause confusion, for example, the word _lego_: it means “I say” in Greek, but “I read” in Latin. Then again, it is a very common Greek word, and so confusion may be eliminated by repeated exposure. I actually found that all three languages complemented each other and helped me learn each better, not to mention helping my English. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/14 "2001-12-01T17:46:36Z")
I studied both French and Spanish in college. But at first, during the conversation classes, the profs would occasionally smile and tell me I’m using the wrong accent. I had studied French before enrolling in Spanish, and found that it was easy to pick up another romance language. You can and should do it! Of course, you must want to do this, like I did. Bonne chance! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hestia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@Hestia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hestia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/15 "2001-12-01T20:58:50Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by ThisYearsGirl_ > I am signed up for the first semester of French at my college next year; a spot just opened up in the third semester of Spanish. I have until 5:00 today to claim it. I really want to take both. > > Is it hard to take two foreign languages at the same time? I recently graduated from high school (last year), where I studied three foreign languages (English, which was mandatory, and German and French) plus my native language (Dutch). I never had any problems with it. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine_ > As an interesting side note, I also learned that when I’m groping for words in my weakest foreign language, the word from the second weakest one always pops into my head, and so on up the chain. Has anybody else experienced this? Yes. Happens a lot, in fact. What happens the most however, is me trying to come up with a particular Dutch word, and then the only thing coming to mind is the English version :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/16 "2001-12-01T21:01:59Z")
My junior year of HS, I was taking French 3 and Spanish 1 in class, and coming after school to be tutored in Spanish 2. My senior year, I was in French 4 and Spanish 3. I didn’t find it confusing that I recall. I wanted to be a language teacher before I joined the Navy and became an engineer. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/17 "2001-12-01T21:10:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ThisYearsGirl \* > I would like at least one response to this thread to be of the “Yes, Kristen–it will be a lot of work, but I know you can do it! I have a lot of faith in you. You’re a smart girl!” 'cause I’m really not getting much of that from my friends. Certainly you can do it, but it takes more than smarts, which I’m sure you have plenty of. You have to be a cunning linguist. _Are you_ a cunning linguist? ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/18 "2001-12-01T21:21:51Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* \*\* > [@](#): > > Are you\* a cunning linguist? \*\* Hahaha–as a linguistics major, I have never heard that joke ever before in my life. Okay, so I ended up signing up for both classes, but just in case I’m in way over my head, I’m keeping my options open by making sure I hace a space in one other (non-language) class. Thanks for yer advice and words of encouragement and bad jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/19 "2001-12-02T08:51:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Hahaha–as a linguistics major, I have never heard that joke ever before in my life. I googled for linguist jokes. They were uniformly horrible. The pickup lines were even worse. Is that a dangling participle, or are you just happy to see me? > [@](#): > > Okay, so I ended up signing up for both classes, but just in case I’m in way over my head, I’m keeping my options open by making sure I hace a space in one other (non-language) class. It should be a lot of work, but I’m sure you can do it, and will end up better off. Then you can get some new multilingual friends. 🙂 I personally want to learn Esperanto. I can’t find anywhere to do it locally IRL, so I’ll probably end up doing a web course or something annoying like that. Ben ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182/20 "2001-12-02T09:17:22Z")
It can result in an occasional faux pas, but is not an unmanageable endeavor. I started taking Italian after having a lot of background in Spanish. There were a couple of moments where I slipped into Spanish, saying “ocho” instead of “otto” and “dia” instead of “giorno”, but for the most part it was not a big problem. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-foreign-languages-at-the-same-time/96182.md?page=2)