Is it easy to learn two languages in one year?

Question

I'm going to Uni next year and would like to learn Latin to help me with Classics. I also want to learn another language because i've always wanted to learn a foreign language but my school never offered any i like.

I'm wanting to do a double degree in Law and Arts (BA) and eventually live in Italy. I'd learn Latin and Italian but the Uni i chose doesn't offer Italian, therefore i am deciding if i should do French or Spanish.

Can you please suggest which language would be more beneficial (i will eventually learn Italian before i move there), and why. Also, is it a realistic goal to learn two languages at Uni or should I just stick to Latin and learn the other languages when i've completed my degrees?

Answer 1

Go for it!  And if you want to learn Italian, too, there are online sites.

Try livemocha.  there's an italian course there.  And there are people online to help you learn.

I have never had trouble learning more than one language at a time.  Some people find it hard.  Some people have less trouble with it.  You can surely seperate in your mind and learn Latin plus any other language.  In fact, if you are learning a latin based language, you will find that they complement each other, and you will be ahead of others in your classes.  

I would definitely go for the two, and maybe a third.

Spanish is better if you want to be a lawyer and work with the Spanish speaking population, which, depending on where you are is anywhere from a small percentage to more than 75% in some of the Southwestern states.  

French is better for international business in general, and return to Spanish if international business really means South America/Spain, specifically.  

Go ahead and learn everything you can in the short time you are in school, and also, think about studying in Italy for your third year...you will SURELY learn the language if you are there.  I suggest Florence for art, or Rome for classical art.  

And I don't know WHAT Allan is going on about.  Spanish is NOT like Italian!  and Italian is NOT that close to Latin...actually, Romanian is MUCH closer to Latin than any of the other Romance Languages, and Italian, as Italy is close to France, is probably closer, etymologically, etc. to French than Spanish.  (logic).   If you want to learn Italian, learning Spanish is NOT going to help you any more than knowing French will.  They ALL conjugate their verbs differently than in English, so once you get that down, and the way Romance languages think, it really doesn't matter which one you learn.

Answer 2

If Italian isn't available i recommend you to study Spanish. They are very similar, in fact more closer than Italian and French.

I'm studying italian for years now and even though i never took spanish i can recognize and understand most of their words.

French is difficult because of the accent but when u get a text translated in these 3 languages you can notice their similarity, being all of them Neolatin Languages. Meaning there shouldnt be a problem taking latin and one of these 3 languages in contemporary with latin as they are very similar. In fact i think that these will help you learn the language faster.

Note:

latin is very similar to italian

Italian is very similar to spanish

French stands in between latin and italian.

Answer 3

I think you should definitely take two languages in "Uni," now I would initially discourage you from taking Latin, it being a dead language and all, but it might help you with a law degree.

Since you want to live in Italy it really doesn't matter much which one you decide on. I'd probably say French would be a better language for a lawyer to know in Europe. But Spanish certainly wouldn't be a bad choice.

It's a realistic goal to learn two languages in 4 years, but you aren't going to learn much just by taking a course in College for a year. To really learn a language most people would agree you have to go to the country and live for a while......

Answer 4

First of all, I'm glad I'm not the only one who calls it Uni. Second of all, majoring in two languages at once is tough, especially if they're shortened classes. It's possible, but also very hard. If you're interested in doing it, I say go for it. Spanish would be easier, it's one of the easiest languages to  pick up, in my opinion. Latin... well, it's.. that's a box of it's own. You've got an interest, though, so you should do good enough.

EDIT: Wait, one year? For two languages? I don't think so. Maybe three or four years for two languages. That'd be great to master both. But one year for two? I'd rather take one year of ONE language, and be pretty decent in that, then take two and struggle in a single year.