Which Romance Language Would You Learn?

Spanish - Mexico

Spanish - Costa Rica

Spanish - Caribbean Islands

Spanish - Argentina / Chile / Uruguay

Spanish - Other South American

Spanish - Madrid

Spanish - Catalan

Spanish - Other Iberian

Spanish - Other

Portuguese - Brazilian

Portuguese - Lisbon

Portuguese - Other

French - Paris

French - Swiss

French - Other European

French - Québec

French - Guiana

French - African

French - Other

Italian - Metropolitan

Italian - Sardinian, Sicilian, etc

Italian - Other / Rural

Romanian / Moldovan

Lingua Franca Nova or other constructed

Classical Latin

[Alex Libman]

This is a follow-up to the "Which foreign languages would you learn?" poll from ~3 months ago, which currently has 23 / 37 votes going for the Latin group.

There's no "magic pill" this time and you only get one vote.  Please post which you picked and why.

I suspect that most people will concentrate on proximity to New Hampshire or winter vacation potential rather than economic factors, so it'll probably be close between Spanish and French.  (Or not - please vote for whatever strikes your fancy.)  I'll post subtotals per language once the voting slows down.

[Laetitia]

I would like to learn portuguese, but spanish would so much more practical. And even with that, I then have to pick which region of world for the spanish languge....

I'll have to think about this before answering.

[Laetitia]

I dunt spek faggot. 

Are you implying I'm a faggot because I'm interested in learning a romance language, or because I like cock?

[phantomofroute66]

Isn't the difference between Argentinian and Mexican Spanish about the same as the difference between American and Canadian English?  I voted for Mexican since there are so many Mexicans where I live now.  But the correct answer should really be, "I would refuse to learn because I was being forced to do so, then go to jail and have my story told on FTL."

[mikehz]

I already know enough Spanish to get by, and am currently learning more. If you can communicate in Mexican Spanish, you can be understood in other Spanish speaking countries. Right now, I'm subscribed to several Spanish language podcasts. The best of the lot for learning the language is, I think,  is Coffee Break Spanish:

http://coffeebreakspanish.typepad.com/

A trip I took to several Latin American countries has convinced me that all I'll ever be able to do is "get by" in Spanish.

[Richard_III]

Super thread!

I would probably want to sharpen my Portuguese.

But really, I would looooove to learn Latin, so that I can give my first proper catholic mass....and of course, to do exorcisms.

[Alex Libman]

I know some of those dialects are near-identical, but breaking it down that way adds another layer of interest to the poll.  And I know picking one dialect can be hard, but it doesn't mean limiting yourself to that dialect / region, just pick which region you'd be most likely to interact with the most, or visit first.

[Porcupine_in_MA]

Catalan, which is it's own language and should be listed seperately not Spanish-Catalan

[Porcupine_in_MA]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language

[Porcupine_in_MA]

I really dont care, but I thought it would be fun to be an ass-ache about something this early in the morning. 

[Porcupine_in_MA]

Also why isn't Occitan listed?? I'm getting more offended by the moment!! 

[Zhwazi]

The three most spoken languages are chinese, english, and spanish. Since the first two aren't options, I'd obviously choose spanish, since that'll let me communicate to the most people, and since Mexico is closest, I would choose mexican spanish.

Ya hablo español, pero cuando escucho mexicanos es como estan hablando algo otro completemente.

[mikehz]

The three most spoken languages are chinese, english, and spanish. Since the first two aren't options, I'd obviously choose spanish, since that'll let me communicate to the most people, and since Mexico is closest, I would choose mexican spanish.

Ya hablo español, pero cuando escucho mexicanos es como estan hablando algo otro completemente.

Besides, you might want to communicate with your care giver years from now when you're old and in a nursing home.

[Alex Libman]

Wow, I can't believe how poorly French is doing... 

It probably would be doing much better if you had 2+ votes, but that would completely change the dynamics of this poll...  First and subsequent choices would get equal weight, and there'd be no way to identify the clear winner.

[...]  I'm getting more offended by the moment!! 

Jeez, didn't know Porc'n'mass here worked for the U.N. language classification police...  Crossed out "Spanish" next to "Catalan".  Occitan, which is less common and less distinct, is covered by "Other Iberian".

[...] Since the first two aren't options, [...]

English isn't a foreign language to most people here.  The point of this thread was to break down the winner of the previous round, where Chinese finished a very distant second and with Germanic languages and Japanese close behind.  A separate "Which dialect of Chinese would you learn?" poll (also breaking down Mandarin into sub-dialects) would be boring as heck.

[mrapplecastle]

I cant believe no one has picked Portuguese
it would be my second choice