Vitalik Buterin pfp
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
I notice among people I talk to more enthusiasm toward learning French than Spanish. This confuses me; my feeling is that Spanish unlocks far more countries and speakers than French does and so is a more natural first choice. What do people think motivates this choice?
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Josh | The Blockchain Socialist pfp
Josh | The Blockchain Socialist
@tbsocialist
Were the people largely American? Spanish is often implied as a lower class language especially in the US. Whereas french was the language of the nobility for a long time even in non french speaking areas and exotic to Americans. Similar dynamic in Belgium.
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shazow pfp
shazow
@shazow.eth
Aside from things people already mentioned, Spanish-speaking places seem to be more English-speaking friendly than French-speaking places (e.g. big parts of Canada that will refuse to serve you if you don't speak French).
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Benjamin Basche pfp
Benjamin Basche
@basche42
Spanish and Portuguese both have that global appeal, I think French probably also will with the rise of Africa
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Chuy Garcia pfp
Chuy Garcia
@chuy
Learn Catalán and you'll get a little bit of both xD
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✳️ dcposch pfp
✳️ dcposch
@dcposch.eth
French has this aura of aspirational lifestyle. I think much of it comes from the 19th century .. but prestige, like other forms of legitimacy, is sticky. Bodega and boutique are the same word (“small shop”)
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Nico.vibe pfp
Nico.vibe
@n
As a speaker of both language: I get better reactions from strangers when I mention le français, although Spanish has been ten times more practical
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️ pfp
Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
By this logic nobody would learn dead languages. It's haute culture perceptions. Languages are as much about exclusion as connection. About accessing haute literature as much as living people. This will only increase as AI translation handles utilitarian needs. "Classy" and "dead" languages will be more attractive.
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Les Greys pfp
Les Greys
@les
There is a stronger sense of physical attraction to Paris, France than there is to any spanish speaking country I’ve lived/visited. It’s a more globally appealing destination. My guess.
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QJ pfp
QJ
@qj
I think it might be closer to the logic of luxury. The disadvantage in pragmatism is not its shortcoming, plays as an advantage in creating desire.
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Lefteris Karapetsas pfp
Lefteris Karapetsas
@lefteris.eth
Very few people learn languages with a practical point of view. They don't care so much for how many people they can communicate with after mastering the language. Most people want to learn a language because they: - Like how it sounds - Have it associated with something they like or value - Have friends/family there
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Connor McCormick ☀️ pfp
Connor McCormick ☀️
@nor
French is a designer watch that also informs people you're smart
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Mac Budkowski ᵏ pfp
Mac Budkowski ᵏ
@macbudkowski
Interesting since majority of my friends are more into Spanish. I noticed though that among my friends French is much more popular among women than men.
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polynya pfp
polynya
@polynya
French was my third language in secondary/high school. It was the only non-English European language available in my school. The possibility of reading Jules Verne was appealing then, but later too, French cinema, poetry and literature is significantly more appealing to me personally than Spanish or Hispanic American.
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antimo pfp
antimo
@antimofm.eth
This is location-dependent If you're North American, Spanish is either a necessity or at least a part of daily life so, while French is exotic If you're European, French is much more relevant: it's spoken in 5 EU countries plus most of North Africa (big tourist destination)
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ross pfp
ross
@z0r0z
I think for much the same reason people love learning Japanese. We can probably ask, why do people learn a second language? I suspect it's not so utilitarian (i.e., being able to talk to the most humans) and more about impressing others exposed to that culture (so a soft power thing).
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df pfp
df
@df
French has a more luxurious, romantic and desirable brand than Spanish. (but lower global utility; I’m learning Spanish)
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justin.ahn.eth pfp
justin.ahn.eth
@ahn.eth
when i was in grade school in the US (back in the 90s), the foreign language classes were French and Spanish. i recall a pretty clear socio-economic divide between those in French (tended to be white, upper-middle class) and those in Spanish (middle class, more ethnically diverse, didn't care to learn the language).
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Elad pfp
Elad
@el4d
status games :)
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Juan Blanco pfp
Juan Blanco
@juanblanco
Romanticism, living in France, France marketing / cinema, historically french was the international language. The school / college my children go did not make Spanish a preferred language until 10 years ago, parents might be an influence, Spanish speaking countries might be considered. lower class.
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