[adrianlmm]

And what is the real value of learning japanese? (apart from being an english teacher in japan) sure is fine as a hoby, but for a professional, I believe the japanese are the ones that should learn english, and don't take me wrong, my native tong is spanish and english my second one, but I see english as the universal language to learn.

[richthegeek]

Does everything need to have monetary value? Learning a language can be done for many reasons.

I know a bit of Spanish because I holiday in Spain occasionally, although lately it has become valuable as we are working in LatAm a bit.

I know passable Italian purely because it was enjoyable to learn. It has since been useful on two vacations across Italy.

And finally I'm learning Polish due to my partner being Polish. It's hard as hell compared to Romance languages, but it'll be worth it when I can have a conversation with her parents beyond courtesies.

[carlmungz]

How did your knowledge of Spanish help with learning Italian?

[richthegeek]

It helped a bit, in that the breaking the habit of English sentence structure exhibited in "I want it" to "(yo) lo quiero" rather than "yo quiero lo" had already happened somewhat.

On the flipside, it made my Spanish vocab quite a bit worse as I keep recalling the Italian word in place. Happily this doesn't lead to many problems in reality, most Spaniards I have interacted with have either understood the word anyway or I could recall the correct word quickly.

[pmoriarty]

"what is the real value of learning japanese? (apart from being an english teacher in japan) sure is fine as a hoby, but for a professional, I believe the japanese are the ones that should learn english,"

Are you interested in Japanese culture, history, literature, religion, or people?

Do you or your company want to do business in Japan, with Japanese companies, or Japanese people?

Do you have friends, family, or a significant other who's Japanese? Do you want to make new Japanese friends or contacts?

Are you interested in what the Japanese have to say, and want to read or hear it in their own language?

Have you ever wanted to visit Japan and feel less like a tourist and more like a native, to be able to better know what's going on around you, read the signs, maybe have some ability to find your own way?

Well, if you're not interested in any of these things, perhaps you'll forgive or at least understand some others if they actually are interested and find these things valuable.

[GolDDranks]

To me, this question sounds absurd. That's how much real value I got learning Japanese. I'm employed in a Japanese company, speaking Japanese with my friends, eating Japanese food which I love and generally enjoying my life. It wouldn't be possible for me to do what I do speaking only English.

[olingern]

As a person who has spent a couple of years in college with Japanese, leisure time, and time in Japan -- I can tell you that it's one of the richest cultures I've come into contact with to date. Mind you, that's completely subjective.

One of the things that exists in their culture that doesn't exist in the US is the notion of "oneness." If you get on the train in the morning and observe people going to their jobs, you'll notice that there's almost a "uniform" - very similar suit, haircut, and overall style. In America, individuality has become a disease that has lead to everyone feeling the need to be special and different. I'd argue that this 'disease' is the plague of our politics and economy, as companies nor politicians typically think about society's greater good ( save a handful who are now trying to align business with humanitarian efforts ).

Also, embedded in the language is respect. You use different words and sentence structures to address your friends vs. your boss.

So, what is the value? Probably experiencing life in a different way, and gaining more perspective.

[DrPhish]

Well, for me it helped me land a gig working for NHK as local staff during one of the Olympic games. I was able to access all venues, make invaluable contacts, interview famous athletes and celebrities, be beyond the front row for events and ceremonies, learn interesting skills and have an amazing experience that would have otherwise been impossible to have even if you were willing to pay for it. Oh, and I got paid great as well.

tldr: it opens doors that would not normally be open to you

[toyg]

By all means stick to that attitude; the Japanese-speakers will keep making money with Japanese companies.

Note that this is valid for more countries than not: learn the language, and the locals will look on you more favourably. It is still a must to work well in places like France and Italy, for example (albeit less so than 10 years ago).

English is a fallback language, but the preferred option is still the native lingo.

[willow9886]

Well..you can wait for the whole world to learn English--which may eventually happen, but don't hold your breath--or you can be proactive and learn the languages you want to communicate in!

[edgarvaldes]

In every single language-learning related thread in HN, we can see this question. I learn other languages for fun. It's simple as that.

[xiaoma]

Japan is the #3 economy in the world, the #2 cultural exporter after Hollywood thanks to cartoons and video games and most Japanese people don't learn English very well. In fact, Japanese interest in learning English peaked nearly 20 years ago.

[swiley]

What is the real value of learning math? What is the real value of learning to draw? of listening to music?

It lets you experience things you could not have otherwise.

[have_faith]

Demonstrating a knack for learning languages and lots of soft skills required.

[rhizome]

Why do you only post terrible comments here?