{"id":9875,"date":"2019-02-27T01:09:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T06:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/?p=9875"},"modified":"2025-06-11T09:24:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T13:24:27","slug":"learn-asian-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/learn-asian-language\/","title":{"rendered":"An Introduction to Asian Languages and How to Learn Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re asking yourself, “What language should I learn?<\/a>” choosing an Asian language may just be your answer.<\/p>\n

We’re going to take a broad view of learning Asian languages, regardless of what Asian language you’re interested in learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We’ll also talk about the specifics of some more common Asian languages, but if you’re interested in learning a less common one, we’ll give you some tips for finding your own resources and getting started.<\/p>\n

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What Is an Asian Language?<\/h2>\n

That question might be harder to answer than you think.<\/p>\n

For a lot of people, what first comes to mind are the widely spoken East Asian languages: Chinese, Japanese and Korean.<\/p>\n

But what about Southeast Asian languages like Vietnamese and Malay?<\/p>\n

What about South Asian languages like Hindi and Bengali<\/a>?<\/p>\n

What about Russian? What about… English?<\/p>\n

The continent of Asia is home to over 2,000 languages and billions of people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Furthermore, many languages that originated in Asia<\/a> are spoken elsewhere by diaspora communities, and languages like English<\/a>, French and Portuguese<\/a> have made inroads into Asian countries and even developed into new unique varieties.<\/p>\n

The official list of Asian languages<\/a> is quite long and includes a diversity of languages.<\/p>\n

Possible Reasons for Learning an Asian Language<\/h2>\n

When deciding what language to learn, there are numerous reasons<\/a> to choose one spoken on the Asian continent and\/or by the many people of Asian descent living all over the globe.<\/p>\n

It gives you a competitive edge.<\/h3>\n

People who go into international relations and business can usually benefit from knowing an additional language, period, especially if it’s a language they can use to communicate with potential business partners. Some Asian countries in particular, like Japan and China, have a huge economic and media influence in the world today.<\/p>\n

You have a personal connection to the language.<\/h3>\n

For many people, a fondness for or direct connection to a certain Asian culture sparks the desire to learn a language. Language can open the door to travel<\/a>, communication with native speakers, the ability to enjoy books<\/a> and film firsthand, and more.<\/p>\n

Maybe you have friends who are Vietnamese and you would love to be able to speak with them in Vietnamese. Maybe you’re fascinated by Indian literature and would like to read it in the original. Maybe your parents, grandparents or other relatives are from China and you want to travel there with them someday (or eavesdrop on their conversations).<\/p>\n

It enriches your travel experiences.<\/h3>\n

Learning a language spoken in any country you’re visiting, even a little bit, can enrich the overall experience. In addition, while traveling, you get to help others who don’t know the local language, so if you’re interested in traveling in Asia, it may be time to hit the books!<\/p>\n

Suppose you’re in a grocery store in Tokyo, and you see a fellow English speaker struggling to communicate with the cashier in Japanese. If you speak Japanese, you have the ability to help out both parties. It’s a great advantage anywhere to know the commonly spoken language(s), and it’s a great feeling to be able to help someone else.<\/p>\n

It enhances your appreciation of different Asian cultures.<\/h3>\n

Language sensitivity <\/strong>is another advantage, and also just something important for anyone to consider. To some English speakers who aren’t as familiar with Asian languages or cultures in general, Asian languages can seem similar to one another. If this is the case for you, once you’ve studied even a little of one Asian language, such as Korean (which is actually a language isolate<\/a>), it becomes obvious how different it is from, say, Japanese or Lao.<\/p>\n

Not only can this save you from embarrassing mistakes and save the Asian people around you from having to deal with those mistakes, but it can also enhance your appreciation for the differences between Asian cultures.<\/p>\n

You enjoy the popular culture of that language.<\/h3>\n

Learning an Asian language can give you a chance to fully enjoy the popular culture of that language\u00a0no matter where you are. For example, maybe you like to listen to K-pop or J-pop. More and more people globally are listening to and enjoying pop music from Asia.<\/p>\n

Which Asian Language Should You\u00a0Learn?<\/h2>\n

There is no obvious answer to this question. Your reasons for committing to a particular Asian language may be personal or purely practical, but if you’re unsure or stuck between two or more languages, here are a couple of factors to consider that may help you make up your mind.<\/p>\n

How many people in the world speak the language?<\/h3>\n

Hindi has around 490 million total speakers while Korean only has 71 million, so if you’re looking to choose a language that will simply allow you to communicate with the greatest number of people, Hindi would win out over Korean.<\/p>\n

However, the consideration of this factor also works in the other direction. If your objective isn’t simply to communicate with a lot of people but to specialize career-wise, you may be better off going with a lesser-known language.<\/p>\n

For example, if you’re going to be a translator and want to lock down an in-demand language pair, you may want to look around job boards to see if any of the languages you’re interested in are in high demand to be translated into English (or another language you know to a native level).<\/p>\n

What is the nature of the written language?<\/h3>\n

In Japan, for example, there are two phonetic alphabets<\/a>, hiragana and katakana, along with kanji, a written form that uses Chinese characters. All these forms are used daily. So, because Japanese has a more involved writing system, it may not be the most appealing or practical language for you to learn\u2014depending on your interests, desires, abilities and other factors, of course.<\/p>\n

If the multiple Japanese writing systems seem intimidating, you may want to go with Vietnamese, Thai or Korean, as these all have one main writing system that’s relatively simple.<\/p>\n

Tips and Tricks to Approach Your Asian Language Learning<\/h2>\n

Take advantage of online learning resources.<\/h3>\n
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  • OpenCulture<\/a><\/strong> is a website that links you to free language classes online, and will also link you to movies, music and textbooks. For Asian language learners, OpenCulture has courses in Khmer (Cambodian)<\/strong>, Mandarin\u00a0Chinese<\/strong>, Hindi<\/strong>, Indonesian<\/strong>, Japanese<\/strong>, Korean<\/strong>, Lao, Russian,<\/strong>\u00a0Tagalog<\/strong>, Thai<\/strong> and Vietnamese<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • \"FluentU<\/a><\/div> FluentU <\/a><\/strong>is a language immersion app and website that offers authentic videos in the language you want to learn. For Asian languages, FluentU currently offers courses in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian<\/strong>.

    FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

    <\/p>\r\n

    You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

    P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n \"FluentU\r\n

    \r\n