Which Language Should a Book Lover Learn? 10 Literary Traditions Ranked

Subscribe to my free newsletter: https://substack.com/@benjaminlairdbo... The Reading Room Book Club: https://substack.com/@benjaminlairdbooks Browse my recommended books: https://bookshop.org/shop/benjaminlai... Which language should a book lover learn? In this video, I rank ten languages by the literary worlds they open up—and by how useful they can be beyond books. I consider literary range and depth, influence, what you gain from reading in the original, usefulness today, and the time it takes to learn. English would rank near the top for both global and literary usefulness, but I’ve left it out since most viewers already speak it. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 1:33 Language 10 — Portuguese 3:26 Language 9 — Arabic 5:41 Language 8 — Ancient Greek 8:17 Language 7 — Latin 10:14 Language 6 — German 12:44 Language 5 — Italian 14:41 Language 4 — Japanese 17:39 Language 2 — Russian 21:08 Language 2 — Spanish 25:04 Language 1 — French 28:12 Honorable mentions 29:04 Conclusion Which language would you choose? Affiliate disclosure: I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through my Bookshop.org links, at no additional cost to you. #Literature #LanguageLearning #WorldLiterature #Books