Thinking about learning a language but it seems like a waste of time when i can just read more books in-staed
It's really just a correlation/causation mistake. Smart people tend to speak several languages. Retards tend to be monolingual. Therefore plebs think that learning a language will increase their mental faculties. Unless you're still in your early teens, there's virtually nothing learning another language will do for you other than allow you to appreciate some literary works on a deeper level.
>>9186117
In some cases it will also allow you to read stuff period.
"Everything important has been translated" is a meme, and you realize this as soon as you start delving a bit deeper in whatever your field of interest is (be it literary or technical).
I think you should learn at least one other language, because in the process of learning a new language, you gain many insights into your own. Beyond that I don't see the point.
The regular memorization exercises it requires will do wonders for your memory.
That for me has been the principle mental benefit
During the past centuries many writers used to know several languages, but if you think about it, it was primarily for practical purposes. During the Renaissance they knew Latin because it was the official language for international correspondence, as well as the language of the Church and bureaucracy. Not so different from knowing English today. Later people started learning Italian because of the Grand Tour along the peninsula, and then French, because it was the new official language for politics and international diplomacy. Take the Savoia: they were one of the main families of the Italian aristocracy, later to become the Royal family, and they helped a lot in achieving the unification – but, ironically, they spoke French. If you go back to the 18th and 19th century, you see intellectuals actually read translations. Nietsche's work spread throughout Italy thanks to French translations, people read Russian novels both in French or German, and the ancient Greeks both in Latin or Italian. Russian in particular has never been a language of necessity: intellectuals who knew it (few) were primarily interested in its literature. And, last but not least, intellectuals and writers at the time were mostly born in rich families and most likely they had a lot of free time to study languages because they didn't have to work. This should be sufficient to make you understand that learning a language is first of all a matter of utility or keen interest
>>9186096
I don't know, it seems the more languages I know the more easily confused I get. Opens more options. Up to you to decide whether that's something you want.