Benissimo! Excited to say that Italian is coming to Duolingo next Tuesday :)
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Right now, they are just doing Romantic and Germanic languages, because they have experts in those areas. Since Arabic is not in the Romantic or Germanic language group, they will have to hire another staff member for it, which would put this off for a while (they are hiring for a Chinese master right now at http://duolingo.com/#/jobs, and they have no due date on Chinese). So, in order to offer Arabic, they will have to hire an Arabic master, which will take a while, and then it will be a few more months before they have Arabic (and they don't even have a position for Arabic master on their jobs board).
Germanic languages? I would like to learn Dutch and Scandinavian languages next
I'd like to see Dutch come soon too. I'm hoping by the time I learn French it might be on the cards, but I know there are more popular languages being asked for.
This is fantastic. Now I do wish that i would have more time to learn them. Do you plan to start teaching also russian?
The chances of them offering Latin are slim, because since it is a dead language there is little content on the web in Latin.
Latin is not dead, it lingers in many of our modern-day languages. Just because it's not spoken as an official language anywhere today doesn't make it an invalid language to learn. I'm proud to say that I'm studying Latin, and it helps me in understanding modern-day Romance languages (which are among the most popular). Sure, Latin isn't VITAL, but that doesn't make it invalid.
Do you reckon you could do an Asian language next? Like Chinese or Japanese or something
I saw on one of the news releases that Italian and Mandarin Chinese were next on the list. I did wonder if Mandarin would use Pinyin or use actually character inputs. If they used characters I also wondered if they would use Simplified or Traditionally characters. Possibly a choice between the two? Exciting stuff!
Pinyin is SO much easier and there are many people who just want to speak it
True, but don't forget that Duolingo is all about translating the web. It would be more useful to teach us the standard script, even though the large number of characters will make this a challenge. So, I'm curious to see how they will implement Mandarin Chinese.
My guess is that the Chinese characters would be accompanied by their pinyin pronunciation. Instead of paying money for the product, we translate text, so unless there are pages of pinyin text out there waiting to be translated, I don't see why it would be commercially viable for them to offer just pinyin.
Is there any chance of adding some actual teaching to the existing languages (notably French) before expanding further? I honestly feel like I'm just memorising set phrases without any real reason or rhyme as to what's going on grammatically.
I believe this is what they're going for. You pick it up slowly as you go along.
Then why do all the other languages come with grammar notes and actual teachings?
Oh great! I barely have time for Spanish and I KNOW I'm going to want to study Italian!
WOOO! Awesome - I am still waiting for asian languages, but I 100% support and am happy about this news! :)
Nice! I came here after months of not to check if Italian was coming out soon! What timing! So excited to get working, which is why I'm using so many exclamation points!
Russian next please please please! It is the 5th most spoken language after all!
Beta? Your Portuguese beta has a way to go, so I hope you'll continue to improve it. I'd like to learn Italian too eventually, and of course other languages.
Yeah, I really hope there not spreading themselves to thin. I've been having a hard time with all the errors in the Portuguese beta. I think they should concentrate on improving the current languages before they add more.
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I agree. I don't want to underestimate their effort and the great results achieved, but probably it's time to consolidate a little. The platform is impressive but needs refining
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It is 2am ET, the folks at Duolingo, contrary to popular belief, do need sleep...
haha that is true. Its dinner time here in Australia. So maybe ill have to wait til wednesday
I have no idea why, but I am another impatient Aussie. I don't think a day will make much difference in the long run, but still we keep checking the status... Duolingo is dangerously addictive.
I'm like you. Anxiously checking this morning at 7:20 ET waiting for the west coast to be up and launching Italian!
Awesome! That'll be next for me after German. How's the Android app coming along?
I'm currently learning it. I started around March of this year. I'm picking it up extremely fast though. Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?
No, it's extremely easy. Within a month you should have a really good grasp on the grammar. After that, it's all about building your vocabulary. That isn't really hard since most of the words have Latin roots. Like everything though, you have to put in the effort. You should give it a try. :)
Demasiadas gracias, no me puedo esperar a que salga Italiano. I'm so stoked on this site!
yay! I just signed up and was a little sad there wasn't italian because I am trying to learn italian and spanish.
No! I was waiting for Mandarin! Any non-Germanic/Romance language would be pretty cool. Nonetheless thanks for all the great work, I love Duolingo!
I'm pretty sure it is today but it is a time zone difference for many of us. Waiting for the Duolingo guys to be up and launching it.
I think they should NOT add any other languages to be honest. They should just master their method and technology for the current languages that they have right now. Hell, Portuguese is still in Beta. They have their hands full, I'm sure! Gracias e obrigado Duolingo. Eu te amo ;)
LeviLingo, I agree with that. Diving into Chinese or Japanese is a huge challenge. Both, with learning design and technologically. Learning design: An Asian language is not just another language. it is ANOTHER language. Completely different. The approach as Duolingo does it with romance languages might be unhelpful when learning Chinese. Technological: Getting all the character support in the computer systems can be a major hassle. So I think you are right with suggesting, Duolingo should improve the learning level and experience of the languages they offer now. Keep ahead of the competition.
