Is there any benefit in learning Pali or Sanskrit? Much of the Theravadan scriptures are written in Pali, so are a lot manuscripts written in Sanskrit, but is there any benefit in learning these languages while the Canon is already translated in other languages i.e. English?

Also:


Should one learn Pali or Sanskrit first?
Should one put effort in learning to speak Pali/Sanskrit (if that is possible)?
There absolutely is value in learning either Pali or Sanskrit (and I'd stick to the one for the lineage you are practicing - Theravada = Pali, Mahayana in general = Sanskrit).  You don't have to become fluent, but it is extremely helpful knowing a good deal of the vocabulary.  There are certain words that just don't translate well into English or just don't have any English equivalent.  I think this is especially true for the meditation terminology - especially mental factors and phenomenology.  To give you an example from Pali, the word pīti is a condition that arises during mediation.  It is often translated as "rapture", but I don't think this really gets at it (bright joy?  I don't know.  Something like that.)  The point is, if you read that word just as "rapture", you miss out on the full meaning of the concept.  Translated texts put you at one remove from those subtle nuances.  And really, it's the concepts we're worried about in our practice; poorly translated words lead you away from that core essence.

Don't learn to speak it though - that's a total waste of time!