My son is in the Air Force, and will be transferred to a base in Okinawa this summer. So he plans to learn Japanese.

My niece now teaches French at UC Berkeley, and she is mastering Italian as well. She loves teaching but is considering working for one of the several multi-national companies that have contacted her.

Interesting question that prompts me to ask one that I have wondered about for probably 60 years since I first heard the suggestion to study Latin.

If one wants to become a specialist studying ancient history, then it makes sense to study Latin and Greek, and probably some other dead or mostly-dead languages. But why else? It’s commonly said that learning Latin can help with learning other Romance languages, but why not just learn those languages? Picking one like French or Spanish and learning it will help just as much when deciding to branch out to another language, but we will have also learned something useful in the process. Learning French when my father was stationed there didn’t make trying to learn Portuguese and Spanish later a snap, but I’m pretty sure knowing a bit of French helped as much as knowing Latin would have.

Latin is also touted as being useful for certain fields like medicine, but that’s something else I’ve never understood. The days when doctors learned Latin as much to discuss their patients among themselves without being understood by the lay people are long past. As for the vocabulary, that’s something that can be learned just like any other words without going through the process of learning a completely new language with its grammar and countless words that doctors would never use or need to understand. Besides, I found that by really learning English well, it’s possible to understand many Latin terms. I didn’t have to study Latin to learn that the prefix “bi” means two whether it’s part of the word bicycle or bicuspid.

I will also point out that having been taught French was a help later when trying to get through Korean language school because it had already exposed me to learning different vocabulary, pronunciations, and grammar. There was no similarity between those elements in Korean and French, but I was already accustomed to the different thought processes necessary.

As for the original thread question, it clearly depends on what one intends to do with one’s life. An aspiring Special Forces soldier could do much worse than learning Arabic. On the other hand, someone who would like a career in local government in the southwestern states would benefit from learning Spanish. Many other languages would be of less value unless one plans to move to the country and work there.

I have known some folks over the years who have command of multiple languages, and have immense admiration for the ability. Some folks have the gift, and I do not. A lot of German was spoken where I grew up, I got straight A's in French in High School, and became pretty fluent in Thai when I lived there, but have lost most of it over time due to disuse. I know enough now to recognize the languages when I hear them spoken, and can still order like a boss in a Thai restaurant, but otherwise don't have them at my command. I tried to learn some Spanish when we traveled to Spain a few years ago but just couldn't get motivated, maybe it was my age. Based on my personal experience of losing languages from disuse, I would recommend Spanish for my grandkids, due to the likelihood they will have frequent practical use for it, especially here in Florida.

He should choose the one that will be the must useful to him. Since Spanish is the second language here in America, I voted for Spanish.

Spanish or French

(i took several years of German and Latin in high school and college)

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quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Spanish is going to be by far the most practical if they plan to live in the US. I grew up in Europe and once upon a time was fluent in Czech, but it's been almost 20 years since I've lived there and there aren't many opportunities to use it in the rural midwest, nor is it practical. I speak a little Spanish...I wish I spoke more. I actually need it very frequently at work, and not knowing it well enough ofen makes things harder than they need to be. Sometimes I blend it together with my Czech, too, which doesn't help.

And how many places do you need Czech outside of the two Czech-speaking nations?

Spending a lot of time in the PNW, and finding that even the streetcars in Portland have robot voices telling you to get off on the right or left in Spanish, I'd say that the choice, for somebody intending to stay in the USA, is obvious.

My kids are currently learning English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese. I've taught my daughter some German as well.

I live in Houston, so Spanish was the easy answer.
I took 3 years in HS & 3 semesters in college, but rarely use it, so I'm pretty rusty.

Spanish. They are running Spanish spoken TV commercials now.
If a career path is military, Arabic might be a good choice.

Spanish definitely. For a second language, it would depend on what you want for work, or where to travel.

For travel, I would go with Italian. For ME work, probably Arabic or Farsi (Persian).
I had great difficulty learning French in HS, but found travel in Mexico made learning the language relatively easy.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Chinese for the business, trade, and job potential, but probably the most difficult. Next Spanish which is much easier.

For a native English speaker, Korean and Finnish are considered the most difficult. Mandarin is close though.

It really depends. Introductory Latin followed by a Latin based language is what I experienced, and it worked out pretty well. I can communicate pretty well in Spanish and French, and do OK in Italian as a result.

The biggest question is what is your goal with studying a language?

Mandarin. Doubly so for my little one, because she's 50% Chinese and knowing Mandarin will be necessary for her to enjoy her family relationships to the fullest.

Spanish so then i will know if my servants are making fun out of me.

Spanish or, Mandarin.

With Spanish you cover just about the entire Western Hemisphere , its also a Latin-based language so, with a basic understanding of it, you can easily pick-up or, at the very least function in areas that also speak Italian and French.

The other option would be Mandarin Chinese if he plans on getting into business, supply chain management, manufacturing or, tech that'd be the best choice. While the points of friction are warming up between China and the Western World, the reality is that a 1/5th of the world speaks it and interaction with mainland China is only increasing.

German isn't bad, you'll pick up some familiarity with Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages, its just not widely spoken or, prevalent outside of those home areas.

On second thought, successful command of the Kings English would be acceptable and welcome.

I speak decent Japanese and German. I studied both formally and also lived in Japan and Germany for quite a few years, both growing up and as a working adult. I haven't found either language all that useful outside of those countries though. When I was in the Coast Guard, Spanish and Mandarin interpreters seemed to be the most in demand. I'd probably pick one of them if I had to learn a new language.

I picked French. My 9&10 year old kids are fluent from us spending 5 years living in France.
Much of the decision lies in what one wants to do later in life. I know many comments here have been that it is not a useful language, but in reality French is used widely on several continents. It's also a latin based language, so figuring out SAT level English words has been easy for my kids because they know what the root or similar entire work is in French.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

With Spanish you cover just about the entire Western Hemisphere , its also a Latin-based language so, with a basic understanding of it, you can easily pick-up or, at the very least function in areas that also speak Italian and French.

I would question that, based on a sample size of one. While living and working in Spain, I tried to help a young woman from France, who was asking for directions. Her only language was French, so we did not have English in common. My Spanish did not help at all. Kind of frustrating.

Most of the Spanish dudes (and dudettes) I worked with were fluent in French, and most of them were very comfortable reading, writing, and speaking at least three or four languages.