<p>economics? german/japanese/chinese, the three best for business or spanish just out of practicality in america, though i don paticurally like it</p>
<p>I refuse to learn spanish so I'll probably stick with German. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Ja, deutsch ist besser als Spanisch,</p>
<p>i was just looking up most spoken languages and _ "malay"-indonesian_ seems to be up there. It seems cool because you can speak it in with tribes in Australia too (maybe for the aspiring Anthropologists... :) ) Anyone know anyone that speaks it?</p>
<p>I plan to start taking Mandarin my freshman year. I have taken 7 years of French and want something new :)</p>
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<p>I would say Chinese and Spanish. If you learn Mandarin Chinese, you can also decipher Japanese script b/c there are many chinese words used, and also spoken mandarin has more phoenes(spelling?) than Japanese so if you master Mandarin and then try japanese it would be easier than if you learned Japanese first then Mandarin.</p>
<p>Would latin and german be good choices for economics?</p>
<p>A couple of things I wanted to point out (many of which have already been mentioned, but which are important enough to warrant reiteration)</p>
<p>1) Learning a language is SO much more than just taking a few years of it in college. I know so many people who have studied languages in both high school and college that really don't have any degree of proficiency. If you want to learn a language you really have to be an active participant and use it often. Showing up to class and doing homework isn't going to get you anywhere. </p>
<p>2) That being said, unless you are prepared to spend the time to reach a very high level of fluency in another language, it probably doesn't make much sense to take the language at all if you hope to use it for business purposes, etc. In most countries English is mandatory throughout high school, and most people that do any kind of international business are going to have a very high degree of fluency, so chances are they are going to be able to speak English better than you can speak their native tongue. </p>
<p>3) Which language to take (if any) does not--and probably should not--be a decision based solely on pragmatic reasons. You are going to be much more engaged with the subject matter, and thus advance more quickly and be more likely to stick with it than if you're just taking it because it might be useful in some future career.</p>
<p>well said, very well said, the best way to learn is not memorization, if you conjugate a verb, but them into sentinces by thinking through your head, making sure you are correct, i havent learned a single verb/pronoun any other way</p>
<p>I am currently studying French and Italian. I plan to eventually get back into Spanish. I would like to learn Latin on my own. I am obviously partial to Romance languages. I also plan to study Hungarian because I need it for my major (not Hungarian per se but out of the other languages I can choose from to fulfill this requirment, I like it the best). Would also love to learn Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, German, and Basque.</p>
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<p>BC, why do you refuse to learn Spanish?</p>
<p>bonafide20, I studied Romanian for a year in Bucharest and it's a lovely language... Not as useful as others, though.</p>
<p>Spanish is too commonplace for me and I refuse to accept the idea that I have to learn another language to speak to citizens (or illegals) in my own country.
I'll stick with Latin.</p>
<p>America is a melting pot. Deal with it.</p>
<p>So are several other countries (e.g. - Canada, UK, Australia, France, Brazil, etc.), but they still manage to assimilate immigrants, even linguistically.</p>
<p>And you'll find that in Canada, immigrants of the Muslim faith, as well as natural born citizens, are attempting to institule Islamic law and courts in Canada. Also, if you've ever been to Vancouver, you'll find that many people are speaking Mandarin or Cantonese. You'll find in France that African languages is growing in prominence in the South especially because of the influx of Algerians. And on and on...</p>
<p>I have a question: Do most Canadians (non-recent immigrants) speak English and French, does one predominate over the other?</p>
<p>My point was that it is great that America is a melting pot. But it is still America. For me to accept immigrants, they must assimilate. I will not adapt my language around theirs, if they want to enjoy the privileges and immunities of our country, at least learn the language.</p>
<p>In Quebec, French is the dominant language. Out of Quebec, you'll find that English is more predominate over the other.</p>
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<p>eiffelguy, what you've said about Canada may be true. If it is, it is certainly a phenomenon I don't like. In Europe, especially in the UK and France, I have found that assimilation works quite well. As a result, cultural minorities are not marginalised as they often are in this country. </p>
<p>I am all for large immigration, but I also feel that immigrants should (to a point) be expected to assimilate into society.</p>