<p>I'm in the process of choosing my courses for next year and I was wondering what foreign languages I should. I'm definitely taking French, but I'm not sure what other language I should take. I really want to take two foreign languages, and my choices are Chinese, Latin, and Spanish. Spanish is very useful, but it's similar to French and I'm not sure how universities would view that. Latin is a "dead language" according to some people, but I think it's pretty cool and I've heard it helps with English. Chinese seems that it would be quite useful because over one billion people speak it, and I might go into business so that might be an advantage, although I've heard that most Chinese businessmen speak English.</p>
<p>Latin is supposed to be extremely hard, but it really depends on your teacher. Taking French might also be an advantage. Chinese is, in my opinion, probably the most useful out of your choices. It's also from very different roots than the other languages, so that can give you an edge.</p>
<p>Spanish would be most useful in the United States. Chinese would be most useful in China. Keep in mind that a billion people speak it in one country, not all over the world.</p>
<p>I say Latin (although I am biased). It definitely helps with difficult vocabulary.</p>
<p>Well, also keep in mind whether or not your Chinese teacher is any good at actually speaking Chinese! It's way easier to find Spanish or even Latin speakers than Chinese teachers (esp. in some areas of the country). Otherwise, I'd totally go for Chinese!</p>
<p>Latin's effect on the study of English is immesurable. My knowledge of English grammar and composition has increased dramatically since I began Latin in 9th grade. The vocabulary development is also great.</p>
<p>Honestly, unless your school is really serious about foreign languages, you won't learn passable Mandarin Chinese or Spanish in 2-3 years of high school study. I'm from Texas, and the kids learning Spanish in my school have light years to go before their Spanish would be comprehensive enough to carry on a decent conversation with one of the many Spanish-speakers in their own town.</p>
<p>In business, unless you're living in the Southwest, Mandarin would be most useful for the near future. Down here it is Spanish.</p>
<p>Latin is really useful if you're planning to learn other languages at any time. You really just study Latin to learn how to think and speak, rather than for its usefulness. It's much more theoretical than practical. But it really helps the study of any other language.</p>
<p>Jonathan, Latin was the language the Ancient Romans used. After the Fall of the Rome, the Latin language was getting more and more popular from Roman influence. Therefore, Latin is the root of which many modern languages are used today. If you take Spanish or Chinese, many of the roots in the words will be from Latin. Latin is a classical language, but is the basis of many modern languages.</p>
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After the Fall of the Rome, the Latin language was getting more and more popular from Roman influence. Therefore, Latin is the root of which many modern languages are used today.
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<p>Actually, I believe that during the Middle Ages [the period following the fall of Rome], Latin disintegrated and gave rise to the Romance Languages. Hence, the Middle Ages are often regarded as a period of relatively slower intellectual development because of the difficulties in communication that arose in Europe. This problem didn't exist in the Roman Empire; Latin was used throughout the empire. However, Latin does reemerge during the Renaissance as one of the dominant languages in Europe. </p>
<p>[Sorry, this is what little I know. I just wanted to point something out. :o]</p>
<p>ahem...thanks Chaos for getting technical and making me look stupid...but anyways...during the dark ages AFTER the Fall of Rome was when everyone BUT Rome was using the language. that's pretty much what i meant... :)</p>
<p>Latin is basically closely related to the common ancestral langauges of the Romance langauges. Spanish, French, Catalan, Portugese, Romanian, Romansh, Italian, and a whole other bunch of languages fall into the Romance langauge family. It's commonly said that Latin is their common ancestor, but it's actually Vulgar Latin (the langauge or soldiers, slaves, and basically the uneducated) which isn't the same as, but similar to Latin. Thus learning Latin or one of the Romance langauges facillitates the learning of a another. If you learn Latin and French, you could most likely self-study Spanish if you really wanted to.</p>
<p>Personally, I think having Latin and French under your belt would not only allow you to learn Spanish, or any other Romance language easier, but it would improve your English (largely in the vocabulary area). </p>
<p>Latin and French have both been lingua francae at a time, so there's a lot of history to apprciate with such knowledge. If you can master French, a whole new world of French philosopht and culture is open for you (but we're not here to argue this one). Latin also has it's place in the Roman Catholic Church, and many modern legal terms.</p>