<p>Well I am considering to take a second language as a Junior (I am already taking Spanish) and I was thinking of taking French. French is on my list of like 8 languages I would like to learn before I die :D but I was wondering how useful it would be. I am interested in majoring in something like International Relations/Government and Politics/History. Another language I would love to learn is Chinese and Arabic which are at the top of my list though are not offered at my school.</p>
<p>I was wondering whether I should just take French I class, probably do well in it, or self study Chinese or Arabic, or maybe try doing both? So maybe by the end of high school I will know/learning 3 languages plus English.</p>
<p>What do youguys think? Is French as useful to international politics as Chinese or Arabic would be?</p>
<p>Pretty much no. But it sounds nice, and you get to watch good movies and read Les Mis without the translation, and if you're a guy girls think it's romantic. See if you can take Chinese or Arabic at a local CC - both of them will be much more useful and could take the place of the extra workload French would give you.</p>
<p>French is widely spoken and understood throughout the European continent and Quebec. Plus, being a romance language, it will be easier for you to learn since you're already taking Spanish.
Chinese? Yeah, whatever. And where exactly, besides ordering the poo-poo platter at the neighborhood Golden China Cafe, do you plan to use this Chinese?
Arabic? I would heartily endorse learning it. Americans will only understand the Arab world when more of them speak Arabic.
But taking French makes the most sense. It's still widely used in international business, whereas Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Arabic are more country-specific.</p>
<p>I agree with shoe66. Chinese and Arabic are useful, but self-studying? Seriously? That's intense..I mean, they're characters..not the most self-studying friendly thing (in my opinion). I'd take French. But then again I'm biased, so...</p>
<p>I don't agree with Olive_Tree, I think (s)he might be speaking from personal bias because I know for certain that French used to be an international language, much like English is today. A lot of countries use it, so it definitely is pretty useful. I think it is definitely more useful than Arabic, plus much easier, but I'm not sure about Chinese. I don't know how widespread that language is, but its probably a good one if you want to go into business. Any language is if you want to go into business.</p>
<p>Arabic, Russian, German, and probably Chinese are all more useful than French. Arabic/Russian from a foreign policy/intelligence standpoint, German b/c Germany has a larger impact on the global economy than France; more companies here in the United States have headquarters in Germany than France. As for the 'prestige language' and 'Francophoine' BS, a lot of that is smoke and mirrors.</p>
<p>Add Hindi to the above as more useful--India is becoming a force in Asia, militarily, politically, and economically. Yes, I know that not all Indians speak Hindi, but it is prevalent in the most prosperous areas of the country.</p>
<p>That being said, I'll probably have to take French someday (being a prospective linguistics major)</p>
<p>How do all you nay-sayers explain that most schools, if they offer minimal choices in foreign language (like mine) usually offer just French and Spanish? Why not Chinese and Spanish, or Russian and Arabic or Hindi and German?</p>
<p>It is harder to find instructors for most of the latter languages. Very few American-born citizens speak Chinese. Plus, the exclusive offering of French and Spanish is a bit of a holdover from a time when French was more useful. Just because you can't find a class for a language at your high school does not mean that it is not useful. As an example, multivariable calculus and discrete mathematics are extremely good topics to learn, but they are not offered at most high schools either. </p>
<p>It basically comes down to limited funding for foreign language programs in many high schools, plus teacher availability.</p>
<p>Remember guys, I'm interested in international politics, not business! (I just used business as an example to show how a language like German was important there).</p>
<p>But anyways, lots of different opinions here its hard to sort out. I would tend to agree that Arabic and Chinese is more important now, just like Russian would have been important a few decades ago to learn, just because much of our foreign policy is and will be focused in those regions. </p>
<p>Though I have one empty period, and French is my only option (there's Italian, but I'm not interested in that). So I can take French I, and possibly learn some it French this year, and then maybe learn Chinese or Arabic a different way... </p>
<p>I also wonder whether it would be possible to learn French for 1 year and be ready to pass SAT II's? Afterall, French is easier to learn since its the same roman alphabet, plus, very similar to Spanish, and many words come from French. </p>
<p>Also, what might be too much in terms of language, do you think learning French, Spanish, and then possibly Arabic or Chinese might be too much to handle, among other school stuff, and EC's etc? </p>
<p>Another point to note is that this would be for just one year, since I am unsure whether my packed schedule next year (Senior year) would permit taking French again. So I would get only as far as French I.</p>
<p>I highly doubt you'll be able to take French for only one year and get a decent score (600+) on the SAT II, unless you have a lot of prior experience with another romance language. Oh wait, you're taking Spanish. You should might be able to skip French 1 if you study on your own a little bit and place into a higher French, but mind you it'll be a lot of work. I wouldn't take the French SAT II untill you've passed or learned the equivient at least level 3 or 4.</p>
<p>Hmm, good points Thanol, though I think its a little too late to study a little on my own no? Since school already started and the option to switch to a French I class is right before me... what do you suggest?</p>
<p>International politics is a far-off dream. Not a goal you just achieve after you graduate. In the realm of practicality and general usefulness, Chinese and Arabic outweigh them.</p>
<p>Do you have any idea how desired Chinese and Arabic speakers are right now in our expanding world? The demand is tremendous, and the supply is tiny. MILLIONS of kids take French in high school.</p>
<p>Great points BandTenHut, I didn't consider the actual demand in terms of jobs. I'm particularly interested in foreign service for America, like in the state department (that's my goal). But that's a great point about Chinese and Arabic being in demand.</p>
<p>Then maybe my plan should be this:</p>
<p>Just take 1 year of French (since I wont be taking it next year) because its better then just taking an un-related elective... and then make plans to potentially self study or learn Chinese/Arabic in a CC/Online Course/Self Study?</p>
<p>Who knows, by the time I graduate college I might know 6 languages... lol haha. I would hope so!</p>
<p>I still say that French is just as useful as Chinese and Arabic, if not more so, in politics. It used to be the official language of the UN! That's international politics right there!</p>
<p>"used to be the official language of the UN" most of your points about French are irrelevant to today's world. At one time, French was a major language in terms of international diplomacy and trade. But times change; today the study of French is an overrated sham of its former self. </p>
<p>A-San: if you want to go into anything related to international politics, I would reccomend Arabic wholeheartedly. Or even Russian or Chinese. Taking one year of high school French is probably a waste of time--in my school district, it doesn't even count as a language credit unless you take the class for at least two years. </p>
<p>One other note: out of all the major Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian), French is the most dissimilar to the norm. Spanish and Italian are almost mutually comprehensible; the same thing can't be said about French. Unlike most other Romance languages, it is not even phonetic in nature.</p>
<p>One more thing: Parisian French (the kind one learns in school) isn't prevalent throughout the entire Francophoine, or even all of France. Oh sure, its spoken basically everywhere in France, but German is widespread in the Alsace, Basque has a niche in the southwest, Breton (a language related to Welsh) is still spoken in parts of the western seaboard, Walloon (another Romance language) is spoken by many in the north near Belgium, Provencal (yet another Romance language) is used widely in the southeast.</p>
<p>As for the rest of the 'Francophoine,' a Parisian and a Quebecois trying to have a conversation in French will quickly dispel the notion that only one strain of French is spoken in French-speaking countries. Even in Europe, nations as close to France as Belgium and Switzerland use varying dialects of French. In France's former overseas colonies, French is sometimes maintained as an official language, but is often spoken by no more than two percent of the national population (that holds most true in parts of Africa). Note that this comment applies mostly to spoken French; written French is basically the same in all of these areas.</p>
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Chinese? Yeah, whatever. And where exactly, besides ordering the poo-poo platter at the neighborhood Golden China Cafe, do you plan to use this Chinese?
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<p>The U.S. sees China as a threat in the near future. China's economy is booming right now. Just because we're not engaged in a war over there does not mean we don't view them apprehensively.</p>
<p>To use your phrase, Americans will only understand China more when more of us speak their language.</p>
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I still say that French is just as useful as Chinese and Arabic, if not more so, in politics. It used to be the official language of the UN! That's international politics right there!
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<p>French is still an official U.N. language!</p>
<p>The way I see it is this. Every language is important, but that's not what A-San is asking about. He's asking about how useful some are in the context of international politics. Everybody here knows that the U.S. is currently the world's lone superpower. The U.S. views nations trying to increase their influence with suspicion. We need more people to study the languages of these nations.</p>
<p>Not only are they "hot" right now, but they are also far more difficult than Romance languages. The State Deparment classifies all the Romance languages as Category Ones; serious daily study for half a year results in proficiency. At the same level of intensity, It takes almost two years to attain that same level of proficiency in Arabic or Chinese.</p>