which language to take?

<p>Do Latin - and Greek, if you can. It's an amazing way to get an insight into the way language works, into some fascinating cultural history (learning about great battles and reading some of the foundation of Western culture from the beginning, rather than "I went to the store.") Plus, Latin/Greek kids tend to be a very fun, close, eccentric bunch. And yes, it does help for college.</p>

<p>Do Latin - and Greek, if you can. It's an amazing way to get an insight into the way language works, into some fascinating cultural history (learning about great battles and reading some of the foundation of Western culture from the beginning, rather than "I went to the store.") Plus, Latin/Greek kids tend to be a very fun, close, eccentric bunch. And yes, it does help for college.</p>

<p>Keyleme's son studying Arabic this summer. I find that very intriguing and also timely, given the state of world affairs. Haven't officially weighed in on the Chinese/Latin debate. My S is will have completed 8 years of French by next yrs graduation. I'm sure he'll welcome a change.</p>

<p>Old-timer, Latin, has a narrow lead over the rookie, Chinese. The 2 point spread that Latin currently enjoys really puts the race in a statistical dead heat. Will Latin cinch the nomination in the next contest? Will the many undecided voters put their confidence in the largely unproven challenger? Or, will it come down to a closed door meeting of superdelegates in September?</p>

<p>It is truly dismaying to see so many people reflexively wanting to study Chinese. Chinese is a far more difficult language to learn than Spanish, German, French, Italian or Latin. Chinese (Mandarin) is spoken essentially in one country, and not even all Chinese people speak it. There are several other languages spoken in different regions of China. </p>

<p>There are only two global languages--English and French--spoken as native languages on all continents. French and English are the only languages taught as foreign languages in every country. Spanish is spoken in Spain and in almost all of Central and Latin America. French is spoken in more than 50 countries around the world. German and Italian are still very important languages in Europe. </p>

<p>If you look at economic reasons to learn a language. The #1 by far US trading partner is Canada where French is an official language. The Canadian province of Quebec by itself is the 6th trading partner of the US. France and Germany are in the top 5, too. </p>

<p>If you think Chinese is going to take over the world economically, do some research. They are in the process of destroying their own (and perhaps the world's) environment in their quest for economic power. This will one day come back to haunt them. The one child policy and overwhelming preference for male children is creating a population imbalance that no one truly knows the consequences of. What will happen socially when a third of men cannot find wives. The standard of living of the general Chinese population is low. </p>

<p>If you want to have a market for American goods, who will be more likely to buy more? Chinese or Canadians/French/Germans? It is great for outsourcing manufacturing cheaply, but not for consumer goods. Even if they had the income, why would they buy expensive American goods when they can make their own more cheaply?</p>

<p>In short, you should base your choice on facts and personal preferences, not what everyone "says" or the latest fad language.</p>

<p>1) What is your family heritage? Would you like to learn the language of your ancestors?
2) What are your career plans? Future doctors/lawyers can still find Latin useful. If your going for opera, French, Italian or German would be good. If you are going into law enforcement, social work, medical services, Spanish may prove useful. In engineering, French or German are good choices.<br>
3) What are your personal preferences? Are you fascinated by a particular area of the world / culture ?
4) Do you just like the sound of a particular language?</p>

<p>Understand that the non-European languages will take longer to achieve the same level of mastery as you might achieve in French/Spanish/German/Italian/Latin. </p>

<p>One idea. If you've never done a language, start with a European language. You will learn quickly. It will reinforce your English skills. And you will learn how to learn a language. Then it will be much easier to pick up a second, more difficult language like Arabic, Mandarin, or Hindi.</p>

<p>Well put, Tango.</p>

<p>Agree with you, tango14 (although the china part is kind of heavy).</p>

<p>I vote for Chinese. Not only will you learn the most-spoken language on the planet, but you'll probably also learn a lot about their culture. I'm all for exposing my kids to something non-Euro-centric to broaden their worldview.</p>

<p>More and more schools across the US and the world are adding Chinese to their curriculum. You can even take AP exams now in Mandarin. </p>

<p>Mandarin is the number 2 foreign language choice in Europe (after English) now.</p>

<p>wow... this is such a hrad decision, and thanks again for such thoughtful responses!</p>

<p>I think Tango beat me to it, but in terms of international accessibility and widespread understanding, French is the clear winner. </p>

<p>Learning a language at this stage is really not an issue of career readiness or anything, it is more for your own academic enrichment. If you learn how to study language in high school, you will be more accustomed to learning more languages, especially at the college level and beyond. </p>

<p>So, I think you should study the language in high school for which you have the most enthusiasm and for the cultures represented by it. For many of my friends, that language was German, for others, Chinese. Just don't pick a language at this stage because you feel that its the most useful. Its hard to see that far in the future.</p>

<p>Since China is the fastest growing country in the world, it's safe to assume that in a few decades, Chinese will be a language as commonly spoken as French, or perhaps even English. Being Chinese and living in Beijing, China, I've seen how fast China is growing, plus I am slightly ethnocentric, so I would definitely pick Chinese. I already know it anyways, and speak "chinglish" all the time (to friends who know Chinese/parents).</p>

<p>So basically, if you are ever thinking about a future in global relations/international trade/whatever, then Chinese might be good for you. If you like learning a lot of [romantic] languages, go for Latin, since most romantic languages are the same and learning two will help you easily master the others.</p>

<p>Plus the Chinese population is 20% of the world, so if there's ever WWIII, then knowing Chinese might be able to get you out of some tight situations :o</p>

<p>tango ur view is too western</p>

<p>Tango's view is not too Western if he(she) IS Western and views education as learning about why HIS world is the way that it is. Though Asia may very well have a continuing and profound influence on the West, it has not shaped us into the nation that we today. Our government was not modeled on Eastern prototypes.</p>

<p>It seems like where I live, there are a lot of Hispanics. Well, not my town....but the cities of the Northeast, and I believe many large cities. I think if anyone is considering a career in healthcare or any public service position, Spanish is almost a necessity.</p>

<p>I just took a look at sample AP exam questions for Japanese and Chinese (available @ College Board's AP website). They are pretty hard. I wonder how many high school students start as beginners and attain AP 4 or 5 levels before they graduate. Anyone here have experience with these exams?</p>

<p>i am sticking with spanish. it is the language i have taken since sixth grade. i have been to spain and would like to visit more spanish speaking countries. however, boarding school is a good time to try an entirely new language. i will probably take three years of spanish then one year of another language. maybe latin.</p>

<p>I have a friend who got 4 at AP Chinese. She is American Born Chinese and went to Chinese school every Sunday since she was 7. Her parents speak Chinese at home and watch Chinese channels. She told me the writing part is so difficult.
Most of other junior (or senior) in our HS got 2 or 3 in AP Chinese.</p>

<p>My son's best friend took Japanese at Andover and it was always his lowest grade and drove him nuts. He's actually living in Japan, now.</p>

<p>China is getting strong but most of the people live outside the big city is so poor and lack of education. Even you got a 5 AP Chinese, you can't communicate with them, they speak different dialect, not Mandarin. Mandarin is only for big cities.</p>

<p>If someone wants to do business in China, you really don't need to read or write fluent Chinese, a basic would be enough. The businessmen in China know how to speak English.</p>

<p>All of the languages offered in American BS's are worthy of your time and effort - so study the language of the people and places that interest you most. This will serve you best in the long run!</p>

<p>And if at all possible, study some Latin as well - for a deeper understanding of language in general.</p>

<p>If you become fluent in a second language ( or already are) , it may be easier to learn yet another language, if desired. If you like, you can become a polyglot.:)</p>