When I was in high school, I made the decision to study French because I wanted to do international development work in Africa. Since France used to rule several African countries, millions of Africans speak French, and I knew that if I could speak French too, that might help me get a job. For some career fields, knowing a certain language can make you more employable or better at your job , and reminding yourself that your language skills could help with your future job search can provide an incentive to keep learning a foreign language.
This doesn't have to be a specific job; a broad career field is fine. Are you interested in business? Do you think you might want to study medicine? Below are five of the most popular foreign languages high school students study and some of the fields those languages are most used in. See if any of them match the type of job you'd like to have.
Having a future career in mind can help you choose which language to study. Because Spanish is spoken so widely in the United States, it is useful for many professions. It's particularly valuable for students planning to work in medicine or social work so they can assist people who cannot speak English but may need immediate help , people interested in doing service work in Central or South America, and those considering customer service jobs.
High school Spanish is a solid choice that many students take - you generally can't go wrong with this. Because many international organizations use French, it is most valuable for students planning careers in diplomacy or international relations, as well as those who would like to work in or with Africa.
Also, because Africa's economy has the potential to boom in the near future, French can be useful for business students looking to capitalize on the continent's growth. With China continuing its huge economic growth, many US businesses have operations in the country and are working with Chinese corporations, making Mandarin useful for students planning to study business.
Unlike the other languages in this list, Chinese is not written with the Roman alphabet, so it's an interesting challenge to learn as an English speaker. Germany has one of the world's largest economies, and the country is also a leader in scientific and technological innovations. Learning German would be most valuable for those planning to study banking, science, engineering, and publishing. If you're interested in science, German may be a good language to consider studying.
While there are no longer any native speakers of Latin, this language is still useful for those interested in careers in linguistics or students planning to learn multiple languages. Many words in the Romance languages come from Latin roots, and once you have mastered Latin, learning the Romance languages becomes a much quicker process. Remember, these are just suggestions. It's perfectly ok to take Mandarin even if you want to be a doctor or Latin if you plan on a career in business.
It's sticking with the language and getting closer to fluency that's most important. Remember when I mentioned being frustrated and bored while studying a foreign language? Having a genuine interest in the language will give you motivation to keep studying it, maybe even years after you graduate high school.
How do you know which language you'll find most interesting? Ask yourself the following questions:. An extinct language, by contrast, is one that no longer has any speakers or any written use.
Some languages are also called liturgical languages, because they continue to be used in religious contexts, or classical languages, which continue to be studied and read through a rich body of ancient literature. Greek, Latin, Chinese, Arabic, and Sanskrit are all considered classical languages. Some would even include Hebrew and French in that list. Latin is both a classical and a liturgical language, a dead language that never died. By this we mean that while Latin may not be the native language of any community, it is still spoken even if only by a few and is commonly studied and read for a variety of compelling, beneficial reasons.
Latin also has not died because it was reborn and renamed as French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian— the five Romance languages. About 90 percent of the vocabulary of these languages comes from Latin.
These Romance languages are actually forms of Latin that have evolved over the centuries in various regions with some interaction from other local tongues. To learn Latin is therefore to begin a study of 6 languages at once. Since 50 percent of all English words are derived from Latin—along with 80—90 percent of all polysyllabic words— students will greatly expand their vocabulary.
The regular grammar of Latin is also ideal for learning English grammar or the grammar of many other languages. Professions: Latin prepares students for many important professions that are steeped in Latin terms and phrases or in English words derived from Latin.
Of course, my S, who plans to study math, took Spanish and Latin. Someone wanting to practice medicine in this country, however, would be well advised to learn Spanish. He took Spanish because that was the only language offered in k-8 school, so he's continued it in high school.
But he enjoys Latin more. I'm not linguistically is that a word? I'd do so because Latin is so helpful with our vocabulary. I also think it was easier as a 1st language since there's not a big speaking component to it.
No doors will be closed regardless of which language she chooses. I think the best thing is for her to pick whichever one she is more interested in, because she will be more motivated and learn more that way. Trying to make the transition from Latin to French will be much easier than trying to make the transition from French to Latin. Also, modern language classes are full of drills on boring but "useful" exchanges like, "What color is the pencil?
If it was up to me I'd take Latin But goodness, do you ever get out? So, I took it in college. Post by Jacobus » Sun Mar 22, pm. Post by metrodorus » Sun Mar 22, pm. Post by ptolemyauletes » Sun Mar 22, pm. Post by Jacobus » Mon Mar 23, pm. Post by cb » Mon Mar 30, pm. Post by anphph » Wed Apr 01, am.
Post by Eltonvgl » Wed Feb 15, pm. Flat Style by Ian Bradley. Privacy Terms. Quick links. Board index Latin Learning Latin.
How much does Latin help French? Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more. Post by Jacobus » Sat Mar 21, pm Salvete omnes, Before I begin, I must stress that I am approaching this question with a very scetchy knowledge of the subject.
I am primarily learning Latin so that I can eventually read famous works in Latin. My other aim in learning Latin is so that I can use my knowledge of Latin to expand my knowledge of French, and possibly learn Spanish and Italian later on in life. I know that there are many words which are similiar in French and Latin - sanguis, le sang; habitare, habiter etc There are however, a lot of words in French which do not resemble their Classical Latin equivalent at all.
I have looked at a Wikipedia article which seems to state that many French words do not come from Classical Latin, but from Vulgar Latin. How can we gain a knowledge of Vulgar Latin, as it had no written form?
I suppose, ultimately, that I am questioning the use of Latin in learning French. Perhaps Latin's influence on Spanish and Italian is more obvious and profound, but I have not seen an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that Latin is as useful a tool in aiding French. I am not looking for someone with whom to argue this out, as I have no real facts to back this up; these claims against Latin are just entirely from my own personal experience, and I'd be interested to hear anyone else's opinion on the subject.
If, by some lucky chance, someone agrees with my statements, I would be really greatful to know your opinion as to why this French-Latin link seems to hold so much weight, and also, I'd like to find a source of information which would indeed help build French as much as Latin is supposed to.
In writing this, I hope I have not offended anyone, as that was definitely not my intention. Thank you for your replies and opinions. Re: How much does Latin help French? Post by ptolemyauletes » Sun Mar 22, am French IS Latin after years of changes to sounds and spelling and word selections.
To use an analogy, think of Shakespearean English. This gives an idea how much a language can change over time years. Go back another years in English and you have Anglo-Saxon, a language that is utterly incomprehensible to a modern English speaker.
The amazing thing is actually how little French has changed from Latin over years. Many of the words you are likely referring to are in fact from Latin descendents, but their forms have been changed, in some cases quite radically, so they may not seem at first glabnce to be connected. The seemingly inconsistent and bizarre system of French spelling gives an indication of how much the language has changed. Its modern spelling does not reflect the changes in pronuncuation that have occurred over the last several centuries.
In other cases, French uses more obscure Latin words, which seem likely to have been words used by the common folk rather than Caesar and Cicero. An example is the Latin word caballus, which gives modern Italian, Spanish and French their words for horse, while the classical word equus seems to ahve died out completely, only being revived with more modern creations such as equestrian. French has also adopted words from other, less closely related languages.
There must have been many words borrowed from German over the years, as an example, and more recently, a lot of English words have found their way into the language. As for vulgate Latin, Late classical and Medieval Latin gives a good indication of the evolution of the language, and early versions of French, Italian and Spanish and other languages also help to fill in the picture.
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