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WOW latin sounds boring! no offence... so I think

1st, french
2nd, latin
3rd, japanese
should I try german?

It isn't common for Latin to be taught in Australia

well I get to learn it anyway! I go to a private school so thats probably why..

1st french beacase it seems easy & I might actually use it

2nd latin people say I should & it seems easy enough

3rd german usefulness

4th japanese becase its so darn hard!

what language do people speak in switerland?

german.. it is most like the english language, and is easy

Latin is good because you don't have to speak it. A plus for some of us who have strong American accents. I can't tell you how embarresing Spanish class is for me.

- DJ :88)

Personally I'd go with either Russian or Spanish

But, since those are not my options I'd go with Latin, it will help you to better understand words that are not a normal part of your vocabulary, and help you later in High School and College...just my thoughts...

heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

personaly id do latin cuz i speak a lil greek n i like the cultural aspect of it
but hey i damn near failed english so a 2nd language in school aint my thing
id do japanise but the fact that the asian cultures are seemingly racist towards each other n the langauges vary slightly in some aspects n vastly in others
my point is speaking japanese to a vietnamise gurl is not a good thing
i learned alot bout asian cultures when i was in college but then again the challenge wood b worth it

i hate french but thats jsut me

Latin: useful in identifying word roots, latin names of animals/plants, etc. Also, a mostly dead language (not spoken, as in conversations), so it doesn't matter if you sound like a moron speaking it. I found my small bit of latin emminently useful.

Japanese: Never tried it, but I imagine learning a new language AND a new alphabet would be hard. Plus, how useful is it, really?

French: Three wasted years of my life. You're NEVER going to use it unless you actually like, GO to France. About the only thing it's done for me is to help me easily understand a couple characters in a series I read... they like to through in short french phrases every so often... but even then, the author translates it, anyway.

German: Being 1/2 germanic myself, I found this a very useful language. It's also, I believe, the official language of commerce in Europe. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that...) It's a language that was fairly easy for me to pick up (and I'm not great with languages, mores the pity).

Living in the states, I can tell you that the best second language to have would be spanish (gag me). Of course, if I have one more telemarketer call me with a indian/pakistani so strong that I can barely understand them... GRRR!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I took French for 3 years in high school and a few semesters in college. It was a language I was always interested in learning. I did actually go to France and was able to communicate.

Now I teach my kids basic words in French; I also try to think or translate in my mind just to keep it fresh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Knowing another language wouldn't be much fun if you had no one to speak it with. I had 3 years of German and my Grandpa came from Germany. Since he died I haven't used it much. Pick the one someone you know speaks.

Mike

Last edited by Mike R at 29-Mar-2005 22:37

I did Japanese, and failed miserably.

I'm pretty good at english, but the 3 new alphabets really threw me. I still recognise some, but in general, its all over my head.

French on the other hand, AND German, will help you greatly.
Most times in Europe, if you know one or the other of the languages, you can get by, as a lot of those languages are very similar.

I'm trying to learn a bit of Dutch at the moment, which isn't all that easy but it walks all over japanese.

I have 2 friends who live in Japan (from my HS classes) and even they have not mastered it. One has a great deal of difficulty constructing sentences still, and writing really gets him.


French will be easier, and even now, it will be beneficial, because it will allow you to at least have a shot at deciphering about 4 other european languages if you ever have the need.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I took Latin at school.

One good reason for learning Latin if you're an aquarist. Latin is one of the two languages (the other being Classical Greek) that was used by Linnaeus for the foundation of the modern taxonomic system. It would not only teach you about some of the roots of Western civilisation, give you an entry portal into several other languages (including Italian and French) but would also give you an insight into the underlying meanings beneath quite a few fish scientific names.

If you think being able to understand the underlying thinking behind many of the scientific names of your fish is 'boring', so be it ...

Sigh. The youth of today ...

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Personally I'd recommend Latin, which will help teach you about the foundations of Western civilization, increase your vocabulary enormously, has been proven to improve standardized test scores, gives you a surprising "in" at good colleges, you'll never have to take an oral exam, you'll have a good grounding for learning a romance language in the future, there are brilliant, beautiful, and not a few hilarious things written in it ....

But, French isn't a bad second choice, I certainly appreciate having learned it. But my Latin's much more handy and my Italian a much easier language (thanks to, well, the Latin and the French, in no small part).

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

I think you should master spelling first

I think I'll go with french
Any other opinions welcome

Last edited by dude_dude at 29-Mar-2005 14:52

I'd go for Japanese. But then again, you may not like watching anime or reading manga as much as I do.:%) I'm learning Latin now, but I'd definitely be doing Japanese if my school provided it.

Last edited by Shinigami at 29-Mar-2005 22:20

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Go with French. That is the language I'm learning now, and it is pretty easy. As far as Japanese goes, I'd imagine that it is much harder. You have to learn all the characters and everything :%).

---

They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

I think you should master spelling first but after that French.

i did Japanese 2 years ago, i failed every test it was tat hard.Go with french its way easier to remeber.

You do have a point do you know wich will probably be the most use to me? Does anyone know any of these langwaeges?

Japanese...far more interesting and practical...although French is far easier.

Okay this year im learning, latin,japanese,french & german, one each term, so two each semester. Next year I have to choose one that I can carry on learning, wich one do you think I should chose?
I think its between franch & japanese, im leaning towards French beacase Japanese seems so hard & complicated :%).. so wich one do you think I should learn?

Last edited by dude_dude at 29-Mar-2005 15:35