I've just got my options booklet at school and am wondering about what I should do. I'm thinking French and Latin, but I can choose from the aforementioned French and Latin, Japanese, Biz Studies or Spanish. Any suggestions?

Japanese would be a good choice, I think. Just because it's different, and because when I went round Oz and tried to get part time bar/shop jobs, over 50% wanted me to speak Japanese. Apparantly my 'Thankyou' (harigato I think) wasn't enough! Plus I've found that people are so much more friendly if you make a vague attempt to speak their language, particularly if it is one of the more difficult ones.

Latin is good fun if you want to study other Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian etc) as they all have the same roots, and it makes things a lot easier. I never did get my head round all the different declensions, but I can still remember the tables that our teacher made us chant!

Can't comment on Biz Studies - never taken it. Nor Spanish, but I did enjoy my French lessons, despite not being particularly good at it.

But it all depends on what you think you are going to enjoy - teachers are very important with this - if the teacher is bad then the lessons are going to be a drag. If you can, it's worth chatting to people in the years above you and asking their opinions.

OK - I'm starting to ramble now. My first cup of real coffee in 2 weeks has just kicked in...



I drink to drown my sorrows. Unfortunately they've learnt how to swim.

There's this Biz Studies teacher, who if you moan about h-work, doesn't give it to you, so you bomb in your exams. Everyone hates him.

Thanks for the advice! Have to talk to my parents too, I guess.

I always liked French, much better than German anyways.

Latin is interesteing but only if you want to do something that needs it. Otherwise it's worth keeping in mind that it's a dead language.

Spanish and Japenese are good, especially if you want to do business or travel.

And as for business studies it was a doss at our school, but I never really saw the point. My friends who took it enjoyed it though.



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There's a hole in my creativity bucket and it's all leaked out.

I wouldn't go for Latin, no one speaks it, Spanish would help you understand italian and maybe written portuguese so i'd go for Spanish... and Japanese because it's different



Post Edited (08-06-03 11:22)

Hmmmm, I'll take all ur suggestions into consideration! :D

What I really want is to just muck around in art all day ;) !

You want farm studies for that...



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There's a hole in my creativity bucket and it's all leaked out.

Farmers paint?

I did Latin, French and Media. There was... unpleasantness with the Art teachers, and I didn't want to do Visual Communication and Design - which is making ads or logos.

French is probably good, as it is the International Language, isn't it?



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Those who forget the pasta are doomed to reheat it.

I second Jo on Latin.

Don't know about the Japanese though.

I know a little Japanese, but we spent the first year learning the alphabet, and word lists on subjects like colours and animals. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, as you might really like it.



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Those who forget the pasta are doomed to reheat it.

Latin: mor helpful than I ever would have thought when I was in school (Latin was my first foreign language, I had it for six years). on the one and it helps to get at least a reading comprehension of romance languages very fast, and in Germany it is required for any indogermanic language study, history, philosophy, theology etc. Only at uni I found out, that it's not only the signature that I've learned it, is neccessary, but that I get to use my Latin quite often. And actually it is fun.

French: erm, had it two years in school and am able to read french texts (with help of dictionary), but never was really the language for me. Together with Spanish probably a good choice, regarding how many people do speak it.

Japanese: really cool, I guess also a good choice regarding job qualification, especially in business matters. But probably the hardest of all mentioned languages. At least the students of Japanese I know are having a hard time just because of language acquisition classes and hardly manage to make effort in their other studies.

Biz Studies: Can't say anything about it, when I had that in school I was physically present but never listened or cared. But I guess, it's just not my field of interest



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Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.

(N. Chomsky 1957)

I'd go for japanese, given half a chance. I did Russian at school, and it's amazing how many people it impresses, from University departments to employers - even if the employer has no use for you being able to speak/write it at all. You'd probably be seen as a bit clever for even trying it.

Go on, you know you want to...

Intrigue _
French stopped being "the International Language" around the time of the French Revolution (or, at the latest, when Napoleon was finally overthrown...), if not even earlier, except in the minds of the French people: If any language is entitled to that description today then it's surely English instead.

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"God rot Botchkamos Istochnik!"

Simon, perhaps Intrigue works in Customs and Excise? Today that's the final resting place of international French as far as I know. Or at least for some bloke named Duane it seems to be....

American English at that, Simon; probably since WW2. There's more of them, and that's the language that is often taught as English in Asia etc. I believe.

A French friend of mine always used to count American English and British English separately when counting the number of languages she spoke -- she was being serious, too, as she had no need to boast; she spoke over 20 languages altogether.

I'd agree with ViVi and Jo and whoever else said that Latin is really useful -- it gives you a thorough understanding of the way languages work, and makes it much easier to pick up any of the romance languages. I can get by in Italian, Spanish and French (written and spoken) and I can even understand written Romanian on the rare occasions I've needed to.

It makes your English much better, too . . .



Jesus saves; Buddha does incremental backup.

Although German is probably more useful than any (or all?) of the Romance languages for anybody who intends to study Chemistry &/or Physics...

(And who else here already knew that one college at Cambridge _ 'Trinity', IIRC _ has produced more Nobel Prize winners so far than have all of the academic institutions in France combined? :-)

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"God rot Botchkamos Istochnik!"

They used to say Latin was good for scientists when I was at school. One BSc Physics and one MSc Control Systems later, never missed it once. Glad it's of help to others.

Latin is a language
As dead as dead can be
It killed the ancient Romans
And now it's killing me.

Anyone recognise?

Yep! Dunno who wrote it but here it is in Latin...

Lingua Latina
Lingua mortissima est.
Romanos Antiquos necavit
Et nunc me necat.

Some other favourites:

Sola lingua bona est lingua mortua.
The only good language is a dead language

Si hoc legere scis, nimium eruditionis habes.
If you can read this, you have too much education....

Ubi est mea anaticula cumminosa?
Where’s my rubber duck?

I worked out the top one before I realised the answers were underneath. Ater that I was flummoxed.