Spanish or French

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:French.

In Spain and other areas, Spanish is a lovely language. In the US, Spanish is low-class: the language of people who don't respect our immigration laws and expect to be catered to. And are, sadly.

So much for Rubén Darío, Jorge Luis Borges, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriela Mistral, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende, and Octavio Paz, among many others.

Never heard of these people, but they must fill some quota somewhere?

I'm going to assume that you are being facetious.

(Add Pablo Neruda to the list.)

[Anonymous]

The one your kid is most interested in. The one with the best teachers. Personally, I'd lean towards Spanish for utility, but French is still useful for international agencies and international law, as well as being common in large parts of North and West Africa. Certainly not a waste of time. Easy to find movies and print materials in both languages to help practice.

[Anonymous]

Gabriel García Marquez is my favorite author from childhood. (I was reading it in Russian...)

[Anonymous]

I'm with the earlier poster who mentioned that the Spanish our children learn in school is typically Castillian Spanish. Before making the leap to Spanish being the utilitarian choice, find out which Spanish is being taught.

I learned high German in high school, which was helpful, but I didn't hit the ground running when I encountered most native German speakers. It was very similar to my trying to communicate with Italian speakers using my college Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:French.

In Spain and other areas, Spanish is a lovely language. In the US, Spanish is low-class: the language of people who don't respect our immigration laws and expect to be catered to. And are, sadly.

OK, so your kids can be "high class" and underemployed when all the job openings require being bilingual in spanish. i guess they can utilize their bilingual skills in their canadian jobs. in 20 years, if young adults are not somewhat fluent in spanish, THEY will be considered "stupid" and presumed low class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one here knows anything about Northern Africa or Canada, apparently.

And I am just DYING to go there!! Libya and Egypt look pretty fun/safe right now for sure. OMG now I must learn French!!!!! (and Im arab btw)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one here knows anything about Northern Africa or Canada, apparently.

And I am just DYING to go there!! Libya and Egypt look pretty fun/safe right now for sure. OMG now I must learn French!!!!! (and Im arab btw)

AND, let me add that the Libyans and Syrians french is useless in Italy right now - Nonna in Rome sees them everyday. She's Italian, and fluent in SPANISH, like many italians

[Anonymous]

Spanish.

More important to be bilingual in US and speak both English and Spanish.

Chinese and Hindi also are useful, but most Chinese and Indians do know English as well... so you can communicate with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:French.

In Spain and other areas, Spanish is a lovely language. In the US, Spanish is low-class: the language of people who don't respect our immigration laws and expect to be catered to. And are, sadly.

Racist has a tiny brain..

[Anonymous]

I studied Spanish and loved it. But I learned French while working abroad as an adult. I wish I'd learned French first. French is so much harder. My adult brain could only get so far. In comparison you could pick up Spanish in your sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I studied Spanish and loved it. But I learned French while working abroad as an adult. I wish I'd learned French first. French is so much harder. My adult brain could only get so far. In comparison you could pick up Spanish in your sleep.

Spanish is an easy language to learn badly -- like English, which is also an easy language to learn badly. Learning Spanish well is not easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would choose the one that my middle school child preferred. Learning a foreign language is wonderful and rewarding but could be a tough road if you're not interested.

+1 if it were up to me I'd choose Spanish for practicality but DS wanted to learn French so that's what he's doing. If he wants to learn Spanish later he can and learning one language gives you confidence in learning another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one here knows anything about Northern Africa or Canada, apparently.

This. One even mentioned neighbors speaking Spanish and left out neighbors speaking French.
Really depends on your child. If she or he is good a languages I'd and wants French I'd go with French. She can add Spanish later in high school and college. Spanish is an easy language. I've studies 6 languages (in Europe), the best teacher I've ever had was my Spanish teacher in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:French is spoken by many Middle Eastern elites. There is quite a bit of growth and development going on in that area, so I could see a use for knowing French in international business.

In regards to Spanish. There are so many different dialects spoken. The Spanish that is taught in schools is based on Castillan Spanish, which differs from the Spanish spoken in many of the Latin American countries, especially Mexico. Peruvian and Colombian Spanish are the closest to Castillan Spanish outside of Spain.

Anecdote: In college, I had Mexican American friends study abroad in Spain who hated their experiences as the Spaniards preferred to speak English with them as they viewed Mexican Spanish as not being true Spanish.

False, and stupid. No Spaniard would ever choose to speak English with a Mexican, same as no Englishman would choose to speak German with an American.

For the PPs trying to make the case for French...good luck! You are about a hundred years late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:French.

In Spain and other areas, Spanish is a lovely language. In the US, Spanish is low-class: the language of people who don't respect our immigration laws and expect to be catered to. And are, sadly.

OK, so your kids can be "high class" and underemployed when all the job openings require being bilingual in spanish. i guess they can utilize their bilingual skills in their canadian jobs. in 20 years, if young adults are not somewhat fluent in spanish, THEY will be considered "stupid" and presumed low class.

Or maybe they'll get great jobs and vacation in Paris and Mont-Tremblant