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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As somewhat of an aside (specifically to 12:52) I work with a gentleman who is fluent in Mandarin and spent the past few years in China.  He told me he has several friends who have had difficulty finding jobs when they returned to the States, partially because there are more English speakers in China than in the US.  (didn't say what industry)

I would think there would be a benefit to learning any language spoken on the continent of Africa (including French) because many countries have growing economies and by the time our children become adults there will be many jobs available at companies that conduct business there.  [/quote]

We think alike. I initially wanted YY for my child, but realized that Chinese and Chinese-American kids can take those jobs alot easier in the future. We're opting for French immersion this coming school year for precisely this reason (emerging markets in Africa).[/quote]

The French keep hoping their language will make a comeback, I've only ever used mine in France.  Fun though.  :D The triple threat of the future is English-Mandarin-Spanish. I'd rather have DC learn Chinese now (hard) and Spanish (easy) in HS or college, but I will take whatever we get![/quote]

I agree with learning a 'hard' language now, given the choice (which Amharic would certainly be).    However, I'm not sure what the "triple threat" will be, but I think[b] I'm going to lean towards French making a comeback[/b] since they colonized so many countries that are now starting to 'develop' for lack of a better word.[/quote]

Don't bet the farm.

There are 21 countries in Africa where French is *an* official language, and 23 where English is *an* official language.  However, they're not evenly distributed economically.  Obviously the largest economy and only 1st world country is South Africa, where you need English.  Afrikaans or various tribal languages are present as well.  The only two African countries in the "Next 11" and/or "D8" are Egypt and Nigeria.  You'll need Arabic and English respectively.

Looking at the top 5 GDPs in Africa, the languages are: English (So. Africa), Arabic (Egypt), English (Nigeria), Berber/French - Berber 1st (Algeria), and Portuguese (Angola).  Nothing below the top 3 is remotely significant.  Though, for the record, the next 5 are: Morocco (Arabic/Berber), Sudan (Arabic/English), Tunisia (Arabic/French/Berber), Ghana (English), and Libya (Arabic/Berber).

Another way to look at this, is how many people in the world speak French.  In descending order the number of Francophones in the world (both full and partial) by country are: France, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Canada, Morocco, Camaroon, Tunisia, Belgium, Guinea.

In terms of both economic power and sheer population, French is a language of declining importance.[/quote]

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