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killersup10
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killersup10
2,739 posts
Blacksmith

In but a matter of a few days Killersup will be choosing his electives. His school district demands that every student take a foreign language. Now here is the question. Spanish or French? Killersup has yet to meet either of the teachers, and has heard mixed reviews from both classes.

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hardigra
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hardigra
189 posts
Nomad

It just depends on how dedicated you are. And the type of person you are I guess.

I heard a statistic suggesting that English and Mandarin (or Chinese, take your pick; i personally dont know the difference) are the two hardest languages to take. I think the study was conducted by survey.....
I believe English to be a hard language, though, considering I'm taking Spanish..... It kind of pokes out at how odd the English language can be sometimes. (like how in english there can be two words spelled exatcly the same way {read} and mean two different things.
Osumnis
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Osumnis
1,147 posts
Shepherd

Take both. You won't regret not taking the other language, then. But if you can't or don't want to, take whatever you like the best. In the end, you probably won't be needing either language, anyway. Almost everyone speaks English. (Personally, I prefer Spanish, and I guess if you plan on travelling a lot Spanish might be more useful).

hardigra
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hardigra
189 posts
Nomad

Personally, I prefer Spanish, and I guess if you plan on travelling a lot Spanish might be more useful).


Pros to Spanish= Like you said, Spanish is more universal to an average American, although it would work in Europe as well, especially if you live in or near Spain...

Pros to Chinese= If you're an American, we are trading with the Chinese more and more, so learning Chinese might help you in the future, depending on what type of career you are planning to go for
daleks
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daleks
3,770 posts
Chamberlain

I heard a statistic suggesting that English and Mandarin (or Chinese, take your pick; i personally dont know the difference) are the two hardest languages to take.

Of course they are. English is tough because it will set up rules but then beak them like crazy. Mandarin is a tonal language so you could say the same word the same way at a different pitch and total change the meaning.

I think that Mandarin is a form of Chinese but there are other versions of Chinese. Not 100% sure though.
dragonball05
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dragonball05
1,717 posts
Shepherd

Mandarin is one of four main Chinese subcategories. The subcategories don't mesh well enough to just be lumped together, so Mandarin is Chinese, but Chinese is not necessarily Mandarin. Whole rectangle/square dilemma.

Anyway, Chinese isn't offered at his school anyway, so it's just between Spanish and French now that he clarified.

Personally I like Osumnis' idea. If you have the credit space to take both, do it, and find out which you prefer. Then you can easily make the decision yourself

GandalftheGrey666
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GandalftheGrey666
1,859 posts
Peasant

Also Spanish is very similar to Italian.


Italian is hard to me,so Spanish is hard for me too.I would pick French,it's a lot easier,but BEWARE the accent.

fashion


That's Paris.Paris is the fashion Jerusalem.France is known croissant's that didn't originate from France.
Salvidian
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Salvidian
4,170 posts
Farmer

Ah, yes. 8th grade. Selecting your electives.

When I chose Spanish over German some years ago, I feared I had made a major mistake. Frankly, I was dead wrong. A few years later, I now have the ability to fluently speak with the second majority in America: the Spanish speakers.

No matter where you find yourself in life, you will find Spanish speakers - ESPECIALLY if you live in the south. Hell, I live in the middle of freaking nowhere and I encounter Spanish speakers daily.

Or you could take French and maybe, just maybe, use it once before you completely forget the entire language.

TheMostManlyMan
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TheMostManlyMan
5,769 posts
Chamberlain

Oh, hey ace, back from the dead are you?

Spanish all the way, it's similar to Latin which I've taken and it wasn't too hard. Also, I've heard stories, you don't want to communicate with much of the French.

dragonball05
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dragonball05
1,717 posts
Shepherd

Also, I've heard stories, you don't want to communicate with much of the French.


Very true. Especially if you're in actual France, and you're American. They'll pretend to help you, but will actually get you lost, make you lose money from wrong routes, and will laugh about it while calling you fat while you can't understand them, even if you know the language, since learning a full accent is sometimes difficult. :P
GandalftheGrey666
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GandalftheGrey666
1,859 posts
Peasant

Ah, yes. 8th grade. Selecting your electives.


In my country we select electives from the 5th grade.I picked French,because who loves Russian?Yes,you heard me Russian.In bigger schools,you can choose even between German and Italian.Oh,and by the way,French is easy.You'd probably get along better with French.You all are picking Spanish just because of the stereotypes that are related to French people.
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