Which first? Latin or French?

Question

I know I want to study languages because they just fascinate me so much. I don't know which I want to take in High school but I have narrowed it down to French or Latin. Don't worry about telling me latin is harder, that is not a contributing factor right now. Which is more fun? Which involves more history?(I absolutely LOVE history) Would I get to travel somewhere if I take Latin or is it just a French class thing? Thanks!

Answer 1

Latin first!!!

I find it very interesting to know about ancient Roman minds. Think of Virgil and Aeneid, of Cicero and De Amicitia, and of the excitement when you read those works and feel the beauty in each verse, each line, each word, and especially, the beauty of the language's preciseness. Think of your knowledge of humanity (history included), it'll grow as you gorge the flow of wisdoms from those minds.

French is a grandchild of Latin, so it becomes much easier if you are strong at Latin. And not only French, but all other Roman languages such as Spanish and Italian, will be. When you learn these languages, it is fun to compare how they are similar to each other, and how they've been derived from Latin.

Starting with French is understandably more fun, practical, and, possibly, more manageable. You can easily get to converse with French native and that is a huge advantage over learning Latin. But a strong foundation in Latin will get you much further with French, and any language, not just Roman ones, that you later decide to learn, as then you've had a strong understanding of language's general structure.

If you choose to take Latin, Vatican is a wonderful place to visit, because it is the only place on earth now where Latin is the official language, and it hosts a plethora of historical stuff, in Latin, and reflecting Roman culture.

You can visit these sites for more reference:

http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/whystudyclassics/a/whystudylatin.htm

http://www.fll.vt.edu/French/whyfrench.html



Bona fortuna!

Answer 2

My advice to questions like yours is always to take Latin first. Yes, French is a little easier, but it will be easier still if you've had some Latin. I took Latin I, then Latin II and French I the same year, and then French II. (There's little point in taking just one year of any language in high school. Some schools won't even give credit toward graduation for the first year until you've also had the second.) Latin involved more history, but you're right that French would be more likely to involve field trips. After all, there are French movies and restaurants available! On the other hand, a Latin class can always have a toga party or go to a museum.

Answer 3

French. It's more useful.



Then learn Latin, and you will begin to understand how French evolved.



And Latin isn't harder. Not by a LONG shot! There is less irregular in Latin than in French, and the spelling is tons easier!



They BOTH involve lots of history! French will teach you about French history, and Latin will focus much more on Ancient history, and conquering Europe.



On the other hand, if, like most schools. the Latin teacher is the coolest one in school, you should probably take Latin first...cause you'll have more time with Mrs. R. Oh, wait...that was MY school!

Answer 4

Both Latin and French have amazing histories. Latin goes along with the history of Rome and the Catholic Church. French came from Latin and goes along with the history of France, Switzerland, Belgium and much of Europe.



You can travel with French to places where the speak French obviously. With Latin you can go to Rome and read the old writing on monuments, but people there speak Italian now, another descendant of Latin. No one actually speaks Latin any more, so you will only learn to read it and maybe write it, but not speak or understand it as spoken.



I do not recommend that you switch after just one year. Chose one and learn it well, however long that takes you. Then you can learn the other one. Either way, Latin will help you with French and French with Latin, so whichever you chose to learn now, you will have an advantage to learning the other one later.





I hope that helps!

Answer 5

Hmm, brain if I supply you an summary of all 3? Latin, even though a lifeless language, will certainly pave the best way for finding out & strengthening your expertise of the romance languages. It additionally is alleged to support persons out at the Reading & Writing element of the ACT, however I have not requested any latin audio system if that is real or now not. Other than that relatively Latin appears to be handiest rewarding in case you plan on entering biology (or another technological know-how) or possibly being an English fundamental in institution. The drawback to it's that it is hardly ever spoken and discovering persons & assets to train would be difficult. Russian is spoken via over 2 hundred million persons, in contrast to Latin. It's an fascinating language and would support you get round Russia and its former Eastern European satellite tv for pc states. Other than that you'll be able to speak together with your Russian peers too. The drawbacks to finding out Russian is that relatively it is only spoken in Europe (which is not unhealthy) but when you do not plan on traveling or residing there then Russian would not be a clever alternative to be trained. French is without doubt the excellent of the 3 (audio system clever). It's spoken in Europe, Africa, South America (one country), North America, and is a minority language in SE Asia. French is certainly second for the name of lingua franca after English. Not handiest that however it is a lovely language...it may be a killer to pronounce now and then even though. If you intend on entering worldwide industry or members of the family it might be a well proposal to be trained French. Not handiest is it one of the vital UN's reputable languages, however with such a lot of setting up nations (exceptionally in Africa) having French as their reputable languages it is going to certainly support industry clever. If I had been you I'd pass with French, however provided that you are one hundred% confident you'll be able to keep on with the language. If you are much more likely to talk Russian greater than pass with it as a substitute. Latin lifeless final, it has its advantages however unluckily they do not look to outweigh the gigantic drawback: slightly many persons talk it in this day and age.

Answer 6

Learn Chinese.

Answer 7

Learn Latin then French will be super easy.

Answer 8

French is MUCH more useful in the modern world

Answer 9

For sure