Foreign Languages

[IEDmagnet]

I have (and continue to) studied Arabic and German. For local level Law Enforcement I'd say Spanish, but if you were to achieve your goals in the Army I'd say Arabic would make you more marketable.

Complete conjecture on my part though, no way of knowing what would be needed in five or six years.

[Jim]

Arabic is the most useful of the choices you offered.

[rgrokelley]

Any foreign language is beneficial and will make you an asset to your unit.

If I had to pick a language I would pick Latin... not shit.

If you know Latin you can easily pick up French, Spanish, Italian and Portugese. They are all based in the "Romance" languages

[Jim]

If you know Latin you can easily pick up French, Spanish, Italian and Portugese. They are all based in the "Romance" languages

Well that is the ageless sales pitch given for taking Latin whether it is from teachers or parents. I have always heard this but can't say I really experienced it. Many years ago, I had 3 years of Latin, 5 years of Spanish and a year of French. For three years, I had classes in at least two languages simultaneously which caused me to blurt out an answer in the wrong language at times. I found French the more difficult of the three. I was okay with spanish (better with reading comprehension than spoken) years ago but just like anything, if you don't use it, you lose it.

I have had much the same experience. Took two years of Latin in HS, along with two years of German. In the Army, had 11 weeks immersion Vietnamese, plus three years in country, plenty of practice. When I was stationed in Germany, I had a chance to practice and got better. When I return to Germany as a tourist, I'm not usually there long enough to get competent again. Spent a year + in Saudi Arabia, and I can say only about 50 - 75 words in Arabic. Latin helped me read better Spanish than I can speak or hear. Today, I'm retired and losing my foreign language skills because I don't use any of those skills.