THE VALUE OF MODERN LANGUAGES IN A 

 TOUR ROUND THE WORLD 



By Charles C. Ayer 



In considering the value of modern languages in a tour round the 

 world, we will confine ourselves to those of the modern languages 

 which are taught in our high schools and colleges. These are German, 

 French, Spanish and Italian, named in the order of their importance or 

 what at the present time is regarded as their importance, though 

 standards sometime change. Forty years ago, for example, French 

 was regarded as the modern foreign language par excellence. German 

 at that time seemed almost as remote as Greek. Within the past 

 twenty-five years, however, the point of view has changed, and 

 German has become the popular foreign tongue. In many high 

 schools, and especially in Colorado, French is not taught at all. Since 

 the Spanish-American war, Spanish has been introduced into many 

 schools, being regarded as a practical addition to the curriculum. 

 Italian is not taught in any of the secondary schools, nor is there any 

 demand for it. Even in the colleges it attracts but few students out- 

 side those who are making Romance languages their major subject, 

 and therefore take Italian to complete the group. 



Of course there are other modern languages at the present time that 

 are spoken by millions of people belonging to the white race, but it is 

 only in the very largest institutions that we find courses offered to a 

 few students in such languages as Portuguese, Dutch, Scandinavian, 

 and Russian. With the exception of the last named, these languages 

 can easily be acquired by one who is familiar with some of the others. 



The four languages first mentioned, together with English, are 

 therefore the important modern languages which are taught in the 

 schools and colleges the world over, even in those countries where 

 neither one of them may be the national language. Everywhere it is 

 possible to get instruction so that one may learn to translate a language 



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