Foreign Language Study on the Rise
The Modern Language Association released a comprehensive survey today, that shows enrollment in foreign languages to be at it highest level since 1960, and has been growing steadily since 1998.
While Spanish, French, and German, as expected, continue to lead the most studied languages, representing 70% of language enrollments, its popularity is declining, replaced by Arabic (up 127%), Chinese (up 51%), and Korean (up 37%). In fact, for the first time, Arabic now ranks as one of the top 10 languages being studied at U.S. colleges and Universities.
The findings didn’t surprise John Darnell, who holds the chair at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University. ``The interest in Arabic and Asian Languages is a response to the increased attention the Western World as a whole is giving to the areas in which those languages are spoken. ``In my department, Darnell wrote in an email, Egyptology has experienced more than a doubling of the number of students enrolled in Beginning Ancient Egyptian.’’
One interesting slice of the survey was that Latin, considered by many to be a dead language, continues to be studied in growing numbers, somewhat suprising, considering The New York Times’ recently reported the revival of the Latin Mass, (after Pope Benedict XVI's consent that gave parishes permission to hold Latin masses without the bishops' approval), isn't exactly being warmly received by American Catholics. Only two parishes in the largest 25 dioceses of the country, based on a phone survey conducted by the Times' staff, expressed interest in reviving the Tridentine Mass. Despite the bleak report, MLA's survey shows 32,191 students enrolled in Latin, up 7.9 % from 2002.
Adam D. Blistein, Executive Director at the American Philological Association, informs me ``Latin and Greek (like many other disciplines in the humanities) went through some tough times in the 1970's and 1980's... enrollment in colleges has been in a modest upswing since the mid 1990's, and in secondary schools enrollment has grown so quickly that there is an outright shortage of qualified Latin teachers.''
Statistics measuring the study of Latin, as compiled by the National Latin Exam confirms its steady rise over the last 30 years.
After digesting these numbers, I’m thinking of checking out some Latin books from the library. You never know when someone will tap me on the shoulder and ask ``DICISNE TU LATINE'', (Do I speak Latin?); and I’ll want to be able to reply, ``ITA, EGO DICO LATINE!'' (yes, I speak Latin).
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
Adam D. Blistein, Executive Director at the American Philological Association, informs me ``Latin and Greek (like many other disciplines in the humanities) went through some tough times in the 1970's and 1980's... enrollment in colleges has been in a modest upswing since the mid 1990's, and in secondary schools enrollment has grown so quickly that there is an outright shortage of qualified Latin teachers.''
Statistics measuring the study of Latin, as compiled by the National Latin Exam confirms its steady rise over the last 30 years.
After digesting these numbers, I’m thinking of checking out some Latin books from the library. You never know when someone will tap me on the shoulder and ask ``DICISNE TU LATINE'', (Do I speak Latin?); and I’ll want to be able to reply, ``ITA, EGO DICO LATINE!'' (yes, I speak Latin).
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
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