Jim Motter asks why our schools still teach children French instead of German or Chinese. After all, China is our nation’s second most important trading partner. As for German, Atlanta is home to one of our nation’s leading engineering schools whereas Germany is home to the world-renowned German engineering degree.
Motter, however, ignores the importance of French. Georgia Tech may have a program where his son might end up studying abroad in Germany, but this tenuous reason alone is not enough to place German over French as far as foreign languages are concerned. This is why:
First, Motter questions the economic utility of French. The utility behind Spanish and Chinese is clear — one is spoken by many people living in metro Atlanta, the other is spoken by the United States' second largest trading partner. The utility behind German is less clear.
French's importance stems from the importance placed on French in our nation's first largest trading partner — Canada. Perhaps you have wondered why so many boxes, clothes tags and instruction booklets contain French instructions? Simple: Quebec.
Canadian signs, clothes tags, and instruction booklets must be in both English and French. The existence of French, even over Spanish, on so many products sold in the U.S. only highlights the importance of our biggest trading partner to the north. (How does Canada stack against Germany as a trading partner? 17.6 percent of total trade deals with Canada, only 4.5 percent for Germany based on 2008 trading figures.)
In business, it is more likely a Georgia student will end up dealing with Canadian companies rather than German companies. This is a simple truth.
Second, Motter ignores the noneconomic utility of French. English is a Germanic language, but many of the difficult aspects of English stem from the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent inclusion of French-based words, phrases and structures into English. This influx of French words is the core of English vocabulary. Studying French has proven and significant benefits for those who take standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.
German, on the other hand, is not as beneficial for the verbal sections of these tests. Motter's son may benefit from German if he gets into Georgia Tech, but French may provide him those extra verbal section points on the ACT or SAT that allow him to get into Tech to begin with.
Third, there are numerous cultural reasons why French is more beneficial than German. This is not to say German culture is inferior to French, but rather that French culture has historically had a greater impact on America. This is apparent in areas such as literature, law, politics and philosophy.
German should be taught in schools. Nonetheless, to claim it has more utility than French is to ignore the facts. Worse, removing French in favor of German does not serve students well. Latin and Spanish also benefit verbal scores on college admission tests, but fewer students take Latin than French and Spanish has less of a beneficial impact than French.
French should remain if we truly have the best interests of all students in mind. It benefits college admissions scores more than German. It is a fundamental language of our biggest trading partner. It is also the language spoken by a nation with which we have many cultural connections. German, on the other hand, provides none of these advantages.
John William Nelson is a Norcross attorney.
Editor’s note: This essay is in rebuttal to a July 6 guest column, No more French, s’il vous plait , which questioned the utility of Georgia students learning French
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