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Return to model classical curriculum.
Latin: Studies show that at least two years of Classical Latin not only augments one's English vocabulary by 20,000 words, but also provides one with a meticulous understanding of English grammar. Classical Latin not only prepares one for a career in law, science, medicine, business or humanities, but will also enrich one’s life by allowing him to read the Western Classics.
Additional Languages: After or before Latin, one should learn at least one other Western language, preferably German, French, Anglo Saxon, Gaelic, Old Norse, Italian and/or Classical Greek. If a student were to study only two foreign languages, Latin and German would be best, as these two languages most influenced English. A typical third language is French or Classical Greek. (In order to maintain a highbrow curriculum, we strongly advise against Spanish.)
German: The basis of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and representative of the Germanic family of languages (Danish, Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, etc.). Today German is the most widely spoken language in Europe. German, like Latin, is an inflected language, the study of which will refine one's understanding of grammar.
Why Not To Study Spanish
From the now defunct Kessler List (Jun. 18, 2010) on linguistics and philology:
By James Kessler
Click here to read the article
Disclaimer: We respect diversity and the rich tapestry of various traditions. This is an occidental curriculum, highlighting the ancestral traditions of Europeans or those of the European Diaspora (e.g. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, U.S.A., etc.). We do not claim these this curriculum is necessarily the best, but merely the unique tradition of Westerners. For non-Westerners, there are other great-books curricula available. For example, for Asians, there are various Asian great-books programs; for people with ancestry from the Middle East and North Africa, various Arabic/Persian great-books programs; for Hispanics with ancestry from Mexico, and Central & South America, various Amerindian/Mestizo great-books programs; for those of African heritage, various African great-books programs; and for people with ancestry from India, various Indo-Dravidian great-books programs; etc. We leave it to others to develop non-Western classical curricula.
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