Oh, foreign languages...

In John McWhorter's most recent article, he talks about the importance of languages in universities. His claim is that languages other than French, German, and Italian are more important to the changing world of linguistics and language and that learning the other languages would be more beneficial for the future.

The concession, or counterargument, is:
"Should students be able to take French, German and Italian if they want to? Of course. But should it be expected that any university worth its salt have majors in those languages? I doubt it."

The writer makes three points to support his claim. First, he says that the small European countries are too small to be significant in the growing world. Second, a solid education in other languages besides these three will expose people to the differences in language in culture. The third support he uses is that other languages, such as Chinese, would benefit the future generations more. For support on this example, McWhorter states:

• China and other economies are going to surpass the United States' economy in the future.
• Technologies we create are/will be tested in China.
• China is simply happening. Italy, on the other hand, is not.

I agree with McWhorter's arguement because I believe since the world is changing, so should the standard of language. China and Japan are the centers of technology today. In order for us to keep up and for the world to communicate, we need to be open to other languages. German culture isn't as prominent in America as it used to be, and neither is French. Therefore, adapting to today's culture is a crucial component of cultural awareness and technology.