Foreign Language Appreciation...

I both like and don't like this all at the same time: mandatory Arabic classes are coming to a school district in Texas, thanks to a federal grant of some kind or another after it was declared 'the language of the future.'

While I like the mandatory foreign language class, I'm not down with the appaulling lack of menu options for parents and students to choose from. There seems to be a real aversion to sticking with foreign languages in this country, so it's good they want to really emphasize it- but Arabic as the language of the future? Eh, I'm not buying that so much. The language of 'any government job you could possible want' perhaps, but hardly the language of the future. From an American point of view I'd say the following languages will be important in the next century or so:

Spanish
Portugese
Chinese
Hindi
French

Those would be the ones I would seriously target for foreign language education grants. Spanish should be an obvious choice and probably doesn't need the help- but increasing influence of Brazil, especially in the agricultural markets could make Portuguese a good choice for students in farm states like Iowa. China and India are primed to be the economic giants of Asia, if not the world this century, so emphasizing those two languages would also be good. And then there's French- still widely spoken in Africa, where there are also oppotunities to be had in the coming decades.

Arabic and Farsi, while important languages if you have your eye on the field of diplomacy or intelligence are hardly what I would call 'languages of the future.' If we ever get serious alternatives to fossil fuels perfected and into mass production (both prospects are debateable at this point) then the Middle East will essentially be a backwater, especially if no one needs to buy oil anymore. The cynic in me says that will probably be well, never, but should that day come then it won't be Arabic and Farsi we'll need to speak all that much.