Shilha；　and　Tamazight。　（3）　See　Mandarin；　Cantonese；　Wu；　Min；　and　Hakka。　The
  “common　speech”　（Putonghua）　or　the　“national　language”　（Guoyu）　is　a　standardised
  form　of　Mandarin　as　spoken　in　the　area　of　Beijing。　（4）　Hindi　and　Urdu　are　essentially　the
  same　language；　Hindustani。　As　the　official　language　of　Pakistan　it　is　written　in　a
  modified　Arabic　script　and　called　Urdu。　As　the　official　language　of　India　it　is　written　in
  the　Devanagari　script　and　called　Hindi。　（5）　The　distinction　between　some　Thai　dialects
  and　Lao　is　political　rather　than　linguistic。　（6）　Yiddish　is　usually　considered　a　variant　of
  German；　though　it　has　its　own　standard　grammar；　dictionaries；　a　highly　developed
  literature；　and　is　written　in　Hebrew　characters。
  Farber’s　Language
  Reviews
  We　have　such　things　as　theatre　reviews；　movie　reviews；　books　reviews；　and　restaurant
  reviews　to　help　trusting　readers　decide　which　plays；　movies；　books；　and　restaurants　are
  worth　their　time　and　money。
  So　here’s　a　series　of　language　reviews　–　thumbnail　sketches　of　some　of　the　major
  languages　of　the　world　with　comments　on　their　prevalence；　their　usefulness；　the　difficulty
  or　ease　with　which　each　may　be　learned；　and　special　characteristics　the　potential　learner
  should　know。
  French
  After　English；　French　is　the　world’s　most　popular　second　language。　Several　other
  languages　are　spoken　by　more　people：　Chinese；　English；　Hindustani　（the　spoken　form　of
  Hindi　and　Urdu）；　Russian；　Spanish；　Japanese；　German；　Indonesian；　and　even　Portugese
  count　more　speakers　than　French。　But　French　can　be　heard　in　practically　every　corner　of
  the　world　and　is　often　spoken　by　the　most　influential　segments　of　a　given　population。　The
  old　French　empire；　though　not　as　vast　as　the　British；　was　nonetheless　vast。　French　is
  therefore　spoken　in　what　you　may　find　a　surprising　number　of　countries。　So　is　Chinese；
  but　the　French　spoken　by　the　educated　classes　and　government　officials　in　Canada；
  Africa；　Lebanon　and　throughout　the　Middle　East；　Asia；　the　Caribbean；　and　the　South
  Pacific　outweighs　in　cultural　influence　the　Chinese　spoken　in　the　Chinatowns　of
  America；　Indonesia；　the　Philippines；　Singapore；　Burma；　Vietnam；　London；　and
  everywhere　else。
  French　no　longer　deserves　its　reputation　as　“the　language　of　diplomacy”　（during
  how　many　summit　meetings　since　World　War　II　have　the　chiefs　of　state　been　able　to
  communicate　even　one　simple　thought　to　each　other　in　French？）；　but　never　mind。　French
  is　still　respected　and　revered　as　a　language　of　cultured　people　the　world　over。
  Fully　sixty　percent　of　all　those　who　come　to　practice　parties　at　the　Language　Club
  in　New　York　come　seeking　practice　in　French。　Efforts　to　convince　Americans　shopping
  around　for　a　language　to　learn　to　shift　their　attentions　from　French　to　currently　more
  advantageous　languages　like　Japanese；　Chinese；　Russian；　and　Arabic　are　usually
  unavailing。　It’s　French　they　want！
  French　lies　in　the　middle　range　of　difficulty　to　learn。　The　grammar　is　mercifully
  simple；　but　correct　pronunciation　with　a　decent　French　accent　is　hard　to　achieve。　And　for
  some　reason；　bad　French　comes　across　as　much　worse　than　bad　German；　bad　Italian；　bad
  Spanish；　or　bad　anything　else。　The　native　French　ear　and　French　attitude　are　unforgiving。
  There　are　no　noun　cases；　but　verbs　inflect　and　adjectives　must　agree　with　nouns。
  There’s　a　subjunctive　mood　you’re　strongly　urged　to　learn　even　though　the　younger
  French　themselves　increasingly　ignore　it。
  If　you’re　planning　to　study　French　along　with　other　languages；　make　sure　you　learn
  French　best　of　all。　You　will　be　judged　in　the　world　by　your　French；　and　no　matter　how
  well　you　handle　Dutch；　Hungarian；　Norwegian；　or　Indonesian；　you　will　not　be　regarded
  as　a　person　of　language　accomplishment　if　your　French　is　poor。
  Spanish
  Spanish　seems　to　be　the　“natural”　second　language　for　Americans；　owing　to　our
  proximity　to　the　Spanish…speaking　centres　of　North；　Central；　and　South　America　and　the
  growing　prevalence　of　Spanish　in　our　country。　It’s　easier　for　Americans　to　speak　good
  Spanish　than　good　French。　It’s　a　more　phonetic　language　and　you　don’t　have　the　problem
  of　the　last　few　letters　of　a　word　being　silent　–　as　you　often　do　in　French。　Also；　correct
  Spanish　pronunciation　is　less　difficult　than　correct　French　pronunciation。
  Spanish　grammar　is　similar　to　French　（as　is　that　of　all　other　Romance　languages）；
  and　the　subjunctive　tense　waits　to　test　your　character。
  There　are　some　happy　surprises　in　store　for　Spanish　learners。　Of　course　you　expect
  Spanish　to　carry　you　through　Latin　America　and　Spain；　but　you　may　not　expect　to　be　able
  to　communicate　with　the　older　generation　in　the　Philippines　and　even　with　Sephardic
  Jews　in　Israel　（as　well　as　Greece；　Turkey；　Yugoslavia；　and　Bulgaria）　whose　vernacular　is
  a　language　known　as　Ladino；　a　fifteenth　and　sixteenth　century　Spanish　with　a　Hebrew
  admixture　that　is　written　in　the　Hebrew　alphabet。　Spanish　offers　perhaps　the　grandest　of
  good　deal　opportunities。　Whoever　learns　Spanish　holds　an　option　to　acquire　Portugese　at
  half　price。
  Portugese
  Don’t　dismiss　Portugese　as　some　kind　of　slurring；　overnasalised　cousin　of　Spanish。
  The　lightning　population　growth　of　Portugese　speaking　Brazil　alone　makes
  Portugese　a　major　world　language。　Ancient　Portugese　navigators　carried　the　language　to
  the　mid…Atlantic；　the　African　countries　of　Angola　and　Mozambique；　the　enclave　of　Goa
  in　India；　and　even　the　Indonesian　island　of　Timor。
  Portugese　is　the　ninth　most　widely　spoken　language　in　the　world；　after　Chinese；
  English；　Hindi…Urdu；　Russian；　Spanish；　Japanese；　German；　and　Indonesian。　Thus；
  Portugese　is　an　intelligent　choice　for　the　language　“shopper”　who　wants　to　be　different
  without　abandoning　the　mainstream。
  Portugese　nasal　sounds　are　easier　than　the　French　and　the　grammar　is　only　slightly
  more　difficult　than　Spanish。　Because　I　learned　Spanish　first；　Portugese　will　always　sound
  to　me　like　Spanish　that’s　been　damaged　on　delivery。　（That’s　just　a　smile；　not　an　insult。
  Dutch　sounds　the　same　way　to　anyone　who’s　first　studied　German；　Danish　sounds　that
  way　to　anyone　who’s　first　studied　Norwegian；　and　Serbo…Croatian　definitely　fits　the
  description　to　anyone　who’s　first　studied　Russian。）
  German
  Germany　didn’t　leave　us　a　world　of　colonies　where　people　still　speak　German；　but　they
  may　as　well　have。　In　addition　to　being　the　principal　language　of　Germany；　Austria；　and
  one　of　the　three　main　languages　of　Switzerland；　German　is；　surprisingly；　the　language
  most　natives　will　try　first　on　foreigners　when　they　come　visiting　in　Hungary；　Yugoslavia；
  Czechoslovakia；　Poland；　Latvia；　Lithuania；　Estonia　–　in　fact　all　the　way　from　Germany’s
  eastern　border　with　Poland　as　far　east　as　Moscow　and　from　the　Baltic　Sea　in　the　north
  clear　down　to　the　Mediterranean。　English　may　edge　German　out　by　the　time　of　the　next
  scientific　poll　in　Eastern　Europe；　but　that　leaves　a　tremendous　number　of　German
  speakers　across　Europe　and　elsewhere。　Germany’s　reunification；　reestablishing　Germany
  as　the　central　European　power；　can　only　intensify　the　German　language’s　importance。
  German　grammar　is　far　from　the　most　difficult；　though　you’ll　be　hard　to　convince
  when　you　find　yourself　trapped　in　one　of　German’s　unending　dependent　clauses。　You　can
  wait　through　lunch　for　the　German　noun　after　a　loop…the…loop　adjectival　clause　that　might
  translate　literally　as　“the　never…　having…　definitively…　researched…　the…　mating…　habits…　of…
  the…　Asian…　armadillo…　Dr。　Schultz；”　and　you　can　wait　even　longer　for　the　German　verb。
  It’s　something　you　get　the　hang　of；　though；　and　remember；　German　is　family。　Its　kinship
  with　English　will　be　a　boon　throughout。
  There　are　three　genders　in　German　and　officially　four　noun　cases；　but　they’re　easy。
  In　only　one　case　does　the　noun　itself　change　endings；　the　rest　being　taken　care　of　by　the
  preceding　article；　adjective；　or　other　modifier。
  German　offers　dividends　to　those　interested　in　science；　philosophy；　opera；　and
  getting　a　good　job　in　international　commerce。
  Italian
  Everybody　who’s　ever　wrestled　with　Latin　deserves　to　pick　up　an　Italian　grammar　book
  just　to　relax。　Italian　is　easy　Latin；　a　delight　to　plunge　into。　There　are　three　different　types
  of　verbs；　but　noun　cases　have　been　eliminated。　Unlike　French；　Italian　pronunciation　is
  church　bell　clear；　and　you　can　read　Italian　off　the　page　and　be　understood　after　mastering
  the　regular　rules　governing　the　sounds　of　letters。　There　are　no　orthographical　booby　traps
  such　as　the　English　tough；　weigh；　night；　though；　and　the　dozens　of　other　deceptive
  spellings　we　Americans　can　be　grateful　we　never　had　to　learn　as　foreigners。
  Opera；　art；　wine；　cuisine；　history；　and　archaeology　are　some　of　the　motivators　for
  learning　Italian。　Italians　are　nicer　to　foreigners　trying　to　learn　their　language　than　any
  other　people　whose　language　is