learning　Italian。　Italians　are　nicer　to　foreigners　trying　to　learn　their　language　than　any
  other　people　whose　language　is　a　major　one。　A　passable　attempt　to　speak　French　in
  France　is　likely　to　bring　little　but　grudging　comprehension　from　the　French。　A　passable
  attempt　to　speak　Italian　in　Italy　will　likely　lead　to　an　explosive　exclamation；　“Ahh；　you
  speak　our　language！”　followed　by　an　offer　of　a　free　espresso。
  Dutch
  It’s　easy　to　dismiss　Dutch　as　a　slim　shadow　of　its　big　language　neighbour；　German；　and
  of　possible　interest　only　to　those　Americans　eager　to　ingratiate　themselves　with　an　aging
  aunt　in　Amsterdam　with　a　valuable　art　collection。　Not　so　fast。　In　addition　to　the　Dutch
  spoken　in　Holland；　there　are　millions　of　Belgians　whose　language　may　be　officially
  called　Flemish　but　is　actually　nothing　but　Dutch　going　under　an　assumed　name。　You’ve
  also　got　millions　of　educated　Indonesians　who　speak　Dutch　as　a　historical　echo　from　the
  four　hundred　years　of　Dutch　colonial　rule。　Moreover；　Dutch　is　the　mother　tongue　of
  Afrikaans；　the　language　of　those　white　South　Africans　whose　ancestors　were　the　Boers
  （boer　is　the　Dutch　word　for　“farmer”）。　Afrikaaners　not　only　understand　Dutch　but　look
  up　to　Dutch　much　as　an　Alabaman　looks　up　to　someone　who　speaks　British　English。
  Dutch　is　much　simpler　for　Americans　to　learn　than　German。　There　are　only　two
  genders　（oddly　enough；　not　mascuine　and　feminine；　but　common　and　neuter）。　Verb
  endings　don’t　change　as　much　in　Dutch　as　in　German；　and　its　word　order　is　more　like
  English　than　German’s　is。
  You　need　not　pretend　Dutch　is　a　beautiful　language。　The　Dutch　themselves　joke
  about　the　coarseness　of　their　language。　It’s　got　more　of　a　guttural　sound　than　Arabic；
  Hebrew；　Russian；　and　Farsi。　If　you　want　a　concert　in　Dutch　guttural；　ask　the　next　person
  who　speaks　Dutch　to　say；　“Misschien　is　Uw　scheermesje　niet　scherp　genoeg。”　It　means
  “Perhaps　your　razor　blade　is　not　sharp　enough；”　but　that’s　irrelevant。　That　short　sentence
  explodes　with　five　gutturals　that　cause　the　speaker　to　sound　like　the　exhaust　pipe　of　a
  Greyhound　bus　through　a　full　set　of　gear　changes！
  When　you　learn　Dutch；　you　can　cash　in　on　at　least　forty　percent　credit　when　you
  decide　to　take　up　German。
  Russian
  Russian　is　the　world’s　fourth　language　in　number　of　speakers　after　Chinese；　English；　and
  Hindustani。　It　is　extremely　difficult　to　learn　to　speak　Russian　correctly；　but　the　Russians
  have　learned　to　be　patient　with　foreigners　who　speak　incorrect　Russian。　Journalists　and
  others　fascinated　by　discussing　recent　history　with　Soviet　citizens　suddenly　free　to　talk　to
  foreigners　get　a　lot　of　joy　out　of　knowing　Russian。　The　much　touted　commercial
  advantages　of　learning　Russian；　however；　have　so　far　fallen　far　short　of　expectation。
  The　jobs　with　gargantuan　salaries　promised　to　Russian　speakers　as　a　fruit　of　the
  resurgence　of　free　enterprise　in　the　Soviet　Union　are　few　and　shaky　as　the　early
  enthusiasm　of　foreign　investors　gives　way　to　wait　and　see　attitudes。　Long　range；　Russian
  remains　a　good　bet　for　those　willing　to　learn　a　language　for　career　advantage。　And　in　the
  meantime　you　can　enjoy　reading　Chekhov　and　Dostoyevski　in　the　original。
  The　Russian　alphabet　may　look　formidable；　but　it’s　a　false　alarm。　It　can　be　learned
  in　twenty　minutes；　but　then　you’ve　got　to　face　the　real　obstacles；　such　as　three　genders；
  six　noun　cases　with　wave　upon　wave　of　noun　groups　that　decline　differently；　a　past　tense
  that　behaves　like　an　adjective；　and　verbs　that　have　not　just　person；　number；　and　tense；　but
  also　something　called　“aspect”　–　perfective　or　imperfective。
  Knowing　Russian　yields　a　lot　of　satisfaction。　You　want　to　pinch　yourself　as　you
  find　yourself　gliding　through　a　printed　page　of　a　language　you　may　have　grown　up
  suspecting　and　fearing。　Russian；　like　German；　crackles　with　good；　gutsy　sounds　that
  please　you　as　they　leap　from　your　tongue。　Russian　is　a　high　gratitude　language。　The　new
  immigrants　from　the　Soviet　Union；　though　they　speak　one　of　the　major　languages　of　the
  world；　don’t　expect　Americans　to　know　it。　They’ll　be　overjoyed　to　hear　their　language
  from　you。
  One　advantage　of　choosing　Russian　is　the　head　start　it　offers　in　almost　a　dozen
  other　Slavic　languages；　should　you　suddenly　want　or　need　one。
  Chinese
  Chinese　is　actually　more　of　a　life　involvement　than　a　language　you　choose　to　study。
  When　you’re　in　your　easy　chair　studying；　Chinese　has　more　power　to　make　you　forget
  it’s　dinner　time　than　any　other　language。　It　has　more　power　to　draw　you　out　of　bed　earlier
  than　necessary　to　sneak　in　a　few　more　moments　of　study。　There’s　simply　more　there。
  More　people　speak　Chinese　than　any　other　language　on　earth。　There’s　hardly　a
  community　in　the　world　that　doesn’t　have　someone　who　speaks　Chinese　as　a　native。　Even
  in　the　1940’s；　when　I　first　began　studying　Chinese；　there　was　a　Chinese　restaurant　and　a
  Chinese　laundry　even　in　our　small　town　of　Greensboro；　North　Carolina。　You　can　count
  on　conversation　practice　in　Chinese　from　the　Chinese　laundries　of　Costa　Rica　to　the
  Chinese　restaurants　of　Israel。
  The　Chinese　Communists　on　the　mainland　and　the　Chinese　Nationalists　in　Taiwan
  agree　that　the　national　language　of　Chinese　is　the　northern　Chinese　dialect　of　Mandarin。
  Accept　no　substitute。　Be　sure　you　know　what　you’re　doing　if　you　set　out　to　learn　any
  Chinese　dialect　other　than　Mandarin！　It　was　almost　impossible　to　find　a　Chinese　person
  in　a　Chinese　restaurant　in　America　who　spoke　Mandarin　forty　years　ago。　They　all　spoke　a
  subdialect　of　Cantonese；　being　descendants　of　the　Chinese　labourers　who　came　to　build
  America’s　transcontinental　railroad　in　the　1800’s。　Today　it’s　almost　impossible　to　find　a
  Chinese　restaurant　in　America　where　the　waiters　don’t　speak　Mandarin。
  Don’t　let　yourself　be　drawn　into　Cantonese　merely　because　your　Chinese　friends
  happen　to　be　of　Cantonese　descent　or　because　your　new　employees　are　from　Cantonese
  speaking　Hong　Kong。　Even　the　Cantonese　themselves　are　now　trying　to　learn　Mandarin！
  Spoken　Chinese　is　enthrallingly　easy。　There’s　nothing　we　could　call　“grammar”　in
  Chinese。　Verbs；　nouns；　and　adjectives　never　change　endings　for　any　reason。　I　once
  caught　a　showoff　student　of　Chinese　trying　to　intimidate　new　students　by　warning　them
  that　Chinese　had　a　different　word　for　“yes”　and　“no”　for　each　question！　That’s　largely
  true；　but　not　the　slightest　bit　difficult。
  The　closest　thing　Chinese　has　to　what　we　think　of　as　grammar　is　what　we’ll　call
  “interesting　ways。”　When　you　pose　a　question　in　Chinese　you　present　both　alternatives。
  Thus；　“Are　you　going？”　becomes　“You　go　not　go？”　or　“Are　you　going　or　not？”　If　you
  are　going；　the　word　for　“yes”　to　that　question　is　“go。”　If　you’re　not　going；　you　say　“Not
  go。”　Likewise；　“Are　you　going　to　play？”　becomes；　literally　translated；　“You　play　not
  play？”　To　answer　“yes；”　you　say　“Play。”　“No”　is　“Not　play。”
  You’ve　already　learned　some　of　the　“middle　language”　essential　to　the　mastery　of
  Chinese。　Don’t　fear　that；　because　there’s　a　middle　language；　you’re　being　called　upon　to
  learn　two　languages　to　acquire　just　one！　It’s　a　shortcut。　The　middle　language　is　English　–
  the　way　a　Chinese　person　would　say　it　if　all　he　could　do　were　to　come　up　with　the
  English　words　literally　and　nothing　more。　Thus；　“Do　you　have　my　pencil？”　in　middle
  language　is　‘You　have　I…belong　pencil；　no　have？”　“The　man　who　lives　in　the　white
  house”　becomes　“Live　in　white　house…belong　man。”
  I　find　it　helpful　to　look　for　the　middle　language　no　matter　what　language　I’m
  studying。　In　Russian；　“The　vase　is　on　the　table”　becomes　“Vase　on　table。”　“Do　you　have
  a　pen？”　becomes　“Is　by　you　pen？”　“I　like　the　cake”　in　Spanish　is　“To　me　is　pleasing　the
  cake。”　“Where　have　you　studied　German？”　in　German　is　“Where　have　you　German
  studied？”　“Do　you　want　me　to　help？”　in　Yiddish　is　“Do　you　want　I　should　help？”　–　a
  construction　that　should　come　as　no　surprise　to　anyone　with　immigrant　Jewish
  grandparents。
  The　middle　language　helps　you　get　the　hang　of　things。　Once　you　see　the　structure　as
  revealed　by　the　middle　language；　it’s　easier　for　you　to　climb　inside　the　targt　language。
  Learning　the　“interesting　ways”　through　middle　language　is　especially　important　in
  Chinese。
  Chinese　has　no　alphabet。　Each　ideogram　or　character　is　complete　unto　itself　and
  each　must　be　learned。　There　are　said　to　be　as　many　as　eighty　thousand　Chinese
  characters。　Fear　not。　You　can　carry　on　fairly　sophisticated　conversations　with　knowledge
  of　a　few　hundred　characters　and　you　can　carry　on　like　a　Ming　orator　once　you　compile　a
  couple　of　thousand。　You　can　read　a　Chinese　newspaper　with　fewer　than　six　thousand。
  Though　lacking　an　alphabet；　Chinese　nonetheless　has　214　radicals；　the　elements　that
  make　up　the　building　blocks　for　almost　every　Chinese　character。　The　fact　that　there　are
  clusters　of　Chinese　characters　that