I'm not dead yet!

Okay... So French, German and Spanish are options for language study. But, the reason to not offer them is not because they are dead. Heck, LATIN is being taught. Where in the world can you go to study LATIN other than some Roman Catholic HISTORY Catacombs?

Au revoir for study of French, German?... signs of decline are there, locally and nationally: Some of Pennsylvania's state-owned universities are seriously debating whether to offer French and German majors after current students graduate. Enrollment in French classes is shrinking in Pittsburgh's public schools, and one high school is considering phasing out its longtime German program. Shady Side Academy, a private school with campuses in Fox Chapel and the East End of Pittsburgh, is eliminating French and German from its middle school curriculum to focus on Spanish, Mandarin and Latin.

Another thing that bugs me about the article is that Spanish is winning by a mile. Really? Not three miles? Not just by 300-meters?

What is central to the American sensibility is not the language but rather the study.

If you really want to master another language that goes to the heart of sensibilities, then teach JAVA or C++ or PERL or even LISP as viable languages for study in schools.

Different strokes for different folks. Thank goodness we're speaking english and can travel to places like New Zealand and understand most of what goes on except the Haka.