"Language Lessons....

Inspiring words from a man who knows how to ski."
-Better Off Dead

I completely agree that this quote has nothing to do with my blog entry, but are you really gonna blame me for trying to work a lesser known quote (which should be known) into my repertoire?

Not sure if any of you fellow Bostonians have noticed, but as a a daily public transportation commuter, I like to take some time every morning to try to notice whatever new advertisements may pop up on my commute (it is duly noted that the advertisements do not change all too often).

One advertisement which always brings up inner controversy is by the Boston Language Institute, which is apparently a language school around town. The main selling point of the Boston Language Institute, courtesy of the advertisements, is "Learn Swahili." Well, I have to admit, I have somewhat of a problem with this:

Out of all the languages to promote, you go with Swahili? What? If you want to go with a lesser known, lesser utilized language, why don't you just try to promote Sanskrit (PCU reference duly noted)? I mean, is it simply wrong to endorse the education of a language which will actually prove to be a resource to you, such as Spanish or French? I'd be better off learning Latin - at least I'd be able to figure out the etymology of words in a quicker fashion, or at least would have been able to score a little higher on my SAT scores. I mean, perhaps I'd finally be able to figure out what Semper Fi means.....

If you really wanna impress us commuters with the fact that you have a staff with a tremendous knowledge of more obscure languages, why not promote Cantonese in your advertisements? I mean, there are hundreds of different dialects of that language. That would impress me.....but Swahili??