The I Studied A Completely Useless Language (for Medicine) Thread

durfen · Jul 12, 2006

A thread for those who learned a language in high school/college that is completely useless in medicine.

Me: German.

Wie geht's euch?

baylormed · Jul 12, 2006

durfen said:
A thread for those who learned a language in high school/college that is completely useless in medicine.

Me: German.

Wie geht's euch?

Hey, at least German is spoken in the world....***ahemlatinahem**

ltrain · Jul 12, 2006

Ja...Ich auch.

C'est la vie?

Schaden Freud · Jul 12, 2006

durfen said:
A thread for those who learned a language in high school/college that is completely useless in medicine.

Me: German.

Wie geht's euch?

German's not useless. Latin is far more useless!

101441 · Jul 12, 2006

baylormed said:
Hey, at least German is spoken in the world....***ahemlatinahem**

Oh yeah, well at least Latin has some tangential relationship with medicine. How about Lithuanian--3 million speakers in the whole world, and it's gramatically similar to Sanskrit (read: USELESS).

leahmaria · Jul 12, 2006

Japanese!!

nihongo o hanase masen (still not very good at the romaji)

Law2Doc · Jul 12, 2006

baylormed said:
Hey, at least German is spoken in the world....***ahemlatinahem**

actually latin is probably one of the most useful languages for medicine -- you can figure out what a whole lot of terms mean without looking them up. As far as practicing medicine, spanish is the most useful second language in the US.

baylormed · Jul 12, 2006

Law2Doc said:
actually latin is probably one of the most useful languages for medicine -- you can figure out what a whole lot of terms mean without looking them up. As far as practicing medicine, spanish is the most useful second language in the US.

I know, Latin can be useful for medical terminology. However, I think we will have plenty of time to learn the roots of the terms once we go to medical school (well, from my experience anyway, because i took a medical terminology course and learning roots was the first thing we did). I don't really see a necessity for 2 years of Latin classes.
It's these times when I'm very very glad I was born to Spanish-speaking parents 😛 .

the12thmd · Jul 12, 2006

I took Latin, but I am currently in Germany!

durfen - Zer gut, danke! Wie geht's? Ich bin in Hannover fuer Weltmeisterschaft 2006.

I haven't taken German, and I have been here for a month, so don't expect me to say much. I can get around, that's about it. 😎

Law2Doc · Jul 12, 2006

baylormed said:
I know, Latin can be useful for medical terminology. However, I think we will have plenty of time to learn the roots of the terms once we go to medical school (well, from my experience anyway, because i took a medical terminology course and learning roots was the first thing we did). I don't really see a necessity for 2 years of Latin classes.
It's these times when I'm very very glad I was born to Spanish-speaking parents 😛 .

There's too much terminology to keep in your head. If you can get a ballpark guess out of the roots you have a better shot.

Rafa · Jul 12, 2006

I plan to learn German in the following year. Figure it might come in handy someday.

jstuds_66 · Jul 12, 2006

I speak Portuguese because I lived in Brazil for 2 years. It also is kind of a useless language unless I learn spanish (which is similar, but still very different).

strawberryfield · Jul 12, 2006

If there are some patients out there speaking it, it's not useless! 😳

I opted for the most useful one in the US, Spanish, and if you learn any romance language you can definitley derive many latin medical terms from those terms in the romance language (not saying this is true for every single word, but...) 😉

Vox Animo · Jul 12, 2006

So there's more latin nerds out there?

Doc Martins · Jul 12, 2006

jstuds_66 said:
I speak Portuguese because I lived in Brazil for 2 years. It also is kind of a useless language unless I learn spanish (which is similar, but still very different).

Portuguese isn't useless, but I guess it depends on where you live... and it's close enough to Spanish to where you can communicate with spanish speakers.

Anastasis · Jul 12, 2006

Ancient Greek. 👍

spospo · Jul 12, 2006

Vox Animo said:
So there's more latin nerds out there?

i'm a latin nerd, but i haven't taken it in about 4 years. i forget most everything. i also took greek for a while. both of them have come in very handy with figuring out the general idea of words

mvenus929 · Jul 12, 2006

I got French. Can't speak it too well now, though, cause I haven't been in that environment for over 2 years now. But ah well.

durfen · Jul 12, 2006

the12thmd said:
I took Latin, but I am currently in Germany!

durfen - Zer gut, danke! Wie geht's? Ich bin in Hannover fuer Weltmeisterschaft 2006.

I haven't taken German, and I have been here for a month, so don't expect me to say much. I can get around, that's about it. 😎

Bitte sehr! Ich hab' eifersucht, du bist in Deutschland! Ich will nach Deutschland reisen, aber wer hat die Zeit? 🙁

I also studied two years Japanese and a year of Latin. Japanese is somewhat useful if I did internship in Hawaii:

Genki desu-ka? Wo haben Sie weh? Oops wrong language.

I'm going to learn Spanish over next summer, gah.

oxeye · Jul 12, 2006

I took German too.

I have never used it for a useful purpose. 😉

I should have taken Spanish.

Mr. McDuck · Jul 12, 2006

veddhead said:
Oh yeah, well at least Latin has some tangential relationship with medicine. How about Lithuanian--3 million speakers in the whole world, and it's gramatically similar to Sanskrit (read: USELESS).

Hey, I'm Lithuanian.

Anyway, American Sign Language. Word up. 👍

ADeadLois · Jul 12, 2006

I took French, but I should have taken Spanish. I'm constantly reminded of that "Not knowing Spanish despite the fact that 1/3 of the patients speak it" rant by Dr. Cox to Elliot on "Scrubs"

notdeadyet · Jul 12, 2006

Schaden Freud said:
German's not useless. Latin is far more useless!

At least Latin give you a hand for new terminology in medicine.

Try Irish. Conas a ta tu, mo chara?

Vizious · Jul 12, 2006

ASL isn't THAT useless (at least I hope not since that is the only other language I'm close to fluent in other than English). I mean, you could have Deaf patients possibly?

Billy Shears said:
Hey, I'm Lithuanian.

Anyway, American Sign Language. Word up. 👍

baylormed · Jul 12, 2006

Vizious said:
ASL isn't THAT useless (at least I hope not since that is the only other language I'm close to fluent in other than English). I mean, you could have Deaf patients possibly?

I agree. It's very possible. When I worked at a clinic as an MA, I had to vital a deaf patient and explain to her how to take her meds. She had an interpreter with her, so I didn't have to do anything but talk, but it's still weird to do that.

SitraAchra · Jul 12, 2006

to practice medicine in Texas, Spanish is a gift from God! Thank the lord I took it in highschool. The best part is when I don't know a certain word I play my "gringo card" and no one cares.

Mr. McDuck · Jul 12, 2006

Vizious said:
ASL isn't THAT useless (at least I hope not since that is the only other language I'm close to fluent in other than English). I mean, you could have Deaf patients possibly?

It's possible. I'm just applying to school now, but I've worked in an operating room for a few years, and I haven't had a single deaf patient. Could be different once I'm in school though.

TMP-SMX · Jul 13, 2006

Je parle français... Mon Dieu! Mais... C'est la vie. 👎

DropkickMurphy · Jul 13, 2006

Schaden Freud said:
German's not useless. Latin is far more useless!

Latin's more useful than Sanskrit. :laugh:

DropkickMurphy · Jul 13, 2006

SitraAchra said:
to practice medicine in Texas, Spanish is a gift from God! Thank the lord I took it in highschool. The best part is when I don't know a certain word I play my "gringo card" and no one cares.

Speaking of stupid gringo mistakes: When teaching new people to rock climb, it is best to check the group for Mexicans before VERY loudly shouting "Hey, someone toss me a 'biner!" (meaning carabiner not the not more racist "beaner")

This nearly got one of my friends' ass kicked.

topdogg82 · Jul 13, 2006

parli italiano?

boulux · Jul 13, 2006

gapotts2003 said:
Je parle français... Mon Dieu! Mais... C'est la vie. 👎

👍

Est-ce que tu parles bien ou juste un petit peu?

Zweihander · Jul 13, 2006

baylormed said:
I don't really see a necessity for 2 years of Latin classes.

It's so you can correct your attendings when they are trying to teach the Latin roots of a medical term. 😀

jocg27 · Jul 13, 2006

Doc Martins said:
Portuguese isn't useless, but I guess it depends on where you live... and it's close enough to Spanish to where you can communicate with spanish speakers.

This is actually not the greatest idea for anything but the most basic introductions, questions and directions. Full histories etc need to be done in the patients' language...While Romance languages are similar to each other, they are in fact separate languages. Portuguese is not Spanish, nor is Italian Spanish. Words sound different, and can have different meanings. We have someone who consistently tries to speak to our Spanish-speaking patients in Italian. Communication is definitely compromised. They do not understand her - they look ahead and nod here and there, not understanding much more than if she was speaking in English. I suppose it allows for some level of communication, but use it with caution, and don't assume everything is getting through.

TMP-SMX · Jul 13, 2006

boulux said:
👍

Est-ce que tu parles bien ou juste un petit peu?

Je ne sais pas. J'ai pris le français pour cinq ans à l'école et deux courses à l'université. Je ne suis pas le mieux avec le français.

Je déteste les accents, parce qu'ils prennent trop de temps. 😴

Ema · Jul 13, 2006

Knowing a language is not useless! I speak Serbo-Croatian, and I have had a chance to help out docs with interpreting.So, as long as there is someone else that speaks the language its worth it.Ummm.. if you speak Spanish- a huge plus for you in US. 🙂

Ema · Jul 13, 2006

Hej Sloveni, jote ivi
duh vaih dedova.
Dok za narod srce bije
njihovih sinova.

ivi, ivi duh slovenski
ivjeće vjekov'ma.
Zalud preti ponor pakla,
zalud vatra groma.

Nek se sada i nad nama
burom sve raznese.
Stena puca, dub se lama
zemlja nek se trese.

Mi stojimo postojano
kano klisurine.
Proklet bio izdajica
svoje domovine.

vtucci · Jul 13, 2006

boulux said:
👍

Est-ce que tu parles bien ou juste un petit peu?

Hablo espanol pero yo comprendo este. No tengo fluencia. Es fantastico, no para estudiantes en el sur de los estadios unidos? Entendio su francias. 🙂

durfen · Jul 13, 2006

Keine Lust fuer Deutsch hier?

MaiPenRai · Jul 13, 2006

Qan queshwata parlansayku? (Quechua, the Inca language), but I am not fluent. Qanri? Gap poot passa Thai prawa tom ngan ti mahawitayalai Payap (but it is not quite good enough to work in a Thai hospital). La unica indioma que puedo usar es el Espanol, y voy a usarlo mucho en el futuro. La problema es eso: Poot kinsa idiomas, but I mix them all up!

annamoo · Jul 13, 2006

Yo Durfen,

i hab Lust fuer Deutsch, aber i wohn in Oesterreich, in Tirol, wo die fasch kein Deutsch reden, sondern Dialekt. i schreib auf Tirolerisch fuer di wiel es so lustig ausschaut, aber i kann Hochdeutsch auch.

Verstasch mi? schon hab i dedenkt.

And yes, they do say gedenkt here, not gedacht, and no I am not kidding, read what I just wrote out loud and make it sound like you're choking and that's how people here talk! I can now speak 2 languages: High German and farm hick mountain Tirolean dialect...

And German is def not useless, if you even wanted to do a program in Europe, you could go to Germany, Austria or Switz (Although you won't understand anyone in Austria or Switz unless you have been here for like a year already...) and do an internship or something. And my sis is doing all of med school in Heidelberg, and will be able to practice anywhere in the EU when she is done, speaks fluent German, so the question of what's useless is relative anyway.

Dr.Meow · Jul 13, 2006

durfen said:
A thread for those who learned a language in high school/college that is completely useless in medicine.

Me: German.

Wie geht's euch?

I figure all of my languages are potentially useful, especially if I`d like to do an elective or two in another country. Also, each additional language makes it easier to learn another.

Native fluency in English and French. (québecoise)

The fact that I am ntaive in both English and French made German easy, and the fact that I am native in French made Spanish very easy. Chinese is horribly difficult.

Many Spanish, German, and Chinese courses in my pocket.

Depakote · Jul 13, 2006

I studied french in High School.

I used it on a medical mission to Haiti. French and Haitian Creole aren't that different.

It turns out I really suck at French.... but that made me pretty good at Haitian Creole....

TypeA · Jul 13, 2006

I studied Latin, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Latin proved to be very helpful in my Med Term class...Spanish proved to be very successful in helping make a fool out of myself by forgetting everything, and ASL was great for eavesdropping.

I think ASL will be the most helpful to patients though. There need to be more signers for the deaf community.

Compass · Jul 13, 2006

0m6 1 l342n3d 133 5p34k 4nd @11 1 g0t w4s 4 bu|\|ch 0f l@ff5

Rafa · Jul 13, 2006

^ l00lzrrs!

braluk · Jul 13, 2006

i am a native chinese and english speaker. Im pretty fluent in spanish, and have now gotten teh basics down in italian (italian and spanish are not so different, and leanring italian because my gf is italian 👍 )

AnotherDork · Jul 13, 2006

Law2Doc said:
actually latin is probably one of the most useful languages for medicine -- you can figure out what a whole lot of terms mean without looking them up. As far as practicing medicine, spanish is the most useful second language in the US.

Disagree completely. (And I usually agree with pretty much all of Law2Doc's posts.) I took Latin for 4 years, and it was good for allowing me to know what "Latissimus Dorsi" actually means, but not a day goes by where I don't wish I had learned Spanish instead.

braluk · Jul 13, 2006

AnotherDork said:
Disagree completely. (And I usually agree with pretty much all of Law2Doc's posts.) I took Latin for 4 years, and it was good for allowing me to know what "Latissimus Dorsi" actually means, but not a day goes by where I don't wish I had learned Spanish instead.

Agree. i think the time spent learning latin is probably more useful learning another language like chinese or spanish. Most medical latin terms I've come across are easily memorized and probably doesnt require me to take a couple years of latin to do.

Rafa · Jul 13, 2006

After time spent browsing languages on wikipedia, I've come to the conclusion that with English, French, and Spanish, one can communicate with people in *every* country in North and South America with the exception of Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken. And with knowledge of Sp, Pr is only 25% as difficult to learn as it would be without. This will come in handy if you (like me) have interests in living or visiting counties beyond the US, but still within the western hemisphere. 🙂

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