What Language Should I Study?

By Trevor Durham on January 8, 2017

As the spring semester ramps up, a lot of students are toeing the waters of learning a new language. From the freshman convinced that following high school Spanish paths to your anime-loving roommate who’s down for the Japanese kanji, somebody is moving towards a linguistic journey. There are many options, lessened depending on your university’s budget, but there are some choices that are better than others. Here are your best bets, from alright, to the best you can do*.

*Choices are made on professional assistance, resume builders, how beautiful the languages are, and some cultural decisions. How romantic you sound after a few glasses of wine doesn’t count, so French didn’t make the cut.

 

SPANISH-

It is one of the six UN languages, I guess. It is very widely used, with varying dialects. I love me some Spanish literature. But, also ¡Es fácil! So, there’s that.

 

ITALIAN-

See everything listed for Spanish, but better. Less widely spoken, Italian is easier than Spanish (most of the vocabulary is shared with ours), it’s a joy to speak, and the artistic value is immense. Have you read Dante in original language? Pura bellezza. Italian might be low on your list of considerations, as it is with everyone else’s. Classes will be small, and your Mafioso language growth will be all the more intimate.

 

MANDARIN CHINESE- 

Okay, this isn’t easy. To master. When you take on a difficult language, remember that the pace will change to match the level of difficulty, so be assured that a majority of your first few months may be spent on just the alphabet, symbols, and pronunciation. But Chinese is one of the widest spoken languages in the world, important in business, and damn does it set you apart from the crowd.

 

GERMAN-

Did you know German is the third most used language online? Or that it’s almost essential to business practices on the international stage? Most of Eastern Europe learns German instead of English. The grammar of German is a bitch to tackle, but it’s based on one similar to ours- it has more patterns than our language does, so you’ll learn to deal. Anschnallen, meine Freunde.

 

ARABIC-

Arabic made it higher on this list than many would give it credit for. Arabic is one of the oldest and untouched languages alive, spoken in every corner of the world, natively in 22 countries. Learning Arabic offers you insight to the Islamic and Arabic world and culture, along with lens in which to view the other two main world religions. Oh, you want a job? Arabic will top you in the rankings of government, intelligence, political, and business oriented jobs. But it is difficult when it comes to grammar. Very. It takes a lot of work to master. But it is worth the investment.

 

RUSSIAN-

Surprise, ????. The most gorgeous, adjective ridden language in the world may be your new best friend. The grammatical patterns are sensible, the language rolls off the tongue, the literature is poetic. The history of the locations and language are phenomenal. And holy shit does the world need Russian translators. The Library of Congress is currently hiring anyone with a basic Russian reading ability for a high paying summer job. The classes, at FSU at least, are well paced and easy to follow. Studying Russian feels like studying poetry at every turn, and the payoffs allow you to get a look inside a fascinating realm sealed off to most English speakers. ????????????, kids, welcome to class.

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