<p>Hello all!
It has been quite a while since I last posted. I just completed my first year of college quite successfully, including the study of two foreign languages (French and German). I would now like to add a third, preferably featuring a different, non-Latin script, language to my studies.
The CLS program seems an excellent way to be able to further what I am learning, but I do not know what is most worth my time relative to both the difficulty of the language to a native English speaker and the quality of Emory's and the CLS' teaching. I want the greatest result that can be mustered by my work.</p>
<p>Emory offers Arabic, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Hindi, and these are the five languages I would be most likely to choose from to study. As a comparative literature major, I feel Arabic and Russian might have more to offer, but I am open to any and all suggestions. I have zero experience with any of the five languages and would be starting from scratch.
The Arabic, Korean, and Hindi programs allow for beginners or those with only one year of study to apply. Russian and Japanese require a minimum of two years. </p>
<p>I look forward to hearing your suggestions!</p>
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<p>I can only tell you about Arabic which my son took every year in college including spending a year and one summer in Jordan (one semester in an immersion program). He would tell you he’s a long, long way from fluent, though I think he can probably get the gist of a newscast in Modern Standard Arabic (which is not spoken by anyone on the street) and he is quite comfortable in the Jordanian dialect. He can understand a fair amount of the Egyptian dialect which is the language of most movies. He can’t understand Morrocan dialect at all. And that is the problem with Arabic. You will be learning at least two languages. It’s grammar is quite different from Indo- European languages and they don’t believe in vowels in the written language. It’s considered one of the hardest languages to learn according to the US State Dept ratings. You will not be able to read any literature at the end of a year of Arabic. My son was a runnerup for the CLS summer program last year.</p>
<p>Embarrassingly, I forgot to mention Mandarin Chinese -this is also an option I am considering! </p>
<p>mathmom: this is something I realize about all of these languages -literary works are a long-term destination in all of them, albeit closer in some than others. </p>
<p>Well, both Russian and Hindi are Indo-European languages, in the same family as French, German and English. So, if you want to remain in your comfort zone, stick with one of those. If you want to try something entirely different, then go with one of the others. In the end, for you to succeed, it has to be a language that interests you . . . as long as you are motivated to learn it, you’ll be successful.</p>
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<p>What do you want to use your languages for? </p>
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<p>I was reading literary works towards the end of my first year of German (Der Richter und sein Henker). You won’t be there in Arabic because nothing literary is written in media Arabic or the local dialects and because it really is harder. Literary Arabic is like learning yet another version of Arabic. (Notice that according to the State Dept. Arabic is 4 times harder than French and 2 times harder than Russian.) I thought Chinese grammar was surprisingly easy, but since I could not deal with the tones at all, I never mastered it. I also never learned to read more than a couple hundred characters.</p>
<p>Which of the cultures represented appeals to you the most? Which food do you like? What climate? What topography? What music? You mention literature, and have you read anything translated from any of these languages?These questions seem rather superficial, however you’re looking into a culture when you choose a language, so it ideally should hold some interest. </p>
<p>Korean has an alphabet that is easy as pie to learn, but the grammar and honorifics can be maddening. Chinese writing, simplified characters or not, is a bear to learn, but the grammar is easy, and the spoken language easier to those with a musical ear who can distinguish and remember tones. </p>
<p>The programs are very competitive. I’m not sure which might be easiest admission, but my hunch is Hindi. Perhaps you can find statistics somewhere on line? </p>
<p>I have a particular interest, literature-wise, in Arabic, Japanese, and Korean. Honestly, the reason I do not study all three is purely because of time. Hindi/Urdu also would be great for me because one of my best friends is Indian and my roommate is Pakistani and speaks Urdu -plus I love Hindustani food in general!
I was simply hoping for someone to have some hidden gems/personal experiences that might drive me to a better decision. Chinese, particularly with regards to the past five hundred years, fascinates me historically and culturally in the framework of its interactions with the West. </p>
<p>I simply do not have enough time!</p>
<p>Mandarin is tonal and, unless you have very good pitch and a good ear, may be too difficult. Japanese is difficult in that there are at least two “alphabets” and at least two different sublanguages within the language (formal and informal). It might be best to concentrate on the ones mentioned by @dodgersmom.</p>
<p>If one of your best friends is Indian, that’s a great reason to study Hindi. Liking Hindustani food is another great reason! Being able to speak with your friend, or with the owner of your favorite restaurant, will give you the kind of positive feedback that’s really helpful when you’re trying to learn a new language. Yes, you may someday be able to read great literature . … but being able to talk with someone right now is, as far as I’m concerned, so much better!</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad I am very involved with music and play double bass -the tones are not the concern of mine. Characters are what horrify me! </p>
<p>@dodgersmom‌ that is a major reason for my interest. We all watch Bollywood films every Friday night and it is a common, everyday thing. Lack of literature is honestly my greatest concern with both Hindi and Urdu, but I shall see. </p>
<p>I would still love feedback on both the program and the experiences of others with the languages at hand!</p>
<p>Thank you, all! </p>
<p>I did CLS Persian this summer in Dushanbe, so I can answer any questions related to that.</p>
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<p>Just created an account so I could answer this! I just submitted my account for beginning Azerbaijani. I’m so nervous, but really excited. Does anyone know of any other more active forums?</p>
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I realize this thread might be a little old by now considering the decisions are about to come out, but for the sake of future visitors I’m going to add to it.
First, CLS isn’t really geared toward people who don’t already have a vested interest in particular languages. There are complete-beginner classes available in most languages, but generally speaking the program is aimed at students who already have at least some idea why they would want to learn a specific language in an intense setting. It is not for people looking to simply get cultural exposure, nor is it intended for those seeking to take a language for cursory familiarity only to move on to another language the next year. None of the things I just said are worthless and I definitely encourage people to look for cultural exposure programs and opportunities intended to simply broaden one’s perspective- but CLS is not one of those programs.
Second, CLS is really intended for those planning to use the language they study in their career field. You should be able to articulate a specific reason for becoming proficient in your chosen language- CLS is very serious when it asks applicants how they plan to pursue proficiency or fluency after the summer has ended. That doesn’t mean you necessarily have to want to get a PhD in Chinese Literature to take Mandarin through CLS, but you should think long and hard about WHY, professionally and academically speaking, you want to pursue a specific language- not just take it for a summer because you think it would be fun. CLS is certainly fun, according to my friends who have done it years prior, but it is also extremely intense, especially in languages like Persian and Arabic where you study not only the literary/standard language but also regional dialects that can differ quite greatly (Persian is taught in Tajikistan, where the language is written in Cyrillic instead of Arabic script used in standard Persian, and Tajik is almost unintelligible to most Farsi speakers).
CLS is highly competitive, regularly admitting massive numbers of top language students from top schools, along with many talented students from a large number of other colleges- with an average acceptance rate hovering around 10%, making it more selective than some Ivy League universities. The application process alone is stressful enough, but the program itself is for students who are very, very serious about their language studies- keep that in mind when considering whether to apply.
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