Hi everyone,
So I’m currently a junior in high school, and am currently studying Chinese. I know for certain that upon entering college I want to major in International Relations/International Politics. As I know that speaking multiple foreign languages in the field I want to go into is a big boost for employment and will help me just overall in the career, I’m currently trying to decide on which language I want to tackle next (most likely will be minoring in it in college) most likely over the summer through classes and self study. The two languages I have narrowed down my choices to are Japanese or Russian. I’m really interested in which you guys think will be a better choice to learn considering my circumstances.
So reasons I want to learn them and experience I have previously with the languages:
Japanese:
-I have some previous experience learning Japanese as I had taken a year of somewhat intensive classes at a college near me a couple years ago. Despite having learned some I can only recall basic phrases/words and can still somewhat read Hiragana and Katakana. I can read Chinese pretty well so I could have a leg up on learning the Kanji. In addition I have been told that going down the path of complimenting Japanese with the Chinese I already speak will allow me to “regionally focus” on East Asia in my studies and could lead to better specialization in my career.
Russian:
-I don’t have any previous experience with Russian formally but am interested in the language primarily because of what is happening in Eastern Europe (Ukraine Crisis, diplomatic complexities with Russian Federation etc.). I am acquainted to some aspects of Russian case system and grammar due to my experience with German (which I also have taken at school for a couple years), and am thinking it might help me navigate something that people have dubbed as the “most difficult part of learning Russian”. I have been told that learning Russian will help immensely in my desired career in International Politics/Relations as Russian along with Chinese and Arabic are three of the most desired languages right now. While learning Russian would help I am just concerned on how far realistically I will get in the language while in my four years at college.
If you guys could give your viewpoint on the issue I’m facing that would be great. I don’t at the moment plan to learn both as I only wish to focus on two languages (Chinese+ whatever) throughout my college studies to make sure that I attain a professional level in both of them.