Language vs. Linguistics major?

I really love languages (I’m an advanced Spanish speaker and just started learning Arabic this year) which is why I thought I might want to be a linguistics major. I’m taking a linguistics class (two, actually) this semester and I do like linguistics but mostly because I like languages so much. I’m definitely going to minor in Arabic language, which means I can’t double major. I want to study abroad one semester in Jordan and one semester in a Spanish-speaking country which makes it a little more difficult. Right now I’m considering a Spanish major with an Arabic language minor (and probably a translation concentration/certificate) or a linguistics major with an Arabic language minor. I feel like if I were to major in linguistics, I’d probably end up just doing translation anyways, but I’ve always heard that you can’t do anything with a language major unless you double. I also feel like a lot of people don’t wind up working in their major anyways, and it’s just the fact that I’ll have a degree that matters. Will I have more options if I major in linguistics instead of Spanish? Does it matter? Does anything matter? Are my (already high) odds of being a broke unemployed college grad higher if I choose one or the other?

I feel like I should also mention that I’m a first year and my college has an open curriculum, so no matter what I’m graduating in four years, although majoring in linguistics may be more difficult if I spent my full junior year abroad.

You won’t necessarily have to do just translation. I have a friend who is a linguistics major and she works with me at Microsoft. We have lots of language majors, some of who work in roles that require the language and training, and many of whom do not. For the majority of roles, the degree is what matters, not the actual major. However, knowing how to speak a second language is immensely helpful.

As you’ve probably realized, linguistics and languages are two different things. Linguistics is about the structure of language in general, whereas language is the study of the actual language(s) themselves (and also the culture of places that speak those languages).

Also, this is just a suggestion - but you might consider delving deeply into one language rather than trying to split the difference with two. What I mean is - two semesters of studying abroad in an Arabic-speaking country, after two years of Arabic language study, will go much farther towards fluency in Arabic than one semester there and one semester in a Spanish-speaking country. I studied abroad for one semester in college, and honestly, the four-month mark is when you only begin to crack the surface of settling into the culture and lifestyle of a new place/country.

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Yeah, sorry I meant to say that if I end up doing something related to my major, it would be translation either way. I know most people don’t actually work in their major (I don’t actually think I could name anyone I know who does, besides like a nurse), but the head of the Spanish department keeps insisting that I need to double major if I want to do Spanish because if I don’t I won’t be able to get a job outside of teaching high school Spanish classes. If I majored in linguistics, it would be self-designed, so I would probably choose most of my courses with a focus on studying things like universal grammar and the intersection of language and culture, with a main focus on world languages.

My school has no pre-approved year-long study abroad program in Arabic. I could try to get one approved, but it’s not guaranteed. My school also doesn’t offer a major in Arabic. There’s a major in middle east studies which I could do with a concentration in language, but there’s so few course offerings that I feel like filling the requirements would be difficult. I think if I were aiming for fluency in one language, it would be Spanish, especially since I am already at an advanced level. I could do a full year in a spanish-speaking country, but I really want to improve my Arabic skills as well.

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