<p>I'm really sorry if I have posted this in the wrong area, it has been awhile since i have been on here. I'm going to Pitt next fall and over this past year i have had a complete change of heart in what i want to do. i thought i wanted to be a doctor but i realized that just wasn't for me. Now i'm interested in possibly becoming a translator for the UN and maybe even becoming a diplomat. I know going into college that i have interests but one thing that i have always wanted to do is learn another language. as i researched languages more my interest in the subject increased and i definitely want to take up a language next year. I was even thinking of double majoring in two different languages so i have a few questions about that (it doesn't have to pertain specifically to Pitt, i want anyone's opinion!) Side note, I took 4 years of Latin and I know that is not a speaking language but I definitely enjoyed the higher level thinking that came a long with understanding a language and would be totally ready to take that challenge on, in college. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was thinking of Double Majoring in either:
a. Arabic and Chinese
b.Arabic and French
c.French and Chinese
d. Arabic and Chinese with minor in French
Which would be the most beneficial while at the same time being realistic. I do plan on studying abroad for any of the languages i take, btw. I know Arabic and Chinese are highly wanted and I am personally interested in each language, history and all, however I'm slightly more interested in Arabic but I to learn the best possible language for a future with the UN or even as translator for the government. I'm also very interested in French, love French literature and film. </p></li>
<li><p>Any other interesting/beneficial minors i could add with this: psychology, economics? Any information on a good pairing with a language major is much wanted. </p></li>
<li><p>Are these majors going to be beneficial at all? I'm incredibly interested but at the end of the day, i will need a job!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I work overseas. Translaters are a dime a dozen. However, if you combine fluency in a second or third language w expertise in some other discipline, like engineering, law, etc, then it’s useful. </p>
<p>In case, ENGLISH is the int’l language of business & diplomacy. I’ve worked in non-English speaking countries on different continents, and business is conducted in ENGLISH.</p>
<p>Linguistics would probably suit you given your interests.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should major in just one or two languages. As @Conformist1688 said, look into linguistics</p>
<p>French should be one of your languages if you want to work for the UN.
It would be difficult to gain a sufficient level of proficiency in both Arabic and Chinese, especially with time demands of studying two non-Western languages and the necessity of studying abroad.
Pitt has a good Chinese program. The Arabic program is a certificate program, but basically would amount to a second major, especially if you study abroad.
Linguistics probably is not the most appropriate to provide a the necessary cultural background for translating a language. Linguistics focuses on the syntax, phonology, etc., of languages in general, but not so much on in-depth knowledge of the kind needed in particular languages for translation.
To improve employment prospects and to provide knowledge of a relevant specialty area for translation or government work, I’d recommend economics or business. Depending on the language you choose, other relevant minors/certicates to consider include Asian Studies or African Studies. Whatever combinations of major/minors/certificates you choose, be sure to rough out the requirements to see if you would be able to meet them in a typical four-year degree plan.</p>
<p>Here are some links that might interest you:</p>
<p><a href=“UN Careers”>UN Careers;
<a href=“UN Careers”>UN Careers;
<a href=“unlanguage.org - This website is for sale! - unlanguage Resources and Information.”>unlanguage.org - This website is for sale! - unlanguage Resources and Information.;
<a href=“unlanguage.org - This website is for sale! - unlanguage Resources and Information.”>unlanguage.org - This website is for sale! - unlanguage Resources and Information.;
<a href=“Application Instructions | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey”>Application Instructions | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey;
<a href=“Top 10 U.S. Translation Schools - ALTA Language Services”>http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/09/23/top-10-us-translation-schools/</a>
<a href=“http://www.atanet.org/”>http://www.atanet.org/</a>
<a href=“http://www.state.gov/careers/”>http://www.state.gov/careers/</a>
<a href=“https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/foreign-languages”>https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/foreign-languages</a>
<a href=“National Security Agency Careers | Apply Now”>National Security Agency Careers | Apply Now;
<a href=“https://www.fbijobs.gov/124.asp”>https://www.fbijobs.gov/124.asp</a>
<a href=“http://www.nvtc.gov/”>National Virtual Translation Center — FBI;
<a href=“http://www.state.gov/m/a/ols/index.htm”>http://www.state.gov/m/a/ols/index.htm</a>
<a href=“https://www.aau.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2156”>https://www.aau.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2156</a>
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/article/030307b.stm”>https://career.berkeley.edu/article/030307b.stm</a>
<a href=“http://www.jostrans.org/issue09/art_cao.pdf”>http://www.jostrans.org/issue09/art_cao.pdf</a>
<a href=“Day in the Work Life: U.N. translator - Marketplace”>http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/day-work-life-un-translator</a>
<a href=“UN Interpreters Make Sure Nothing Is Lost In Translation”>http://www.rferl.org/content/UN_Interpreters_Make_Sure_Nothing_Is_Lost_In_Translation/1995801.html</a>
<a href=“404 - Not found - AIIC”>404 - Not found - AIIC;
<a href=“The Realities and Benefits of Translation as a Full-time Job – An Introduction | What can I do with a B.A. in Japanese Studies?”>http://shinpaideshou.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2012/05/23/the-realities-and-benefits-of-translation-as-a-full-time-job-an-introduction/</a>
<a href=“http://www.languages-and-translation.com/working-as-a-translatorinterpreter-for-international-organizations/”>http://www.languages-and-translation.com/working-as-a-translatorinterpreter-for-international-organizations/</a>
<a href=“Interviews to established translators and freelancers”>http://translatorthoughts.com/category/interviews/</a>
<a href=“http://www.iwanttobecomeatranslator.com/getting-into-translation/barriers-to-becoming-a-translator/”>http://www.iwanttobecomeatranslator.com/getting-into-translation/barriers-to-becoming-a-translator/</a>
<a href=“TRANSLATION and INTERPRETATION in 2022 | Diplo”>http://www.diplomacy.edu/language/translation</a>
<a href=“http://wordcookies.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2013/02/02/do-you-really-need-a-degree-in-translations-to-become-a-translator/”>http://wordcookies.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2013/02/02/do-you-really-need-a-degree-in-translations-to-become-a-translator/</a>
<a href=“How to Pursue a Career with the United Nations or Other International Humanitarian Organizations”>http://www.coyotecommunications.com/stuff/workabroad.shtml</a>
<a href=“http://www.omniglot.com/language/careers.htm”>http://www.omniglot.com/language/careers.htm</a>
<a href=“Be a translator or interpreter, but not both | Wordsmeet: translation for businesspeople”>http://wordsmeet.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2014/06/01/be-a-translator-or-interpreter-but-not-both/</a></p>
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<p>Zapfino is correct; majoring in linguistics (especially in a program that is primarily theoretical in nature) would <em>not</em> be a good choice if you are indeed interested in interpretation/translation. </p>
<p>You would be much better off majoring in whichever languages interest you, and making sure you get the opportunity to study abroad, and do a graduate or certificate program in interpretation/translation. Georgetown has an excellent program, and there is a fine program at the Monterey Institute (used to be affiliated with the govt., now I believe they are affiliated with Middlebury College).</p>
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<p>One of my majors is linguistics, and I want to reiterate what zapfino and LoveTheBard have said: Don’t do linguistics if you just want to learn languages. That’s not what linguistics is about, and it’s certainly not the best route for translation/interpretation.</p>
<p>If you go with the language double major route, I would suggest French, and then pick from either Chinese or Arabic. Chinese and Arabic both take a long time for a native English speaker to master to the point where you can translate effectively, so doing both at the same time would most likely result in decreased fluency in both. In contrast, French is easier to master (that’s not to say achieving fluency is easy, of course) and would allow you to focus on whichever more difficult language you pick more than if you majored in two difficult languages.</p>
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<p>Thank you all so much for your help, i’ve really enjoyed and appreciated your insight!</p>
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<p>zapfino, special shout out to you for the links. Sorry it took so long to reply. also for everyone, if I just focus on one language, which language do you think would be the most beneficial: French or Arabic? I would do Chinese, but i’m most interested in French and Arabic!</p>
<p>Well, the answer right now is Arabic, although it really depends on what you want to do. If you are interested in foreign diplomacy at the moment we have more need for diplomatic dealings with countries where the primary language is Arabic. Not so much with French - besides, most of the Francophone countries the U.S. considers powerful and has dealings with (which means France, basically; perhaps also Switzerland and Belgium) has a well-educated populace that grows up learning English. The need for French-speaking diplomats to those areas isn’t necessarily great. (Of course, there is a large portion of Africa that is Francophone. Two African countries have more French speakers than Canada; 4 more have larger Francophone populations than Switzerland. So French-speaking diplomats may be needed there, but I doubt that they’re big business partners - yet, anyway.)</p>
<p>However, one of the great “problems” with language learning is that you never know what’s going to be the new ‘hot’ area in 10 years or so. The Middle East has been a long-standing interest, but I don’t think anyone expected China and India to blow up business-wise the way they have recently - just like people weren’t exactly expecting the “Asian Tigers” phenomenon that happened in the 1990s. In the 1970s and 1980s there was a lot of economic investment in South America.</p>
<p>So honestly, I think you should learn whatever language you are most interested in, with an eye to 1) practicality and 2) which area of the world you would like to/wouldn’t mind living in for several years, but not trying to plan ahead too far.</p>
<p>What I mean by that is - European languages can be a good choice, but there will be lots of competition. They’re easier to learn than other languages, they’re more widely available in U.S. high schools (which means more students continuing them in college), and there are a whole lot of highly-educated Europeans who speak their own native tongue (e.g., French) and English fluently because they begin taking English in elementary school. But Arabic, Korean, Hindi? They don’t have those issues, so not as much competition. And you can be sure that the Middle East and Korea will be long-standing business interests of the U.S. (the Middle East because of natural resources, primarily oil; Korea because of technology and financial services but also because of North Korea, which may be interesting over the next 5-10 years).</p>
<p>Check out what language the Critical Language Scholarship Program will pay for (<a href=“Languages List - Critical Language Scholarship Program”>http://www.clscholarship.org/languages/</a>), the language NSEP emphasizes (<a href=“http://www.nsep.gov/content/critical-languages”>http://www.nsep.gov/content/critical-languages</a>), and the languages the Boren Fellowship will cover (<a href=“https://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship/languages.html”>https://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship/languages.html</a>). All of these suggest that Arabic is much more in demand than French.</p>
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Hi,I was thinking of majoring in French Language and Culture, as well as education. I have been accepted to:UMBC, St. Mary’s College, Towson, Catholic University. Which do you all recommend and why?
Not to be a defeatist, but you shouldn’t bother. If you’re looking to get into the government, make sure you have family or friends in high places. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Arabic 2 years ago and the best job I got was stocking shelves at a grocery store overnight. It’s not worth all the pain and sleep deprivation you would endure to get that degree.