Reasons to learn Russian

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Spanish is overrated :P</p>

<p>I took Russian in my first year because I loved the history and literature... thought I'd be a Russian major and study in Russia. </p>

<p>Oops, didn't turn out that way due to transferring schools and unable to keep up with my Russian there... but now I'm studying Hebrew and am in Israel... very happy the way things turned out.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, I'lll never forget my Russian experience- I loved the professor, the class, the language (very easy).... it was just a very different culture than you would expect. I'll bet that the OP's Russian professor willl be a native Russian- s/he will learn SO much. It's not the same as taking French or Spanish from an American, if you know what I mean. I can still read the Cyrillic alphabet... occasionally, I'll stop in a Russian market and attempt to read the products :) :)</p>

<p>Someone predict that while it's all very popular to study Arabic right now because of Middle East politics, Russian will still be needed because Russia is coming back into power and will eventually become a global power with all the resources. By the time people become fluent in Arabic, it'd be a little late... :)</p>

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<p>Not really. The Middle East is coming to power as well. And if you want to go on your logic, they will be even more important than Russia when it comes to resources...</p>

<p>In the next half a century or so, the Middle East will be a bigger player than Russia in terms of oil. China will dwarf Russia's economy, and probably power as well. And depending on how many of the top players will continue with their pacifist (which is good and all, but there comes a time when sitting down and watching things develope without doing anything is just stupid...cough WWII, still happening today) attitude, we might even do away with the UN :)</p>

<p>Not to discourage the OP from learning RUssian; I wish I could. Though with French and German I'm kind of set at the moment :(.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
In the next half a century or so, the Middle East will be a bigger player than Russia in terms of oil.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>But "the Middle East" is not one country under the control of a single regime. Russia is. Now obviously Russia can't beat UAE or Saudi for reserves, but you have to do a country by country comparison to yield anything interesting. In that case, Russia's proven oil reserves put it in the top 10, right around Venezuela.</p>

<p>Sure, that's not Saudi or Kuwait, but it's no small beans either.</p>

<p>Russia also has a lot better developed capital than any of the Middle Eastern nations have right now (though Iran seems intent on developing). Almost all of the Middle Eastern countries suffer some form of "Dutch disease," and there's far less development of an industrial or service base going on in the region.</p>

<p>China's growth, however, will be interesting. Nonetheless, people seem to forget that China's growth is highly dependent right now on sea lane stability, particularly in the Strait of Malacca. </p>

<p>
[quote]
And depending on how many of the top players will continue with their pacifist (which is good and all, but there comes a time when sitting down and watching things develope without doing anything is just stupid...cough WWII, still happening today) attitude, we might even do away with the UN

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Doing away with the UN would probably be the single most stupid thing this world could do. The UN and all of the other post-WWII institutions (like Bretton Woods) have helped create ways for nations to reduce information gaps in communication (in other words, reducing the bounds on rational decision making), institutionalize issues that were otherwise left to the international anarchic order, and give everyone access to tons of information. The UN may not be the answer to the security dilemma, but it offers countries access to a huge database of information on everything ranging from military spending to greenfield investment growth.</p>

<p>The UN may have also helped stop the US and USSR from engaging in more serious conflicts throughout the duration of the Cold War.</p>

<p>So before you talk about "do nothing" countries, consider the fact that the reason that countries can do nothing today is twofold-- 1. The US is a stabilizing hegemonic power that far outstrips anyone else in ability to spend on the military (e.g. many allies can no longer keep up and actually be useful in joint operations), and 2. (and probably more importantly) the institutionalization that the UN has brought us has probably been the MOST important factor in reducing the numbers of interstate wars since the 1940s.</p>

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<p>yes, middle-east will never lose its importance. it is in the center of the world!!</p>

<p>i suppose that russian is useful for mathematicians. but i really can't believe that phD requires russian. i mean math is supposed to be understood without language!! it's language in itself!! just like logic.</p>

<p>i don't know why u guys are all worrying about which language is more useful cuz no language comes nowhere near english in terms of pervasiveness, usefulness, etc. just choose the language that u like, forget these worries about its usefulness unless u plan to move out of anglophone.</p>

<p>i don't think arabic will be easier than mandarin for any of u. it's pronunciation is hell: something like half of the sounds are nonexistet in english. also, it's "afro-asiatic": absolutely no resemblance with indo-european.</p>

<p>spanish is, of course, easy and useful.</p>

<p>french is a little more difficult, but pretty cool.</p>

<p>italian is cooler than french (and russian). it is perhaps the best language if u look at values of languages in terms of the cultural volume. just look at the amount of art is produced, all the brilliant food, and its is the home of the romans. it produces better cars than germany (lambourginig, ferrari). in fact northern italy would be the RICHEST country in europe or perhaps the world (yes, richer than germany or france). but sadly southern italy is just way too poor to put the country in that status.</p>

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<p>and of course, all musical terminology, instruments originates from italy:</p>

<p>piano, violin, cello,.......allegro, grosso, do re mi fa ... etc.</p>

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<p>i meant european music. yes, italy is the perfect embodiment of europe. europe does not need germany or all those northerners. but it needs italy, and it's supporting cultures spain, france, england</p>

27

<p>You should learn Portuguese before you learn Spanish, if possible.</p>

<p>Portuguese speakers can understand Spanish where Spanish speakers cannot understand Portuguese.</p>

28

<p>Ooh, you should take Russian! Of course, I am biased--I've taken it for four years of high school--but Russian has been a really fun language to learn. The culture and history is fascinating, there's lots of great art, music, cinema. It's not too hard (at least, not compared to Mandarin, which I started this year and is KILLER). Basically, Russia is just a fascinating place. Not quite European, not quite Asian. There's nothing really like it.</p>

<p>Also, Russian is pretty useful. I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but it is on the State Department list of Critical Languages that are important for Americans to learn. Definitely look into it, talk to professors, etc. I have never regretted stopping Spanish to take Russian and I will probably pursue a major in Russian Studies in college. Anyway, good luck with your choice and I hope you choose Russian. :-)</p>

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<p>boost^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</p>

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<p>Obviously this person hasn’t posted in 3 years, but…</p>

<p>Math is about objects and characterizations of objects, all of which need to be defined either in terms of other objects/characterizations or more intuitively. Either way, these definitions are made up of words. In fact, if you look at a mathematical research paper, it’s almost entirely words. And those words obviously aren’t always in English.</p>

<p>Russian isn’t always required. Most schools require one or two out of Russian, French and German (and sometimes another choice or two). Different countries have stronger traditions in different areas of math, and your choice would depend on which is most useful. I also get the impression that it’s not a strict requirement in terms of becoming generally fluent. You need to show that you can understand a paper in that language.</p>

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<p>My friend was born with parents who spoke only Russian and he grew up speaking Russian and learning English. Now in college he decided to take the 1st level of Russian and he said it was his hardest class even with all his prior knowledge in the language. But good luck learning it, it’s an awesome sounding language.</p>

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<p>what are you a communist?</p>

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<p>I don’t want to seem like a sleeze, but I find Russian women very attractive, maybe that could be another reason for you?</p>

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<p>I’m a Russian minor. Laying the groundwork for the Russian language isn’t too difficult. You can learn the cyrllic alphabet within a week (as in having it completely down). I got A’s in my first four semesters of Russian, with very much ease. I had to drop the fifth year language course (which was the last one). The difficulty level was way too tough, and I couldn’t do well in the class (I was also working two jobs at this point). If you have the time to devote to it, then I don’t think the upper level Russian stuff will be all too difficult.</p>

<p>The Russian departments are generally small, so you will have a lot of he same teachers throughout your college career, which is a big positive imo. You don’t get the same thing with some of the other languages like Spanish or German.</p>

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<p>I’ve been learning Russian for around 4 years and have some degree of proficiency in it… it’s a really fascinating language. It’s very complex and if you’ve never studied a foreign language it will throw your for a loop. I really enjoy it, though. </p>

<p>As you might know, there are 6 “cases” of nouns (nominative, prepositional, instrumental, genitive, dative, accusative). That’s really not the hard part, though - the hardest part (for me, at least) is something called verbal aspect, where different verb forms are used depending on whether or not the action in question has been completed, is in progress, is done habitually, etc. </p>

<p>Anyway, it’s not easy but it’s very fulfilling and I’ve met a surprising number of Russian speaking people. o_O </p>

<p>(oh, you posted this three years ago… meh…)</p>

36

<p>My father is Russian, but because of complicated circumstances in our relationship I never learned Russian. Not learning the language has become one of my biggest regrets, and seeing this thread has definitely made me feel excited about the idea of taking it in college.</p>