Which language should I study

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I am trying to figure out which language to study while in college. I have narrowed down my choices to:</p>

<p>Swedish
Russian
Spanish
Italian</p>

<p>I took a single year of Spanish during freshman year (seems like forever ago), and was okay at it. I might want to learn something else though, since it seems like everyone is doing Spanish.</p>

<p>I would love to hear pros and cons of each, or just one. Any help would be appreciated</p>

2

<p>Well, most people learn Spanish for a good reason. It is the most applicable language that you could potentially use in the real world, assuming that you’re a citizen of the US.</p>

<p>If you’re not in a major that will heavily involve foreign languages, Spanish is likely the best option in my opinion. French would probably be second.</p>

3

<p>Russian is good if you are interested in working for the government.</p>

4

<p>I’d do Swedish because I think that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard offered in my entire life but for applicability, Spanish is the way to go. Knowing Spanish will certainly help you; even in the US, both Texas and California–two of the most densely populated states in the nation–are predominantly Hispanic, having surpassed the 50% in the early to mid 2000s. But do whatever interests you. That’s how you’ll truthfully be able to succeed.</p>

5

<p>If you plan on living in the United States for the rest of your life, I would definitely recommend Spanish. I took French and even though I love the language, I would take Spanish in college in a heartbeat.</p>

6

<p>Pros and cons
Swedish
+: cool, unusual, will make you stand out, plus opportunities for study abroad on Sweden’s dime via scholarships

  • : not likely to be very practical unless you work in specific industrial areas</p>

<p>Russian
+: useful if you can get to a high level and plan to go to grad school in some subjects or for some types of jobs
-: extremely difficult to learn and master</p>

<p>Spanish
+: you’ve already had a year of it, it’s practical especially if you live in border states in the South or near Chicago
-: you’d need to be especially good at it if you wish to distinguish yourself from the thousands who also take Spanish</p>

<p>Italian
+: if it’s your heritage, good to look at that; unusual but probably easier than Swedish; interesting culture and country
-: not sure how you would use it</p>

<p>Orion12: Spanish is more practical for some trades and this mostly for work within the US, but Canada being our #1 commercial partner it’s easier to sell to them if you speak both French and English, and know the difference in culture between French and English speaking Canada; there are a bunch of important French companies in the US, too, like Michelin, SOdhexo, etc.</p>

7

<p>My personal opinions:</p>

<p>Russian:

  • It seems like it could be fun/interesting. could have some practicality it future with jobs and such. Used in/similar to other slavic nations and languages.
  • would probably be really hard, need to learn new alphabet, sounds, and much more.</p>

<p>Italian:

  • Seems like it could be fun, is really nice sounding, some practicality (eating at real Italian restaurant, visiting Italy) probably similar to Spanish (both are Latin/Romance based) cool to learn about history/culture, it’s something different than everyone else but is still similar.
  • Little practicality during college/ outside of specific areas. not widely used around the world.</p>

<p>Spanish:

  • Already have some basics down, practical in the “real world”, used by large part of the world, travel/study abroad oppurtunities
  • Everyone else pretty much does it, don’t live in a border state</p>

<p>Swedish:

  • sounds cool/interesting, have some interest in Swedish/Scandinavian culture/history, looking online, it sounds like it isn’t overly difficult to learn, most people aren’t doing it, study abroad opportunities,<br>
  • Not super practical in “real world”, most Swedes speak English, </p>

<p>that’s what I can come up with off the top of my head, would still love to hear other people’s opinions, and thank you to those who have already posted.</p>

8

<p>Take Spanish. Its extremely easy to learn if your pure American and live in the US and its also very practical in the real world. As for Sweden, I just came back from a study tour in Stockholm and everyone there speaks english so its not really needed. Though the language itself is pretty cool. I can’t really speak for the other two.</p>

9

<p>As much as I want to learn Russian myself and am tempted to suggest it because of that, I’d take Spanish. As others have said, it’s by far the most useful in the US of those on that list.</p>

10

<p>study swedish. Its easy to learn and its also very useful in this competitive world.
It Seems like fun,nice sounding,easy to learn about history/culture, it’s something bit different from other language.
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