NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm finishing up my last semester taking Arabic and am looking at starting a new language next semester. Right now I'm thinking either Modern Hebrew or Russian (partially because being talked at by relatives in a language you don't understand is very annoying...other upside to Hebrew is staying in the semitic language group is nice) but it got me thinking about "marketable" languages. What languages do you think are the most marketable?

I'm sure Spanish and Chinese are going to come up immediately; however, Spanish, for an English speaker, is very easy to learn so I wonder if that affects how attractive that is to an employer since they could fairly easily train their employees to speak it. Chinese, on the other hand, while difficult to learn is also spoken by ~1.2 (or is it 1.3, now?) billion Chinese citizens and millions upon millions of Chinese immigrants (Mandarin, that is...Maybe Cantonese is a good language to pick up for business?) so...again, I don't know how that would affect an employer's decision.

German's an acceptable language to learn, as is French. Both perfectly marketable and spoken by the richer countries of the world - although that you speak English is probably the most useful thing of all.

id choose on the basis of where you would like to work and with whom.

if you love the idea of working in latin america, go for spanish. if you love the idea of working in russia, learn russian.

Esperanto

But other than that, I think Spanish or some Chinese language, maybe Hindi would be marketable. Possibly something almost nobody else speaks.

As Ashmoria said, depends on where and what you want to do.

One that may be missed is Hindi. Hindi generally ranks in the top five most widely spoken languages (depends on how one counts) and the sub-continent is a growing economic power, that's already overtaken China in population....

Esperanto

But other than that, I think Spanish or some Chinese language, maybe Hindi would be marketable. Possibly something almost nobody else speaks.

You could learn Esperanto on the side while learning a 'real' language

id choose on the basis of where you would like to work and with whom.
The thing is, though...I don't really have a specific preference. I would like to work abroad but location isn't too important to me. I mean, part of my studies has included a good deal of emphasis on the Middle East so that seems like the most likely region I'd end up working in, but pretty much I would like to work where I would make money with people that would help me make money. :p
But other than that, I think Spanish or some Chinese language, maybe Hindi would be marketable. Possibly something almost nobody else speaks.

Hindi might be pretty cool. Isn't it split into numerous dialects, though? Much more so than Chinese, even? I know very little about Hindi, I don't even know if they offer it at my university, but it's definitely a language that would be an option if they do.

Esperanto

If one wants to go for the geek factor, sure.

But other than that, I think Spanish or some Chinese language, maybe Hindi would be marketable. Possibly something almost nobody else speaks.

Yeah, there's always the "nobody speaks Pashto" factor...

I'm finishing up my last semester taking Arabic and am looking at starting a new language next semester. Right now I'm thinking either Modern Hebrew or Russian (partially because being talked at by relatives in a language you don't understand is very annoying...other upside to Hebrew is staying in the semitic language group is nice) but it got me thinking about "marketable" languages. What languages do you think are the most marketable?

I'm sure Spanish and Chinese are going to come up immediately; however, Spanish, for an English speaker, is very easy to learn so I wonder if that affects how attractive that is to an employer since they could fairly easily train their employees to speak it. Chinese, on the other hand, while difficult to learn is also spoken by ~1.2 (or is it 1.3, now?) billion Chinese citizens and millions upon millions of Chinese immigrants (Mandarin, that is...Maybe Cantonese is a good language to pick up for business?) so...again, I don't know how that would affect an employer's decision.

Spanish is a good way to go, also Chinese, specially Mandarin because, lets face it, the world's items are almost all made in China plus, having billions of inhabitants it'll make business easy for anyone diversifying in Asia. I would also go for French and Japanese.

Where do you live? French is the most in-demand language for UK businesses, followed by German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. If you're in the US then German, Italian and Dutch will probably be less useful, and Spanish is your friend in the south, while French is still good in the north.

That said, picking a language based on employability isn't a great idea: langauge learning is hard (I know I don't really need to tell you this if you're doing Arabic at uni :p), and if you find a language to be a drag then you'll probably drop it. Pick the language you enjoy most and worry about job-seeking later.

Hindi might be pretty cool. Isn't it split into numerous dialects, though? Much more so than Chinese, even? I know very little about Hindi, I don't even know if they offer it at my university, but it's definitely a language that would be an option if they do.
I don't think you can miss being marketable with Arabic. Especially, if you want to work for the U.S. government. Commercially, Chinese has got to be the "new" Japanese in terms of marketability and demand.

India is a little different, from what I can tell. Most Indians I met speak a sort of English (better than my Hindi) and a 'National' version of Hindi. They also speak regional languages that no one from other states can understand.

Like others have said, it all depends. I'm studying Latin right now, mostly for the fact that it makes understanding legal concepts, as well as pretty much any type of scientific nomenclature, much easier. Besides, it makes it much easier to understand its offspring languages of French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Romanian.

Alternatively, learn Klingon!

Seriously, the number of nerds out there, as well as the growing importance of the IT guy, means that if you know Klingon, you can communicate with this strange group as a friend. You'll get the quickest responses for IT calls, pointers while the guy is working instead of arbitrary commands, and the possibility of cool software apps that let you screw around with the boss's computer (always fun!). You may have to attend a Star Trek Con here or there, but it will be worth it. Your computer will be the first one restored, and since they know "he's the only guy in that department that speaks Klingon, so try that," password forwarding will be less of an issue since they'll trust you. Klingon. It works.

I'd recommend one of the following languages:

Chinese, Japanese, or Hindi. Useful if you deal with those countries. Ordered in importance of knowing the language in the country. Actually, Hindi might not be so useful. I know that English is used commonly, especially in business & politics. I have seen videos of the Indian Congress, and they were speaking English. If you ever plan to deal with Japanese, I would recommend learning a few simple Japanese phrases. You'll gain some respect, and they also come in handy at a sushi restaurant.

French & Spanish are spoken in dozens of countries worldwide. French is also spoken in France, which might be a good country to visit. Spanish is useful if you are anywhere in the Americas save Canada or Greenland.

If you have a specific country in mind, learn that language. Hebrew is only useful if you plan to go to Israel. Mind you, since you already know Arabic and English, maybe you should learn Hebrew and work with Israelis, since you'll have covered Israel's top three languages. Russian would allow you to communicate with relatives, is good for dealing with Russians, and might actually be useful in Israel, come to think of it. I definitely noted that if they displayed signs in a fourth language, it was Russian - and sometimes, they cut out Arabic in favor of Russian (presumably in heavily Jewish areas, where there are more Russian immigrants than Arabs).

The thing is, though...I don't really have a specific preference. I would like to work abroad but location isn't too important to me. I mean, part of my studies has included a good deal of emphasis on the Middle East so that seems like the most likely region I'd end up working in, but pretty much I would like to work where I would make money with people that would help me make money. :p



then try farsi.

Learning the ever-important Icelandic myself.

I recommend:

Linear A
Tatar
Sami
Washo[And other crucial Amerindian languages, meaning those with more than eight speakers]
Yola
Doric
Faroese
Klingon

I recomand you my language : the French , you will not be disapointed by the country or french speaking countries.

It really depends on where you're going to be working more than anything. If you're primarily working in the US with US clients, Spanish would be your best bet. In Europe, French or German is probably best, although some others such as Russian might be handy if you're working in the eastern part of the continent. In Asia, Chinese/Indian are probably best, although there are plenty of other emerging economies that might come in handy.

Really, it comes down to what you like. Knowing any foreign language is a marketable skill.

I'm going to have to go with Mandarin Chinese or Japanese, since those are the major business partners, and China just keeps on growing. Also, almost everyone in schools still only learn French or Spanish as secondary languages, so they're less marketable due to the vast amount of people who actually speak it.

Japanese would probably be a good choice. Its not terribly difficult if you can get past the concept of using words as punctuation. And Kanji can be a real bitch for some people, but its pretty neat.

Dont let people turn you off to it by saying its hard. Compared to Russian, I'm finding Japanese pretty easy.
And its impressive. Even if you get a job not requiring you to speak it, people might go, "Oh, this guy speaks Japanese. Thats pretty impressive."

Plus its almost as fun to swear in as Russian.

I recomand you my language : the French , you will not be disapointed by the country or french speaking countries.

As a bit of a francophone myself, I can truly agree with you there. France has given a lot to Western culture.

English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi (maybe), and Arabic will be the new international languages of the next century. Some other good languages to learn, given the present state of affairs in the international arena, are Korean, Russian, and Farsi.

And you'll almost certainly always have a job if you know either French, German, or Italian.

Spanish, for an English speaker, is very easy to learn
That's a myth. I think French is actually much easier since you already know like half the words in it and the structure is very similar.

Don't take Spanish, you're just encouraging Hispanics to not learn English.

Punjab
Tagalog
Vietnamese
Hindi
Farsi
Cantonese

Learn Irish (Gaelic for those of you who will insist on calling it that)
the European Union needs translators now its an official EU language, and there is a shortage of those, and as such it pays incredibly well.

woo, téigh Gaeilge

In addition to my native English, I speak Spanish and a smattering of Danish. One of these languages is marketable, the other is not.

Hell, with Danish I don't even get the "nobody speaks Danish!" factor for the simple reason that nobody needs to.

Sign language, if you care to go through all of the schooling required to get certified, is very very marketable.

And fun!

Congrats on learning Arabic. It is a very difficult language to master in my opinion. You will find that you speaking standard Arabic will not always make it easy for you to understand other Arab speakers without them making an effort to formalize what they are saying. I speak Moroccan (Maghreb) mostly and other Arabic speakers don't understand it. Almost a different language really. So I have to fall back onto the standard to communicate with Arabs from Egypt or the Middle East.
Did you also learn to write in Arabic script? That in itself is difficult.


French is a good language to learn. Surprisingly there are many people out there that speak French. I have known it since a kid however I hear it is easy to learn in class. If it is anything like Spanish I suggest trying it. Spanish was fairly easy for me to pick up with a English and French background. Although I don't use Spanish outside of traveling to Mexico or Spain. It is one language that I don't keep in practice.

Congrats on learning Arabic. It is a very difficult language to master in my opinion. You will find that you speaking standard Arabic will not always make it easy for you to understand other Arab speakers without them making an effort to formalize what they are saying. I speak Moroccan (Maghreb) mostly and other Arabic speakers don't understand it. Almost a different language really. So I have to fall back onto the standard to communicate with Arabs from Egypt or the Middle East.
Did you also learn to write in Arabic script? That in itself is difficult.


French is a good language to learn. Surprisingly there are many people out there that speak French. I have known it since a kid however I hear it is easy to learn in class. If it is anything like Spanish I suggest trying it. Spanish was fairly easy for me to pick up with a English and French background. Although I don't use Spanish outside of traveling to Mexico or Spain. It is one language that I don't keep in practice.

Is Arabic your native language?

Is Arabic your native language?

English and French. Arabic came later. I actually learned Arabic while in the military. Needed to pick up a useful language. Through further study and travel I picked up a fluency. I ended up marrying a Moroccan which cemented my use of it.

Sign Language

Sign language, if you care to go through all of the schooling required to get certified, is very very marketable.

And fun!

I place my seal of approval on this suggestion - great idea.

Remember, there are benefits of being the only fish in a small pond.

English and French. Arabic came later. I actually learned Arabic while in the military. Needed to pick up a useful language. Through further study and travel I picked up a fluency. I ended up marrying a Moroccan which cemented my use of it.

Nice! I've always wanted to learn it, but have always lacked the resources. Arab calligraphy is absolutely beautiful, though.

Thinking about it...

I'm of a mind to suggest that sign language should be everyone's second language. It would a very easy way of allowing everyone to communicate with everyone else - all you're doing is putting symbols to meanings, much as all written Chinese is readable no matter what dialect you speak.

In some ways it already is, we use our hands to make ourselves understood where language is different, hell we use hands when we speak the same language.

I think sign language taught mandatory in school as a second language, even as an aid to learning your own language would have great benefits.

I place my seal of approval on this suggestion - great idea.

The downside is that, at least in the US, it takes six years of schooling to get certified. And you can't do anything professional with it without certification.

Incidentally, I took ASL in high school and am not getting certified.

Hella fun though. I still sign at everyone I know even though no one understands what I'm doing.

Thinking about it...

I'm of a mind to suggest that sign language should be everyone's second language. It would a very easy way of allowing everyone to communicate with everyone else - all you're doing is putting symbols to meanings, much as all written Chinese is readable no matter what dialect you speak.

In some ways it already is, we use our hands to make ourselves understood where language is different, hell we use hands when we speak the same language.

I think sign language taught mandatory in school as a second language, even as an aid to learning your own language would have great benefits.

You do know that most countries have their own entirely different form of sign language, yes? Just making sure, as many people don't actually know that.

IE: American Sign Language is completely different from British Sign Language, and knowing one will not let you understand the other.

You do know that most countries have their own entirely different form of sign language, yes? Just making sure, as many people don't actually know that.

IE: American Sign Language is completely different from British Sign Language, and knowing one will not let you understand the other.

Whatever, we could standardize. I know it would take governments and the UN like 50 years to come to any agreement, another 50 to implement and countless billions lost in between but...

...sigh

:(

Whatever, we could standardize. I know it would take governments and the UN like 50 years to come to any agreement, another 50 to implement and countless billions lost in between but...

...sigh

:(

Doesn't work that way. You might as well be trying to standardize spoken language. Sign language is a natural language: it is developed by the people who use it, rather than being made up by someone else for them. You can't standardize it any more than you can standardize spoken language.

Doesn't work that way. You might as well be trying to standardize spoken language. Sign language is a natural language: it is developed by the people who use it, rather than being made up by someone else for them. You can't standardize it any more than you can standardize spoken language.

Yes you can.

I can do the alphabet in sign language, I'm guessing it's the British version but I can't believe other alphabetic-based language sign language standards don't use the 5 fingers as the five vowels.

All you're doing is standardising the symbol for dog, cat, I, go, very, more - this can be done.

People may form their own dialects but I can still understand a gruff Yorkshireman because the basics of our language are standard.

It certainly could be done, it just won't.

Yes you can.

I can do the alphabet in sign language, I'm guessing it's the British version but I can't believe other alphabetic-based language sign language standards don't use the 5 fingers as the five vowels.

All you're doing is standardising the symbol for dog, cat, I, go, very, more - this can be done.

People may form their own dialects but I can still understand a gruff Yorkshireman because the basics of our language are standard.

It certainly could be done, it just won't.

Can you standardize the difference between French and English? They are completely different languages. Similarly, American Sign and British Sign are completely different, as ASL is based on French Sign (which is in turn based on French). It should be noted that FSL is NOT French using signs, nor is ASL or BSL English using signs instead of words. The grammar between ASL and English is completely different, as different as English and French.

That is to say, you would have to come up with a completely independent sign language, and then get everyone to use it. They tried that with spoken language and it failed miserably. I imagine the same would happen with sign.

Can you standardize the difference between French and English? They are completely different languages. Similarly, American Sign and British Sign are completely different, as ASL is based on French Sign (which is in turn based on French). It should be noted that FSL is NOT French using signs, nor is ASL or BSL English using signs instead of words. The grammar between ASL and English is completely different, as different as English and French.

That is to say, you would have to come up with a completely independent sign language, and then get everyone to use it. They tried that with spoken language and it failed miserably. I imagine the same would happen with sign.

Look, in China, there are thousands of different dialects, as different as German is to Italian - yet they all use the same written symbols, the written form works across all the different languages in China.

In a sense, they even have a standardised sign language, where a word is hard to decipher despite context and tone, people will write the character in the air.

Oddly, I traveled with a Japanese guy in the south of China once, I could speak Mandarin and he could write the characters and between us, we could communicate very easily with everyone.

It's possible.

I'm not looking for complex philosophical discussions in sign language, I'm thinking fairly basic information can be imparted across all langauges by standardising noun, verb, adjective.

So in English:

I go to the beach

German:

I to the beach go

French:

I go to the beach.

Among all, you're able to easily communicate this in a standard sign.

Having said that, there's obviously difficulties and barriers to cross as you point out - I'd hash this out in the UN forum if I either had the inclination or the faith that there'd be reasonable debate.