inthegrowlery

Or maybe even helped you get the job? Aside from the obvious necessity of knowing other languages that a translator faces, I would like to hear from those working in other fields who have found it to be an advantage.

Hunt

I found knowing French to be of a little bit of help when I traveled to Belgium for work a couple of times.

HarrietMWelsch

I don't think I can claim to "know" any other languages anymore, but glancing familiarity with a couple has certainly helped me in my job now and then.

(Are you a Dickens fan, inthegrowlery?)

inthegrowlery

Yes, waiting for an Esther of my own to keep me out of it.

inthegrowlery

Just to clarify: I'm Esther's age, not Mr Jarndyce's!

musicamusica

When first out of grad school I worked for an Italian film producer here in the US and used my Italian to act as a liaison between the production company in Rome and the production company here.

I was hired BECAUSE I spoke fluent Italian.

debbiemayer

Yes! I quit my job to travel in South America, and when I came back to the US last March, the only jobs that I got interviews & offers from required at least an intermediate knowledge of Spanish.

I majored in sociology and I'm interested in non-profit work, so it made sense, but I was relieved to find out that leaving my job to travel wasn't as dumb as it seemed during a recession.

leanid

Absolutely! English has helped me immensely in all the jobs I have held

inthegrowlery

ok ok, some can answer as if the question was directed toward their native tongue

HarrietMWelsch

Goodness knows if I were more familiar with the dialect of the Borrioboola-Gha, I could conduct my work better. Fortunately, I have an amanuensis.

(Okay, I'll stop. My first answer was serious: Yes, it has helped me in my work occasionally.)

Booklady

I've used French, which I can read pretty fluently (my spoken French is very rusty) as well as the smattering of German and Italian that I have, fairly often in my work, but it's a somewhat unusual occupation (rare books).

P.S. I also love your name - Bleak House is my favorite Dickens novel. And Harriet - LOL!

JHS

Once -- once! -- a client asked me to do a deal in Argentina, and my Spanish came in very handy. Everyone we dealt with spoke English reasonably well, but some of the documents had to be in Spanish, and it really helped to read some Argentinian law books to understand where some of the concepts were coming from. I never really pursued anything that would have used my Spanish systematically, though.

Similarly, for another client I have had to do some tax planning involving significant assets in France, and it had been helpful to be able to read French legal materials and to let French lawyers answer questions in French rather than their almost-perfect English.

Futureholds

I took five years of French (4 in high school) and three years of German (two in high school). Both have never helped me a bit. Even in the native countries, the people would just answer me in English. Last year of college, I took 2 semesters of Spanish in one semester (7 hours of class per week) since I had only been accepted at University of Miami for Med School. Turns out I didn't need it since I went somewhere cheaper. Eventually went to Houston and them SF Bay area and use my weak spanish all the time. I only use French when I help my kids with their homework since their middle school does not offer Spanish. Occasionally use Mandarin with my Chinese patients but only know hello, goodby, how are you, happy new year, and Bruce Lee rocks.

BCEagle91

I worked in corporate support a long time ago and had to work with customers around the world though usually through a local or country support center. Some knowledge of spanish and german were helpful at getting the problems solved a little more quickly.

oldfort

My husband works with a lot of Europeans - German, French, Italian, Spanish...They all speak English. It is the common language for them. I speak and read Chinese fluently, my bank is a global company, I have never once ever used Chinese or felt inadequate because I didn't speak another language. It seems to be the vogue to learn Chinese now, very popular in HS and college. There is no way anyone could learn the language well enough to get a job at a local company where Chinese is the only spoken language. Most major international Chinese company employees speak English, even average educated Chinese speak English.

I personally don't see what's the big deal of learning another language. I think it's more important to learn about different cultures.