<p>Is anyone minoring in Dutch?</p>
<p>I am interested, but I’m not sure whether it’s really that useful. I’m not planning to work or live in Netherlands after graduation. I just wanted to learn it because it sounds cool lol! </p>
<p>Also, I am of Asian descent. Will Dutch minor greatly make me stand out when I’m applying for jobs?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Not so long ago, I was amazed to find that hardly any universities offer courses in Dutch. Penn is a major exception, much to its credit. I think Berkeley and Wisconsin teach Dutch, too, and that’s about it. (Wisconsin: Think beer and cheese, my two favorite products of the Dutch-speaking world.)</p>
<p>So minoring in Dutch will definitely make you somewhat unique, since very few students even have an opportunity to minor in Dutch. But will it make you stand out? Probably not. There’s a reason most universities don’t bother teaching Dutch. There isn’t a lot of interest in it, and not a lot of reason to be interested. Also – and apologies to my Dutch friends on this – I have the impression that people who know German, especially English-speakers who know German – can pick up Dutch with very little trouble.</p>
<p>I think learning any new language is worthwhile, no matter the immediate application in your business or social life. It’s great brain candy and as the Russians say “you are as many people as the number of languages you speak.” I would completely encourage you to learn Dutch. </p>
<p>I learned German in college, and over the past few years have picked up an ad hoc ability to read Dutch without really studying it – it is indeed quite easy for an english speaker with some German background to pick up Dutch quickly. Learn a few spelling tricks and it’s easy to convert German to Dutch. I actually use it in business occasionally – I’m in the finance field and use it to research Dutch companies. Speaking’s a different story - lots of hard to pronounced vowel dipthongs and tripthongs for an English speaker, and those swallowed, gutturalized “g’s” are a killer. Harder than German in that respect.</p>
<p>I wonder if Penn actually offers a minor in Dutch – or does it just offer language courses? I’ll have to investigate.</p>
<p>By the way, I went to Penn (Wharton) for grad school, and just for a hoot, audited an undergrad Swedish language course while there. It was great fun, and if I recall, driven by a love interest at the time. Wonder whatever happened to her …</p>
<p>Amazing what google can pick up [Minors</a> | Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Penn](<a href=“Germanic Languages and Literatures”>Germanic Languages and Literatures)</p>
<p>I’m taking a relatively underrepresented language here as well. If you’re genuinely interested in it then go for it, but don’t do it just because you think it’ll be novel when applying for jobs.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[About</a> Us | Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Penn](<a href=“Germanic Languages and Literatures”>Germanic Languages and Literatures)</p>
<p>Woo-hoo, Penn! :)</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch for your insights, guys. Btw, is there such thing as double minor at UPenn? And do you think it’s worth it?</p>
<p>A double minor is definitely doable at Penn:</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/minors/index.php]Minors[/url”>http://www.college.upenn.edu/minors/index.php]Minors[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Whether it’s worth it really depends on your own personal interests and passions.</p>