The Best Language for a Journalist?

Parents Forum
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<p>This is a really interesting thread.</p>

<p>I’ve spent the past 7 years learning Spanish, and I have spent a total of six weeks doing two study abroad summer programs (host family and daily class). My writing and reading comprehension are pretty solid, but my speaking needs a lot of practice.</p>

<p>After taking two college classes, I have no interest to study Spanish literature (why can’t they offer history or political science courses in Spanish… a bit more practical imho…). Arabic sounds interesting, so I will be starting it next semester. It’s very much practical today.</p>

<p>The State Department offers summer intensive programs for languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, etc. I’m not sure how competitve the programs are, but they are offered for students at a beginning level, intermediate level, or advanced. I’m trying to figure out if I want to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country for a semester or an Arabic speaking country. If I study abroad in a Spanish speaking country, I’ll be fluent. However, if I’m serious about Arabic, I will need to spend time abroad. I guess I’ll base my decision on what I do next summer (applying for the State Department program in an Arab country, as well as a State Department internship in a Spanish country).</p>

<p>I’d like to self study a bit of french and italian so I could get by. Italian and Spanish are so similar, I don’t think it’d be too difficult. </p>

<p>I’m interested in going into the foreign service or doing something international related eventually. Still haven’t figured out a major (rising sophomore), but I’ll at least minor in Economics (I’ve found it too boring right now to major) and probably major in Public Policy, along with having fluency in Spanish, Arabic, and English.</p>

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<p>Sounds like a really well though-out plan among the best that I’ve seen, honestly. </p>

<p>For a language as difficult as Arabic, the only thing I would consider is whether you would want to live for a year or two in a place where it’s spoken Or preferably longer… 'Cause if not, it’s a heck of an investment to make for probably not enough payback. Unless you live there (wherever that is) for awhile, you’re not going to speak enough Arabic for it to make much difference. The exception to this might be with the State Dept. who will like what you have however much that is and put you in a country or situation where you can make up the difference.</p>

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<p>Kana were derived from the shapes of Chinese characters is what he means. Some even borrow the character’s kanji prounciation, but it’s definitely japanese.</p>

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<p>Yes, that is correct. I used to have a chart that showed where each one came from. “a” comes from the kanji “an.” But the point is that kana are not borrowed from Chinese phoenetic writing systems. They’re completely homegrown.</p>

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<p>Gotcha. But the shapes and underlying meanings for that matter at least for the most part are Chinese. Chinese so far as I know never had phonetic writing systems. That’s what makes it so tough: unless someone tells you how to pronounce a word – now pinyin or bepemefe are used, there is nothng inherent in the language to tell you how to pronounce it.</p>

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<p>Oh, I didn’t mean to suggest that kana is not influenced heavily by Chinese hanzi. It most certainly is. But the idea that Japanese is some “simplified” form of Chinese is so off the mark that it’s almost funny. Japanese is almost like a complicated form of Chinese, really…</p>

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<p>I’m not qualified to give an opinion since I don’t know Japanese at all, but Chinese is very easy to learn after you memorize the first 200 or so characters. The rest of the million (probably not that many) characters are just combinations of the 200 characters; often you can tease out the meaning, and it makes it very easy to remember the rest of the characters. Also Chinese has basically no grammar, so that also makes it somewhat easier. The only part where I can imagine it’d be a lot harder than Japanese is in the pronunciation, since a lot of people can’t pronounce the Chinese accents at all.</p>

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<p>I think when you talk about 200, you are talking about radicals, that is components of characters which are sometimes characters themselves but more often form a composite with other radicals to make a complete character.</p>

<p>There are about 3,000 to 5,000 characters you need to learn to be functionally fluent, repeating myself. I find that the ability radicals offer to tease out the meaning of characters is overrated – at least it was for me.</p>

<p>Other than this, from what I know, you seem to be on the money.</p>

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<p>My D is off to college in the Fall. She is very proficient in French: completed 5 years plus AP, plus a trip to France last year on Spring Break. She loves it. But…she wants more…another challenge in school. So what language to pick up? She could follow the easier path and pick up Spanish or Italian. Or venture into German. Or go really adventurous with Mandarin or Arabic.</p>

<p>She, like some of you here on this board, have international ambitions, and some in public service. Lofty goals and I applaud you all…but its daunting and HIGHLY competitive. That said, it will NEVER do you ANY harm to pick up as many languages as you can.</p>

<p>I took French in college. 30 years ago. I have used it on and off over my career and certainly on trips overseas. I LOVE to sit next to swaggering kids on flights to/from Europe and listen to them chit chat in French acting all “masterful”. Not to burst their balloon, unless they are being arrogant and silly, I often get up from the seat after a few hours, and remark something in French and blow them away…they looks on their faces is priceless! </p>

<p>But kidding aside, it is laudable that anyone study a foreign language. At a minimum it helps in the way we look at the world and the culture of others. That has very positive effects. I can’t tell you how many times in my life I have been able to smooth over ruffled feathers on BOTH sides of the equation, simply by being able to explain some cultural differences, or language nuances, or even political perspectives. Nothing worse than an ignorant ugly american, or narrow minded haughty frenchman.</p>

<p>The stats on this thread were very helpful and I will cut and paste them and send them to my D.</p>

<p>I lived in France for 18 months 30 years ago, plus some military time before that. So I completely agree that NOTHING replaces being “in country” because it FORCES you shut down that temptation to translate everything naked, as we say, and to really start thinking like them…and THAT is the key to learning language. NOT TRANSLATING.</p>

<p>As for Intelligence Work, I can only say that the Government is very picky and very strict about “native speakers”. They much, much prefer people from those countries to do that work…though when they send Americans “in country” they always include a dose of language classes, as you have all aptly described above, such as DLI. It wouldnt hurt to have a language or two on your resume when applying. But the real skills they are looking for when it comes to intelligence work has little to do with pure speaking and reading a foreign language. Of course, there are those at NSA who sit in cubicles all day long and transcribe. (Not my idea of fun for very long…though a friend of a friend once told me he was doing the transcribing of Russian the night the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and “them was hot peppers, sarge!”) Yep.</p>

<p>Anyway, best of luck to you all. Keep your eyes focused on your goals and ambitions…like laser beams…but also allowing for the serendipitous events in life that are completely out of your control…or opportunities that go dancing by.</p>

<p>My wife was an Asian Studies major in College. She has not done much of anything with it since. But she has had a successful career nonetheless.</p>

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<p>koker: “And I’m not too sure about this but I don’t think Chinese has multiple ways to read a kanji the way that Japanese does.”</p>

<p>There is. </p>

<p>koker: “And then there’s masculine words and feminine words, and very few teachers seem to teach their students which is which, esp. because the lines are hazy and dependent on context. And Japanese is a language where a lot is not said and is just assumed.”</p>

<p>All languages have masculine and feminine, well maybe not English, but there are still certain phrases I doubt men would say. </p>

<p>I have serious doubts about how difficult Japanese is. Well, I am not too deeply engrained into the language, but I plan on taking JLPT 1 next year. Ok, I admit you might need a few more kanji than 300 to survive in Japan, but I think katakana is not only used in Japan. It is widely used in taiwan I remember, or at least something that looked like katakana. Also, Chinese also has had many phonetic writing systems; they just died out of use in the mainland. Well, I might be a bit biased since I am a native Chinese speaker, but the complexity of the language is shocking. There is infinite nuances, etc. I still do not dare claiming fluency in Chinese even though i spent 3 years in China and have studied chinese for the past 18 years. Japanese, however, it has not been so hard to get pass JLPT 2. A bit of studying in school and outside for 3 years and i got it. Took a JLPT 1 practice test a few months ago, and i think i should pass that too.</p>

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<p>On journalism in general,</p>

<p>Would majoring in history/English be beneficial in finding a job as well as being successful at it?</p>

<p>What careers can journalists have later?</p>

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<p>fastMEd,</p>

<p>Chinese does not possess the same numbers of readings per hanzi, and the combinations are not as complicated by the effects of domestication which Japanese use of kanji has.</p>

<p>Katakana is used only in Japan. The phonetic kana systems are used in Japan and Japan alone. What is used in Taiwan is a homegrown system.</p>

<p>Do not assume that JLPT 2 or 1 actually represent fluency. Actual fluency in Japanese is a very different beast. You also possess an advantage that non-Chinese do not have: hanzi.</p>

<p>And again, was your quote actually written by Brecht, or did you make it up?</p>

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<p>If you want to learn a language for journalism stick with Spanish for the time being. The media will be ever more concerned about selling to the Spanish-speaking market what with increased Latino buying powere here. There are sizable communities of Dominicans, Colombians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, or other Latin Americans in almost every media market now and news editors are constantly on the prowl for reporters who can establish themsleves and make contacts in these neighborhoods. </p>

<p>Remember too, that news organizations rarely send their yougest reporters overseas. You have to prove you’re an ace reporter first and foremost: somebody who can quickly recognize a story without a producer or editor coming up with the idea first,work on it quickly and with little supervision, write it ( or film it) in the style the particular news outlet wants, and file it on time, which will often be under difficult circumstnces. Almost always, the testing ground for demonstrating these skills is domestic reporting. </p>

<p>Consider too, that many (but by no means all) foregin correspndants do not speak the language of the country where they work. Both print and electronic news outlets often pair foreign correspondants with native speakers to translate. Those that do learn another language often pick it up there or in intensive study before ther are posted overseas. But they get the chance to do this, as I have said, because they have first proved their journalistic bona fides in the U.S. </p>

<p>And depending on the type of reporting you want to do, remember that English is still the lingua franca of much of the world. It is not uncommon for a reporter facing Arab, European or Asian sources to be dealing with a man or woman whose English is better than theirs! It doesn’t always happen, but it happens a lot. </p>

<p>In short, worry about your reporting skills first, if you want to get into the fiels. Pick up the neccesary experience to prove you can be a top journalist in the U.S first before you worry about acquiring some relatively exotic language.</p>

<p>(Actually, this is ture with almost any field you choose when you think about working overseas. The most valuable thing is the skill set for the job. People hire for that first and the language second)</p>

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<p>In the U.S., Spanish. Abroad, it all depends on the region/issues you are interested in covering.</p>

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<p>I’m interested in the Woodrow Wilson fellowship through the State Department. My friend’s older sister was fortunate enough to be selected and she is currently learning farci in Washington D.C. preparing to go to Dubai after spending two years in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the fellowship is probably one of the most competitive opportunities out there. No harm in trying for it.</p>

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<p>BigAppleDaddy (haha…), that’s a really good point and one I have thought extensively about. I think there is more to the decision than merely learning the language, though. It would be an amazing life experience to travel to the Middle East and get a firsthand feel for the culture and problems of the region. I don’t get truly interested in an issue until I confront it; I think such an experience might help fuel my passion for journalism, world affairs, and help me relate to places that are not my own home - or anything like it - more easily. In addition, I have always felt that there is something…special…about the Middle East. I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t know, though; it’s kind of a nebulous goal, I guess. What do you think?</p>

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<p>I’m an aspiring journalist too, and I think that Spanish and Arabic are probably the most important to learn, but I’m hoping to be relatively competent in Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, and Farsi when I graduate. I kind of have a Middle East fetish as well.</p>

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<p>My d’s school touts Latin for this reason.Granted kids who took it performed well on the SAT. Too bad German wasn’t offered or Mandarin.</p>

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<p>I haven’t read this whole thread, but here’s my two cents.</p>

<p>The whole subject of international journalism is close to my family’s heart: My husband and I both spent years as journalists overseas – he as a stringer and later bureau chief in various places, I as a stringer for a number of organizations. (We were both print people). He now runs an international journalism nonprofit that has several programs to encourage more international coverage by US media. (He’d probably be fine w/my posting the link here, but until I have a chance to ask him, please PM or email me if you’d like the link.)</p>

<p>Anyway, re. languages for a journalist: Chinese (Mandarin, that is), Arabic, Spanish, probably in that order, but really any of the three will help make you marketable. (Oh yeah – English, too.) If you’re fascinated by other parts of the world and the languages spoken there, by all means learn them. They’ll be a bonus for prospective employers, not to mention for you personally. But I don’t think you’ll be able to market yourself as broadly or consistently on the basis of your mastery of languages other than those three, even if they’re spoken by many millions of people in newsworthy countries. Japanese, Russian, Portuguese – I’d put them all in that category, though I’m certainly not dismissing them as interesting languages worthy of learning.</p>

<p>It’s important to understand how international reporting is changing. The internet, blogs, the 24-hour news cycle, people favoring bite-size headlines over in-depth reporting, escalating costs, mergers, buyouts, shutdowns – all are part of the reality of journalism today, and they all impact international coverage. Print journalism has arguably taken the biggest hit – not too many years ago, lots of newspapers had lots of foreign bureaus; now most of them have none – but every type of news organization has had to try to figure out new ways to keep up. And for those news organizations with foreign operations, the Iraq war is taking up a huge portion of their international budget – not just with the usual costs of having people overseas, but with enormous additional expenses to try to keep them safe.</p>

<p>By no means do I mean to discourage you, though! Quite the opposite!! Good journalists tell us things about the world that we’d never know otherwise. And when people see or read well-informed, knowledgeable reporting – as opposed to the constant stream of…umm…claptrap that often passes for “news” these days – they can make better, fairer, smarter and less insular judgments about the world and the other human beings in it. When it’s done well, journalism can have tremendous impact. Unfortunately, it can also have tremendous impact when it’s done poorly. We need more people who want to get out in the world and commit some great journalism.</p>

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<p>Thanks for that! :D</p>