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Which Language should I choose? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| mfest Diglot Newbie Poland Joined 4029 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: Polish*, English | Message 1 of 20 18 November 2013 at 9:36pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hello,
My name's Matthew and I'm 21 years old and I'm studying law. I have a big problem. Namely, I decided to start learning next language (English in progress, for 1,5 years planning CAE certificate) and I can't choose ;/ I'm wondering about : -swedish / norwegian -russian Chinese is out (I plan to start learning it after passing CAE certificate, because study this language takes 7-10 years to be fluent in spoken and written) How do you think which language will be the most useful for work relating to the Law? Edited by Fasulye on 24 November 2013 at 2:23pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sarnek Diglot Senior Member Italy Joined 4219 days ago 308 posts - 414 votes  Speaks: Italian*, English Studies: German, Swedish | Message 2 of 20 18 November 2013 at 11:11pm | IP Logged | |||||
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First you must ask yourself, why are you learning a new language? Out of passion or out
of sheer usefulness? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6601 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 3 of 20 19 November 2013 at 12:51am | IP Logged | |||||
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I'm guessing you like the Scandinavian languages but think Russian might be more useful. If so, go for Scandinavian. If you speak a rare language, there might be less offers but also much less competition. Swedish might be slightly more useful, being an EU language.
That said I've been told about a woman here in Moscow who studied the following languages at university: English, Old Norse/Icelandic (and worked on a farm in Iceland to really master it), and one Scandinavian language, I don't remember which. She's been working at the Australian embassy and obviously using only English, and now she's moving to Australia :D One thing about your sphere is that you also need to know the laws of the country whose language you're learning, and maybe even some cultural information. You may find a "Russian for lawyers" textbook but probably not Swedish or Norwegian. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| mfest Diglot Newbie Poland Joined 4029 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: Polish*, English | Message 4 of 20 20 November 2013 at 9:30am | IP Logged | |||||
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Yes, your guessing is right ;) I've heard some swedish conversations,some norwegian
conversations,and im my opinion norwegian is much more similar to German... on the other hand swedish sounds more nice for me. So, I've decided to learn this language. Thereupon I have question about probably time to be fluent in this language (C1). How long does it take to get A1, A2, B1, B2? I'm asking because I would create a long- standing plan learning this language. Edited by mfest on 20 November 2013 at 9:53am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6907 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 5 of 20 24 November 2013 at 12:37am | IP Logged | |||||
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Have a look at the Wikipedia article about the Common European Framework of Reference, as this will give you a general idea of how much work and hours you have to put into the learning process.
If I were you, I would investigate the job opportunities for Polish lawyers specifically (look for some Polish on-line boards, try to ask your lecturers etc.). Furthermore, I would check what universities my faculty cooperates with (learning the basics and then going for 2 semesters abroad would be a reasonable thing to do, and this way you would also learn a lot about the law of the TL country which might be crucial for your future work). Edited by Julie on 24 November 2013 at 12:38am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| JiriT Triglot Groupie Czech Republic Joined 4801 days ago 60 posts - 95 votes Speaks: Czech*, English, German | Message 6 of 20 02 December 2013 at 4:23pm | IP Logged | |||||
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When I decide to learn a foreign language, I also have a practical reason. I do not
learn foreign languages because it is a fun or just to train my memory. I want to be able to read, to listen and to speak in such a language. I must feel I am interested in the culture of such a nation or a group of nations. Also good reason is the professional usefulness of such a language. For a lawyer or someone working in business generally in Central Europe it would be very useful to know German. They are your neighbours and it is an important business partner. I suppose, Poland has more foreign trade and business cooperation with Germany then with Russia. But you have not mentioned German. OK, then Russian seems to me better than the Scandinavian languages. It is spoken by much more native speakers and it is also spoken by most non-Russian nation of the former Soviet Union. In fact, many Ukrainians speak Russian but not Ukrainian! I do not recommend Swedish or Norwegian as a second foreign language. These languages have few speakers. And Norwegians has two standard forms. Such languages may be good for professional translators and interpreters with a combination with a more used language. And I would also recommend starting with Swedish/Danish/Norwegian after mastering German. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 4103 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 7 of 20 02 December 2013 at 4:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
I cannot under any circumstances recommend to anyone choosing to learn Swedish simply because they want to work in translation. The international market is extremely saturated. There is no lack of people who speak native, or near-native, level Swedish and English, who are happy to supplement their income without paying taxes, driving translator fees into the ground. Working with certified documents and immigration locally is a little bit different, of course, but even then several Swedish government agencies will provide you with official documents in English. Even if you are immigrating somewhere where English documents are not accepted, a Swedish immigrant will probably have their approved "international" document translated instead of the Swedish original. You would be surprised how rarely documents need translating, though. My American life insurance company was happy with my own uncertified English translation of my medical records. My French bank was happy with my own shoddy French translation of my marriage certificate, and some French scribbles and highlighter pen on my Swedish tax documents. 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Sarnek Diglot Senior Member Italy Joined 4219 days ago 308 posts - 414 votes Speaks: Italian*, English Studies: German, Swedish | Message 8 of 20 02 December 2013 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
What about translating Swedish to other languages (apart from English, that is)? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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