In an Emerald editorial published Jan. 17 (“No, Non, Nein; In any tongue, ‘no’ to language requirement”), the editorial board argued that the University’s foreign language requirement for students pursuing a bachelor of arts was, for a majority of students, “nothing more than a bother.” I would like to take the opportunity to present the other side of the issue.
While the University has an obligation to prepare its graduates professionally, it has an equally important obligation to do so scholastically. Language is a way of accomplishing both goals.
The fact of the matter is foreign languages constitute an important part of most universities’ liberal arts curricula. The editorial board suggested language study be required only of students who felt a genuine need or interest in learning a foreign language in college, such as business or journalism majors. These majors can certainly benefit from foreign languages, but why stop there?
All students stand to benefit from a second language. Even if few people make careers solely out of their abilities in other languages, this background can certainly give you an edge in your field — as well as the job market. Going into business? Try Japanese or Mandarin Chinese. Education? We desperately need bilingual teachers in our public schools. Psychology? Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung are better in German. Art? Appreciate it more with French or Italian. Social work? Everything from Spanish to Somali would be useful. Science? Russian was the language of an incredible amount of scientific research done in the last century. When looking for jobs after college, a second language can give you an edge over your equally qualified — but monolingual — competition.
No academic discipline can claim to have its body of knowledge discovered, researched and categorized solely in English, even if the English language and its literature are avidly studied and written about in hundreds of other languages.
To deliberately limit yourself to English is to practice a form of linguistic isolationism, which is out of step with 21st century realities. It demonstrates poor scholarship on the part of a serious student by refusal of access to a larger share of the world’s common body of knowledge, particularly when it comes to
majors and fields of expertise.
English is the world’s most widely spoken language. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that this makes learning other languages nothing more than a tedious academic exercise. This is an attitude to be resisted when the world’s peoples and societies are becoming more interconnected — and interdependent — at a rate unprecedented in human history. Foreign languages are more than sets of strange vocabulary, senseless grammar and frustrating irregular verbs; they are windows into the physical and cultural worlds which their speakers inhabit. Without making an effort to step into the mindsets of other peoples, you end up with a limited, distorted view of your own.
By taking the time to acquire even only a working knowledge of another language — especially one relevant to your field of study — you’re able to become a more well-rounded student, develop a clearer picture of the people and societies which use that language, and add to your résumé what can be a very valuable skill in today’s tighter job market.
Mike Turay graduated from
Portland State University in 2000.