Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: Geoquest on 15/04/2011 04:53:10
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Another academic question for the field : )
I'm extremely interested in learning a foreign language. Does anyone have any recommendations for a language that goes well with Geology? As an example if one were to pursue oil/gas would Russian be a wise choice since they are the biggest exporter of oil and have huge reserves of natural gas? In my case I'm very interested in pursuing hydrogeology. I know that the distribution of water in many cities around the world and in the US are privatized. French companies are a major player in many of these privatized water distribution networks. (The movie Blue Gold goes into great detail on this subject). So, learning French could perhaps open some doors down the road in hydrogeology.
I'd rather not take Spanish. I'd love to learn Mandarin since it appears they are going to be a major player but the intimidation factor is immense. I read a great article by a student of Mandarin and at one point he stated that even after 10 years of intense study he still needs to use translation books just to get through a news article.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on languages that pair well with Geology?
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Mandarin, Portuguese, or maybe one of the Indian dialects
And yes, Mandarin is very much a challenge to learn. Unfortunately I committed to Spanish...ugh. Portuguese may have been a better choice because Brazil is an emerging power...especially in oil.
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Mandarin, Portuguese, or maybe one of the Indian dialects
And yes, Mandarin is very much a challenge to learn. Unfortunately I committed to Spanish...ugh. Portuguese may have been a better choice because Brazil is an emerging power...especially in oil.
Are you saying ugh because Spanish holds little value in regards to Geology or just because you don't enjoy it? I have considered Portuguese also. At least in regards to Spanish you'll have the opportunity to use it in everyday life thus your chances of wasting your time in class are reduced. Had you taken Portuguese and then never ended up going to Brazil you'd forget most of it within a year or two. : )
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I say "ugh" because most people take Spanish. Its very useful...especially in Texas (the Southwest in general), but I wanted to take Latin. Unfortunately, I also had to take calculus, physics, and igneous/metamorphic petrology. I figured Id be safer with Spanish.
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I wanted to take Latin
Sic transit gloria mundi
"Miss Gloria Swanson, the famous star, reached England last Monday week. She encountered rough weather on the Atlantic; but we are pleased to say that there is no truth in the rumor that, on her arrival, she cabled to America the following moderification of an ancient jest: "Sick transit, Gloria. Monday."
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Learning another language is always an advantage for whatever reason.
I learnt Latin at school and most west European languages have an involvement of Latin.
Simplified Mandarin is much easier to learn and one can communicate with Chinese very well using it.
I speak Russian and Czech as well as English (spent several years living in both countries). Czeshkie was a challenge to learn as it's origin is Turkic. Russian was much easier as it is pure Latinus Nobilae. Just learn their alphabet and see hows the sounds work together. The Cyrillic Alphabet is based on Greek.
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If one is to believe most of what you read in the media......... [:)]
It seems that learning Chinese would be a a great investment in one's future marketability. I wonder just how far the Chinese economy can grow before it starts to show cracks and stumbles. There was a time when "experts" were convinced that the Japanese economy would one day surpass the US. That didn't even come close to happening. If the Chinese were to ever get a more democratic form of government the possibilities for that country are staggering. The country would only need to get 40% of their population to a middle class level to far succeed anything the US economy could accomplish. It is going to be interesting to see how the next 40-50 years play out for China on the world's stage.