Should I learn German, French, or Russian ?

Question

-Which one should I learn and why ?
-Which language is most useful for a career in science ?

Thank you :)

Answer 1

I think it depends on what particular field of science. Russian has a lot of scientific literature. But... if you are a chemist, I think German would be the most useful of those three.
I'd personaly go for Russian. It is easier for me.

Answer 2

I have worked in a scientific patent translation agency and it was my experience there that more new scientific ideas seemed to come out in German than French or Russian - this was particularly true in the fields of IT, physics and chemistry. Also, French and German are both far, far easier to learn to a useable level than Russian, so would be more useful to you more quickly. I therefore particularly recommend German.

Also, although people will tell you that everyone speaks English nowadays, this doesn't always mean that they write everything in English. Learning German would give you access to work written in German that no one has yet translated into English. Indeed, many things never get translated into English.

Finally, German is a language that is full of rules and logic, so if you like science, you'll probably find German easy to pick up.

Answer 3

I do not think that knowledge of any of the foreign languages can be any useful for a career in science (unless, of course, your particular area of study has something to do with some foreign country). I can offer several reasons. First, English has long become the language of communications between scientists from all over the world. Second, all important foreign works are either published in American/UK journals or are translated into the English language. Third, learning a foreign language is a significant time investment, while you could spend that same time on your chosen field of study.

Apart from that, I think that the 2 languages that can be most useful in North America are Spanish and French. Also, as someone above noted, the French language is relatively easier for a native English speaking person to learn.

The bottom line: think twice whether you really need learning another language, and if you decide that you do indeed, then maybe you could go with either French or Spanish (although, Spanish is probably more useful for everyday communications then for a scientific career).

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I think it'd better to learn French, cause in comparison with German and Russian it's much easier.
For a career in science it doesn't matter which language to learn at all. If you know English, that'll be enough.

Answer 5

1. personally I prefer German among this three, cause Germany is a great country, you can get to know it well if you can speak their language.
2. German economy is so greater than the other two, it would be definately helpful for your career.

Answer 6

You should go for what ever you want to learn, as in science hell there are many languages i really do not think it matters

Answer 7

French, is more use full than german and easier for an english-speaker

Answer 8

russian