Best European Language to learn?
In order to graduate I have to become proficient in a language. A lot of people take Spanish, but I’d rather take a European language in the off chance I make my way to Europe for IB/PE. Thoughts on which one I should take up?
German. Settled.
Jokes aside, the top 3 most useful languages to learn in Europe are German, French and Italian in that order. Before I get a wave of MS saying "Italian is useless outside of Italy" (which is true), let me explain. If you end up at a European IB then perhaps Spanish can replace Italian provided they do cross-border deals. When it comes to a European PE firm, if they mainly operate in Europe the top markets will be DACH, France and Italy. Italy far outstrips Spain when it comes to PE activity in the European context. If you end up at quite a global European PE firm, then Spanish may help again provided they do a good amount of LatAm deals (which most don't).
Bottom line is, if you're tight on time and resources and can only pick one language to learn - pick German.
Awesome. Thanks for the insight
https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/
Hmmm I disagree. It depends on your initial languages. Knowing Germanic languages makes other Germanic languages easier to learn and same for neo-Latin ones.
german
I would say English. But German, or French because a lot speak it in Africa too so you’ll have an international language. French is one of the 6 official UN languages and one of the 4 INTERPOL languages, while German is not.
German and French both seem like a solid choice. I would lean more towards French considering that most germans speak great english but the opposite is not true. French is also a very hard language to learn so it'll also depend on your ability.
German or French if you're looking at Europe only. Spanish if you are thinking more globally.
Both languages are useful and fairly manageable to learn (as opposed to e.g. Mandarin, all else equal). I would stress, however, that learning them is not similar at all. German is very logical and French is more exception-based. Depending on the individual, one's appetite to learn one or the other can vary greatly.
I would also consider both cultures before starting to learn them. You'll likely want to immerse yourself to improve your skills, so I would drift towards the one that feels like a better fit.
Beyond Spanish for obvious reasons, I've found French to be fairly useful as well, since a lot of Africa speaks it (where there's much less Spanish), and in diplomatic circles it's still well-regarded.
Very true! If you're interested in Africa, French is probably the most useful after (if not almost tied with) English.
German also has a weird legacy in Eastern Europe as it used to be a key language in higher education.
I disagree with learning German because you will not be business fluent most likely in any case and Germans love speaking English + it doesn't help you outside of Germany (beyond a tiny bit with older generations in hungary, SZ, balcans… but that is with 40+ year olds only). Learn French or Spanish for global reach... To make use of German in European PE, your German needs to be really good and you only reach the level of proficiency by actually living there.. so unless you think its a chance you will move there, don't do it.
Personally, if i had the time, i would go for mandarin if your selection can be global. Whether its European IB/PE or US IB/PE (the latter I can only assume holds true), you deal with chinese counterparties more and more so that actually could come in handy, although you wont reach business proficiency either but it could still be a cool tool to have IMO.
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