Less common languages that it’s useful to learn in today’s world
Monday, 14th September 2009
The language learning section in most bookshops usually has plenty of courses and other materials for popular languages like French, German, Spanish and Japanese, but for other languages the materials tend to be more limited or non-existent.
The less commonly studied languages are still worth learning though and knowing them can be rewarding.
In Europe some of the less commonly-studied languages spoken include Swedish, Catalan, Czech and Maltese. Some are spoken by millions, others by a few hundred thousand, and a knowledge of any of them will give you access to interesting literature, music and culture. The languages themselves are also fascinating in their own right.
Swedish is spoken mainly in Sweden, and also in Finland and a few other countries. With nine million speakers it is the largest of the Scandinavian languages and has much in common with Norwegian and Danish. If you learn Swedish, you’ll be able to communicate fairly well with speakers of the other two languages, and you’ll be able to read both other languages. While many people in Sweden, especially in the cities, speak English very well, it is worth your while learning Swedish as this will help to you to understand the local culture and to communicate with the people in their mother tongue.
Catalan is one of the largest minority languages in Europe with over 12 million speakers. It is spoken in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands in Spain, in Andorra, and in Rousillion in southern France. Catalan developed from Latin and has been a distinct language since the 10th century. There is one shortage of literature waiting to be explored, as well as a lively popular culture. If you would like to work in Barcelona or elsewhere in the Catalan-speaking regions, knowing Catalan will be very useful and is likely to count strongly in your favour with employers.
Maltese is a Semitic language with about 350,00 speakers on Malta and Gozo. It developed from Arabic brought to Malta in the 9th century, and has been influenced by Norman, Italian, Latin and English. It is used everywhere in Malta, except in schools, where English is preferred, so is very useful to know if you plan to spend time there. People who can translate or interpret from or into Maltese are also in demand in EU institutions as Maltese is an official EU language.
Whilst it can be difficult to find courses to learn less commonly learnt languages in mainstream education, tailor-made language training offers a huge range of options. In larger cities, it can also be possible to find evening courses in languages such as Swedish, Czech, Catalan, Welsh, Croatian, Danish and Hebrew.
Tags: language learning, language, course, languages, tailor-made, learning, culture, spanish, english
Posted by Simon Ager 2009-09 under Experience Cultures,
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