Which Eastern European Language
Poll
Which Eastern European Language?
I'm thinking of doing Russian with an Eastern European Language next year, and I'm having a hard time deciding. Any opinions on which language would be most useful?
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I voted Czech, I'm not exactly sure why but it just seems like it could open more doors as Prague is quite a major city. Do you have any particular affinity to one of the countries where one of those languages is spoken?
Also I would imagine Ukranian to be very similar to Russian but I have no experience of it.
I would love to do what you're doing though - my dream is Finnish at UCL but I have no background in the language!
Also I would imagine Ukranian to be very similar to Russian but I have no experience of it.
I would love to do what you're doing though - my dream is Finnish at UCL but I have no background in the language!
BeckyIsOptimistic
I voted Czech, I'm not exactly sure why but it just seems like it could open more doors as Prague is quite a major city. Do you have any particular affinity to one of the countries where one of those languages is spoken?
Also I would imagine Ukranian to be very similar to Russian but I have no experience of it.
I would love to do what you're doing though - my dream degree is Russian w/ Finnish at UCL but I have no background in either language!
Also I would imagine Ukranian to be very similar to Russian but I have no experience of it.
I would love to do what you're doing though - my dream degree is Russian w/ Finnish at UCL but I have no background in either language!
You can do it at UCL with no prior knowledge of either language! It's on the Russian with an East European Language (UCAS R715), you just have to have done a language up to A2 standard, and the requirement on the website is BBB, SCORE! I'm applying to do either German and Russian, Russian, and Russian with an East European Language at UCL. I'm currently trying to decide between Romanian, Hungarian and Polish I think. But I think Hungarian or Romanian would be best. Only problem with Hungarian is the 20+ Cases apparently! Which could be a challenge!
Romanian - which is a romance language so is very easy 
I was gonna do the same course but ended up going down the Middle Eastern languages route :P
I was gonna do the same course but ended up going down the Middle Eastern languages route :P
JakeBeesley
You can do it at UCL with no prior knowledge of either language! It's on the Russian with an East European Language (UCAS R715), you just have to have done a language up to A2 standard, and the requirement on the website is BBB, SCORE! I'm applying to do either German and Russian, Russian, and Russian with an East European Language at UCL. I'm currently trying to decide between Romanian, Hungarian and Polish I think. But I think Hungarian or Romanian would be best. Only problem with Hungarian is the 20+ Cases apparently! Which could be a challenge!
Really? That does sound great but unfortunately I live in London so it would mean staying at home for uni
I wish more unis in the UK did Finnish!I'm studying Russian at Bristol University and picked up Czech at the start of the second year. Be warned though - some of the more 'niche' slavic languages can be more demanding than Russian and there is the possibility that it could affect/confuse your Russian language learning! I found this to an extent. I think if you commit to learning a new language at university you need to be in it for the long run, as opposed to just choosing it as an interesting 'fad.' Having said this Czech is pretty interesting, differs a lot from Russian and Prague is a fantastic city!
I'd say Bulgarian because we use the same alphabet (bar two or three letters) and there's a lot in common between the two languages so it'll be easier for you.
Hungarian is pretty cool too. (Once did a taster course in it.) And it is not a Slavic language so you can keep it separate from Russian. (Maybe.)
There is a great Assimil course for Finnish (but I think maybe only if you speak French, don't know if the English version exists).
Polish seems interesting. But I've heard that Polish is one of the most difficult languages, more difficult than Russian. I have also heard - but don't know if this is true - that the Polish and Czech can understand each other.
There is a great Assimil course for Finnish (but I think maybe only if you speak French, don't know if the English version exists).
Polish seems interesting. But I've heard that Polish is one of the most difficult languages, more difficult than Russian. I have also heard - but don't know if this is true - that the Polish and Czech can understand each other.
I have the same dilemma OP, and I'm torn between Polish (because it's the most widely spoken), Czech (because I know a little of its history, which is interesting, and Prague sounds really cool) and Hungarian (which just seems really different and exciting).
In terms of usefulness, in general I'd say Polish because there's 40 million speakers (more than double your other options) and as there are a lot of Polish immigrants in England you'd get the chance to practice it regularly with natives. However, for some careers, such as in the EU, knowledge of a niche language is highly sought after, so in this respect one of the other, rarer ones might be a better choice. I also read that the Czech Republic, and particularly Prague, is a key regional location for a large number of British and multi-national companies, banks and legal firms and that it's an important trading partner for Britain. Hungary has also attracted a lot of foreign investment.
It's not a great idea to base the decision on how useful the language is, though. Perhaps try reading up a bit about the different countries in which the languages are spoken (you want to spend your year abroad somewhere nice after all
), and because you'll have lots of cultural modules at uni it's a good idea to work out where you interests lie: if you find Polish history incredibly boring and would prefer to learn about Czech literature, then don't choose Polish just because it's arguably more useful. You should also take difficulty into account - Russian will already be very challenging, so a language that's completely different and some would say even more difficult, like Hungarian, might not be a wise move either. Romanian is often labelled as the easiest, which is probably true if you already know a romance language, but it has cases just like the others, 3 genders and lots of tenses (6 futures!) so that's not a walk in the park either.
There's some useful info about the different languages and their usefulness/difficulty here.
Hungarian is pretty cool too. (Once did a taster course in it.) And it is not a Slavic language so you can keep it separate from Russian. (Maybe.)
There is a great Assimil course for Finnish (but I think maybe only if you speak French, don't know if the English version exists).
Polish seems interesting. But I've heard that Polish is one of the most difficult languages, more difficult than Russian. I have also heard - but don't know if this is true - that the Polish and Czech can understand each other.
Really? I've never heard that before (that's not to say you're wrong though
). Are you sure you don't mean Czech and Slovak?
In terms of usefulness, in general I'd say Polish because there's 40 million speakers (more than double your other options) and as there are a lot of Polish immigrants in England you'd get the chance to practice it regularly with natives. However, for some careers, such as in the EU, knowledge of a niche language is highly sought after, so in this respect one of the other, rarer ones might be a better choice. I also read that the Czech Republic, and particularly Prague, is a key regional location for a large number of British and multi-national companies, banks and legal firms and that it's an important trading partner for Britain. Hungary has also attracted a lot of foreign investment.
It's not a great idea to base the decision on how useful the language is, though. Perhaps try reading up a bit about the different countries in which the languages are spoken (you want to spend your year abroad somewhere nice after all
), and because you'll have lots of cultural modules at uni it's a good idea to work out where you interests lie: if you find Polish history incredibly boring and would prefer to learn about Czech literature, then don't choose Polish just because it's arguably more useful. You should also take difficulty into account - Russian will already be very challenging, so a language that's completely different and some would say even more difficult, like Hungarian, might not be a wise move either. Romanian is often labelled as the easiest, which is probably true if you already know a romance language, but it has cases just like the others, 3 genders and lots of tenses (6 futures!) so that's not a walk in the park either. There's some useful info about the different languages and their usefulness/difficulty here.
llys
There is a great Assimil course for Finnish (but I think maybe only if you speak French, don't know if the English version exists).
Polish seems interesting. But I've heard that Polish is one of the most difficult languages, more difficult than Russian. I have also heard - but don't know if this is true - that the Polish and Czech can understand each other.
Really? I've never heard that before (that's not to say you're wrong though
). Are you sure you don't mean Czech and Slovak?xmarilynx
Really? I've never heard that before (that's not to say you're wrong though ). Are you sure you don't mean Czech and Slovak?
). Are you sure you don't mean Czech and Slovak?http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090603162817AAgR8kf
As I said I have no first hand experience but it seems spoken Polish is to some extent mutually intelligible with Czech, though less so than Slovak! But anyway I have no idea to what extent...
It transpires that UCL made a typo on their entry requirements and DO actually want prior knowledge of one of the chosen languages. Shame
JakeBeesley
And everyone who wants to learn Russian. I can teach you Russian to a very good level. That should certainly take you into any further course without troubles. You can email or PM me.
And everyone who wants to learn Russian. I can teach you Russian to a very good level. That should certainly take you into any further course without troubles. You can email or PM me.
polish would be the most useful from that list, followed by croatian and serbian. ukrainian would also be an interesting choice, personally i'd learn that if i had the opportunity, coz it sounds really exotic and funny if you're a russian speaker
Polish, Czech or Ukrainian are the best.
Ukrainian is not very in demand and although it's true that its closer to Russian than for example Czech or Polish, there are still quite a few differences between the two languages in terms of vocabulary and the pronunciation. (vin, vona, vono)
Polish and Czech are similar if you are a foreigner but most Poles and Czechs cant understand each other and there are several false friends
(szuchac/sukat) I personally would say Polish and Czech can be easier than Russian in terms of phrasing and both countries are far more european in character than Russia, so it's nice to have a change and learn the language a more western based country. Polish is obviously gaining more popularity in the UK at the moment, but remember that a lot of Czech people live in the UK too, so there is the opportunity to practise both languages here.
Czech pronunciation is a pain in the bum though
Ukrainian is not very in demand and although it's true that its closer to Russian than for example Czech or Polish, there are still quite a few differences between the two languages in terms of vocabulary and the pronunciation. (vin, vona, vono)
Polish and Czech are similar if you are a foreigner but most Poles and Czechs cant understand each other and there are several false friends
(szuchac/sukat) I personally would say Polish and Czech can be easier than Russian in terms of phrasing and both countries are far more european in character than Russia, so it's nice to have a change and learn the language a more western based country. Polish is obviously gaining more popularity in the UK at the moment, but remember that a lot of Czech people live in the UK too, so there is the opportunity to practise both languages here. Czech pronunciation is a pain in the bum though
purplesky
Romanian is really pretty imo and quite different to a lot of Eastern European languages because it's both Slavic and Romantic.
EDIT: Also it's unlikely you'll get mixed up between the two and it will be a nice contrast.
EDIT: Also it's unlikely you'll get mixed up between the two and it will be a nice contrast.
Romanian is more Romanic than Slavic. The grammar resembles very much with that of Latin, since this was the "base language" from which Romanian started. A Slavic influence you can only find in terms of vocabulary and that is quite poor. Slavic words are very old in Romanian and they tend to be replaced with neologisms. They are mainly used in the church, btw. However, the slavic people came to Romanian land in the 7th century, too late to have a fundamental contribution, because the Romanian language had been already formed in its structure by then.
miruna
Romanian is more Romanic than Slavic. The grammar resembles very much with that of Latin, since this was the "base language" from which Romanian started. A Slavic influence you can only find in terms of vocabulary and that is quite poor. Slavic words are very old in Romanian and they tend to be replaced with neologisms. They are mainly used in the church, btw. However, the slavic people came to Romanian land in the 7th century, too late to have a fundamental contribution, because the Romanian language had been already formed in its structure by then.
Ah, okay. That's really interesting actually! One of the reasons I liked it was because of its very obvious similarities to Latin
It's a really beautiful sounding language thoughQuick Reply
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