The Student Room Group

Is doing a new language at uni a bad idea?

Hey guys,

So I'm in year 12 and I know it's a little early but I don't know what degree I want to do. I know that I want to do Spanish but I have no idea what to do alongside it.

I take Spanish, French, Latin, and Politics but I know I don't want to do French at uni.

Should I consider taking a new language like Italian? And would taking Spanish and Latin be too difficult considering it's 2 completely separate degrees?

Thank you! :smile:
No, you must take a new language at uni if you have a liking for it and feel that you have a flair for languages. You get to meet a lot of people and it would make your life very sociable
Reply 2
Well based on your A-level choices it seems like you're quite interested in languages. I was also offered the choice to study an additional language at uni, in either first or second year, although not part of my degree like you, it was just for a certificate. i chose not to as i thought it would take up too much time but looking back, i regret not doing so now as my degree is quite light and an extra language always helps. I'd therefore say do some research into your chosen degree, how much time it requires, modules etc, if you know the actual uni you want to go to then perhaps try and find someone on here who is studying your chosen degree there and see how they're coping time wise. If you think you can manage it though i'd say go for it as an additional language always gives you an advantage.
Latin isn't "completely separate" from Spanish - Spanish is a Romance language descended from Latin. There is a some fascinating history in the classical and medieval periods coinciding with the Roman Empire's presence and collapse, in Spain.

It's an unusual but potentially very interesting combination, and certainly a niche area if you wanted to pursue higher research and academia (where "niche" is a good thing).
I'd suggest doing a little basic Italian studying at home and see if you like it. There are online introductory courses you could try out.
No - while the connection may not be as obvious as between Spanish and Arabic, or Italian and Latin, Spanish is still a Romance language descended from Latin (partly) and so they are related. There is actually a great deal of interesting history of the Roman Empire in classical era Spain, which is a bit of a niche area compared to the more common Latin topics - and niche is a good thing in terms of academic research :smile:

It's an interesting and unusual combination, so if you enjoy both subjects it's well worth considering.
Reply 6
So long as you have the work ethic, studying a new languageat uni is not a bad idea at all. Even though I took up Spanish from scratch alongside French at uni which hasn't been too bad so far because of them both being romance languages, I would still encourage you to do latin- as has already been said the two languages are not as far a part as you'd think and as I say, as long as you have the aptitude for languages which it seems that you do, you will be fine!! Good luck 😊😊

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