Hillsdale College should offer a broader range of modern languages, in order to better prepare students for international politics and business.
The college presently offers a variety of ancient classical and western European languages, including Ancient Greek, Ancient Hebrew, Latin, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Students are able to major in all of the above except Hebrew, which is part of the classics department, and Italian, which is only offered as a series of classes.
However, as the world continues to globalize economically and politically, we need to be better prepared to communicate with people who do not speak English.
Mandarin Chinese is the most common first language in the world. Spanish is the second, and English is the third.
As a Spanish major, I have found that talking to someone in their native language contributes to increased camaraderie and appreciation. I can communicate more effectively and gain the respect of my Spanish speaking neighbors.
When fluent or conversational in another language, one can understand the tonal and dialectic cues that would not be apparent given a direct translation.
We don’t have to beat Guinness World Records holder Powell Janulus’s record of conversational fluency in 42 languages, but we would gain more international opportunities and respect if we spoke more Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European modern languages.
China is among the world’s largest economies. It holds political weight, and has just under a fifth of the world’s population, which means that if a person speaks at least basic Chinese, he can communicate with substantially more people.
These languages have their purpose, and the classical languages are central to the college’s mission in the liberal arts. However, Hillsdale should consider adding languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Russian to the list of languages students can take.
Students in international business and politics majors need to learn the most common or relevant international languages. The military trains its soldiers to speak Chinese and Arabic. Japan has the third largest economy in the world. Russia is at the center of international conflict.
We should learn the languages that are vital in various regions of the world, not because English is less important, but because fluency in these other languages allows for better international negotiation and job security.
It is senseless to assume that translators will always be accessible and accurate. We need to be prepared to learn and engage with speakers of other languages, and that quest for global fluency should start at Hillsdale College.
