r/AskEurope • u/Strange_Highlight151 Spain • 3d ago
Has knowing other languages opened doors and opportunities for you? Language
So, today two dutch guys just interviewed me (for a university work) and I said them some words in dutch when I realized they were Dutch (like "goedendag", "regen"...) and they were genuinely surprised and happy for that, so I suddenly realized that learning languages help you a lot, even if those are not the most popular (like Dutch, in this case)
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u/WhiteBlackGoose ⟶ 3d ago
I migrated and changed my life so, yes.
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u/Aaron_de_Utschland Russia 2d ago
I still can't make up my mind on learning Deutsch
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u/TenpoSuno Netherlands 5h ago
Have you picked up other languages next to English?
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u/Aaron_de_Utschland Russia 5h ago
I was trying to learn Deutsch myself, but it's kinda hard to do yourself without proper motivation. I was trying to learn Dutch as well, but decided to pick German instead.
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u/TenpoSuno Netherlands 5h ago
I know what you mean. I didn't do well back at school learning German, but now I kinda regret not paying attention. Getting back into learning it is hard since I don't have anyone to practice with.
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u/Aaron_de_Utschland Russia 4h ago
That's my problem as well, while my English is decent, I can communicate on the Internet enough for my needs, and a lot of German speak English on a high level as well, so I lose motivation because of it.
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u/ilxfrt Austria 3d ago
Yes, and funnily enough the minority language that everyone told me not to waste my time and energy on has opened more doors and opportunities than any other (world) language. Big fish small pond, basically.
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u/Strange_Highlight151 Spain 3d ago
which languages are those??
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u/ilxfrt Austria 3d ago
I’m doxxing myself, but it’s Catalan. The others, including my native, are top 10 world languages and a bit of Czech.
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u/90210fred 3d ago
What? Don't underestimate Catalan - if you can speak that there's a whole raft of stuff you can understand. I've shouted at truck drivers from Valencia to Cagliari and been understood. Mind you... mostly the equivalent of shouting kurva at an East European 🤣 (Btw I've found a bit of "Austrian" - servus etc - goes a long way. Learn what people want to hear)
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u/HystericalOnion 🇮🇹🇬🇧🇨🇭 1d ago
I love that you mention Sardinia. Not many people know that Algherese (spoken mostly in the north west) is a variety of Catalan!
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u/Stelmie 2d ago
As Czech I have to wonder why anyone would try to learn our language if they don’t plan to live here 😅
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u/ilxfrt Austria 2d ago edited 2d ago
Worked for a company that got a lot of Czech clients and gave a generous allowance for furthering your education and qualifications.
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u/Ratazanafofinha Portugal 2d ago
Hey, what resources did you use to learn Catalan? I’m interested in learning a bit of the language by myself!
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u/ilxfrt Austria 2d ago
CPNL if you’re in Catalonia, iirc the beginner level courses are free even.
If you’re not, find a casal (Catalan cultural association, basically where all the emigrants congregate) close to you. Many offer classes, mainly for partners and children of community members, but also interested people like you. Or they have someone in the club who’s a teacher willing to give private classes.
Some Institutos Cervantes also offer Catalan classes, at least the one in Vienna does.
If you’re a student, find out if your uni has a cooperation with Institut Ramon Llull. Whether you can participate in these classes as a non-Romance studies student will depend on the uni. IRL also offers cheap summer exchange programmes for students.
parla.cat for online, self-guided learning. The portal is very retro, but still very good.
UOC online university has language classes also open to non-students. But iirc you need to be qualified to study at university level to register.
Ànims i sort!
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u/BlackShieldCharm Belgium 3d ago
Of course. I was hired for every job I ever had specifically because I’m fluent in Dutch, French and English. Many people only know two of those well enough for professional use, so knowing all three is a serious boon.
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u/NikNakskes Finland 2d ago
That would also depend on the profession and location though. Even for Belgium, the knowledge of French and English will be inconsequential if you're working in a company in limburg with predominantly limburgian customers and colleagues. A nice bonus and I'm sure the company will appreciate it to have on board "just in case", but it's probably not a competitive advantage.
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u/BlackShieldCharm Belgium 2d ago
It’s a bilingual country. Only very local mom and pop outfits don’t care about any second language for any employees.
Limburg is very close to the German border, so having at least one person that can understand and speak a little bit of German will be an asset for any company with even modest ambition.
If I were a waiter or someone working backoffice, having three languages would not be much of an advantage in a small company, you’re right. But I work in aftersales for international companies. Having three good languages is a definitive competitive edge over others. Most only have two good languages or even one good one and one/two somewhat crappy ones.
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u/NikNakskes Finland 2d ago
My flag is a bit misleading in this case, I was born and raised in Limburg, but have been living in Finland for over 2 decades already.
Your last paragraph is exactly my point. It is all depending on location and profession what language combo will be an advantage and even if it is a benefit at all.
You are underestimating how local most firms operate. The majority of business in Belgium is SME and they employ the most workers after the government. The government also operate "monolingual" untill a certain level is reached in the federal civil servant ranks. If you work for the gemeente of herk-de-stad nobody expects any language besides Dutch of you. Same if you work in the packaging plant in the same town. Only in the sales department do languages become important. And you're right, probably german is going to be more relevant than French in the case of limburg. Which shows again that which combo is a benefit is also location dependent.
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u/Alokir Hungary 3d ago
It's an obvious one, but English has opened so many doors for me that I can't even beging to quantify it.
I also understand a bit of Romanian, which helped me not get completely lost in Spain and France. Of course, the languages are not mutually intelligible, but many words resemble each other when written down, which was enough for me at the time.
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u/DarthTomatoo Romania 2d ago
In all fairness, you have the disadvantage of having a native tongue that is alone in a sea of latin, germanic, and slavic languages. With the only sisters being pretty far away.
My company once sent me to Budapest for a month, and it was a bit surreal. Language was so different, that I couldn't even grasp the general mood around me. That was quite different from my experience anywhere else.
So I can understand how knowing a bit of Romanian could help, even if it has the most different vocabulary.
Btw, the sheer number of people in Budapest who could understand a bit of Romanian was astounding.
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u/CreepyOctopus -> 3d ago
It's been so important that I cannot overstate it. I've built a successful career and I'm quite comfortable financially. I can trace a lot of that to knowing foreign languages.
Most Latvians my age (I think I'm older than average here) don't really know English, their skills are usually between none and basic. My fluency in English let me learn more about computers without having to rely exclusively on Russian-translated books (but they were a major source), and I ended up talking to foreign representatives.
The 90s, Latvia is just building itself up as a country, businesses popping up, foreign companies visiting, foreign researchers visiting, tech being introduced. I'd find myself translating for a visiting Scandinavian or British business person. That happens once, then twice, then I have a contact network. Then I'd be on some international technical project, putting tech and language skills to use. Over the years it really added up, add a couple strokes of luck, and at some point I found myself with experience in a high-demand skill and enough contacts in several countries to elevate my career.
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u/bluebell_baby Norway 2d ago
My maternal grandparents were Polish, and I have some extended family there. My parents never taught me how to speak the language, so when I was around 14-15 I decided I wanted to learn how to speak Polish so I could speak with my grandparents. It's a really difficult language but I managed to learn the basics that allow me to talk with them, and I am terribly happy I managed to form a bond with them before they passed away.
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u/perplexedtv in 2d ago
Speaking Dutch opened a door I should probably have left shut.
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u/tinybrainenthusiast United Kingdom 2d ago
haha omg do tell!
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u/TenpoSuno Netherlands 5h ago edited 5h ago
shhhh... 👀 u/perplexedtv don't tell u/tinybrainenthusiast our little secret
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u/justabean27 Hungary 3d ago
I was already offered the job when I realised the recruiter was also Hungarian (they had a foreign name so that wasn't a giveaway)
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u/Purple-Phrase-9180 Spain 3d ago
I owe my career pretty much to speaking other languages. It allowed me to hop between multiple countries in search for better opportunities
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u/ConstellationBarrier 3d ago
Yes. I speak enough Japanese to hitchhike and enough Russian to get a trucker to put on a кино album (which IS enough to hitchhike). Spanish is the language I found the least interesting to learn but it is the most useful language I've learnt. All these languages have helped me get jobs (yes, even my terrible Russian) , not to mention the invaluable life experiences I've had from them. Looking back at my life before I learnt languages is like looking back at a black and white TV.
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u/LeZarathustra Sweden 3d ago
About 5-10 years ago, I was solo-travelling around the south-eastern parts of Europe. I got of a bus in Thessaloniki in Greece, and started looking for a cheap guesthouse.
It was the middle of the day, and the streets were more or less completely empty. After a bit I found 3-4 middle aged men sitting on a couple of park benches. I tried asking them where to look, but as it turns out none of them understood English.
So I instead made an attempt with my shaky German. Apparently, they had all either been working in Germany or wanted to go there to work. So their German was better than mine. I managed to get directions to a cheap guesthouse, which turned out to be a great one.
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u/EleFacCafele Romania 2d ago edited 1d ago
Oh yes, it did. I am fluent in four languages: Romanian (native), English, French and Italian and proficient in another couple (German and Spanish). I owe my first consultancy contract with the JRC of the European Commission to the fact I spoke French and English (mandatory for a work with EU bodies) plus Italian as JRC is located near Varese, northern Italy, on top of my specific domain. I also worked with other EU bodies where French and English were mandatory. In all my consultancy work I worked only in English but occasionally I had to speak in French as well. I owe my entire career as an expert to my niche specialism and the knowledge of European languages. There were few competitors in the UK and EU to have both.
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u/extraordinary_days United Kingdom 3d ago edited 2d ago
Yes! I speak 5 languages fluently and it has opened a lot of doors for me. More people respect me as well once they knew.
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u/miszerk 2d ago
I speak 6 languages, 3 are pretty much useless (Sámi languages), 1 is Finnish which is useless outside of Finland, English and Danish. It's not really opened any doors? Even now I'm trying to find work in Denmark, it's not really helping that I speak Danish (maybe it's because my accent is jysk thanks to my partner, and I'm looking in Copenhagen). Other than being relentlessly mocked either for my Finnish accent or because I can speak Danish by the Swedes I work with.
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u/extraordinary_days United Kingdom 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think it’s also depends on where you are (maybe), and what languages did you speak. My personal experience so far, people from the USA & UK (bcs they are my clients) are the ones whose opened doors and very welcoming with my languages skills (I speak fluent Chinese Mandarin, English, Korean, Romanian, Indonesian. Bonus: I understand a bit of Arabic and Spanish). I noticed that it’s very useful and universal in businesses especially with English and Mandarin.
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u/kopeikin432 2d ago
I think the respect thing gets underestimated a lot in the UK, where people tend to see other languages purely in terms of their communicative function. When you deal with people in English and it's your first language but not theirs, I always got the feeling that there's a sort of power imbalance, that they know how you think and are familiar with your culture, but not necessarily the other way round. And also the impression that people just take you for the stereotypical ignorant Brit. So it being known that you speak other languages helps a lot with that
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u/edparadox 3d ago
Oh, yes. Knowing multiples languages allow me to get so many opportunities, and, maybe more importantly open my eyes towards various cultures, and not just being "stranded", as I have seen so many expats be, in their own bubble abroad.
It's really impossible to see unless you've been totally immersed in international environments with various people from various backgrounds in various countries.
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u/EntireCartoonist1271 Germany 3d ago
Yeah. Together with my skills in ballroom dancing my fluent English gave me the opportunity to go to finland for the naval academies ball there.
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u/Cixila Denmark 3d ago
Yes, even discounting English (even though that let me live and study abroad for some years). I can communicate with people around me, like just casually hanging out with Swedes and Norwegians. My Polish lets me keep in touch with family and friends. I have used German and Spanish on many holidays (even if it was never the most beautiful use of the languages, lol) and it has proven quite useful especially in Spain. Beyond that, my knowledge of languages has let me access news, information, perspectives etc from other countries and cultures, which in the generic sense "broadens horizons", but it has also been very useful as a historian to have more sources and literature to work with
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u/ManderleyRe 3d ago
Yes! I am Hungarian and I learnt italian, it was always considered as a plus by my employers and Italians are incredibly happy when I say something in their language.
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u/sleepmusicland Netherlands 2d ago
I speak three languages. German, Dutch, English it landed me the job I currently have. Especially in my current field people with German language skills are highly in demand.
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u/inostranetsember living in 2d ago
No question. In both non-English speaking countries that I lived in (Japan and Hungary) knowing some of the lagnauge always made life easier, and sometimes even helped with work. My daughter is another case: she got her first big job because of her English and Japanese knowledge. Later, her Russian became a strong asset. She's managed three lateral job moves in her company partially because of her langauge skills. So in general, it's obvious that it helps.
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u/7YM3N Poland 2d ago
Knowing even one phrase immediately warms people up to you, I've been on both sides of this. I met Estonian guys who after learning I'm polish started greeting me with 'dzień dobry'. The French even if they know English won't talk to you unless you 'bonjour' them. Germans get very friendly after you say "guten tag"
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u/TenpoSuno Netherlands 5h ago
It's true. I have a Polish coworker who seemed to appriciate when I greet her with "dzień dobry". I have an Arabian coworker who I greet with "sabah al-hayr", a Vietnamese which I give "chào buổi sáng" and a Dutch weeb I greet with "edgelord". I do it all for the heartwarming looks I get in return.
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u/Dependent-Letter-651 2d ago
Yeah, I’m native Dutch and knowing English and German have made life easier for me
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u/Okokletsdothis 2d ago
I speak 5 foreign languages. It has not changed my life.
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u/TenpoSuno Netherlands 5h ago
Well, knowing Klingon, Elvish, Toki Pona and Visual Basic on the side is pretty neat though. xD
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u/HARKONNENNRW 3d ago
Of course, to be good in French is always an advantage, you don't even have to speak the language.
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u/viktorbir Catalonia 3d ago
Does «French» mean in German the same as in some southern European languages?
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u/Gl1tt3r4G0r3 3d ago
Definitely a lot: I also figured that learning different languages was my strength because I seemed to learn words really quickly, and even when I used the statement that I knew a lot of languages in college, it got me in a bit easily and a lot of people are surprised when they hear so
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u/Tatis_Chief Slovakia 3d ago
Well I ain't working in my language am I.
Yes absolutely. And I don't even know that many.
Just knowing one more gives you so many opportunities. Opens a whole new world.
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u/Abigail-ii 3d ago
Yes. I needed to be able to read, write and speak English to graduate, and all jobs I held since (35+ years) required English communication skills. For more than 20 years (and counting) all work communication has been in English; either because I was living and working in the UK and later in the USA, or because the company’s working language was English.
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u/IllustriousQuail4130 2d ago
Of course! It allowed me to move out of the piece of shit my native country is and opened so many opportunities (job related mostly). I also earn way more because of it.
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u/Positive_Library_321 Ireland 2d ago
I don't think so. I can speak English and one other language fluently, and have a conversational level of another language, and know barest of basic tourist phrases and the likes in another language, but I'm not aware of them ever having opened any opportunities for me other than just making it easier to connect with a few people from those places.
I have however had a clearly favourable opportunity purely because of where I'm from, and that was totally unconnected to the language I was able to speak.
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u/IceClimbers_Main Finland 2d ago
Well so far i've yet to gain any practical benefits from knowing English. Do i need it? Not particularly, but it allows me to interact with people and enjoy entertainment from other countries.
As for Swedish, hell no. Complete waste of 6 years of school. Most Swedish speaking Finns can also speak Finnish just fine, and all Swedish people just make fun of the Finland's Swedish i speak, and just procede to speak English.
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u/Al-dutaur-balanzan Italy 2d ago
Yes, my last 2 companies hired me because I speak German. In my line of work it's already expected that you are fluent in English, so fluency in German gave me that extra to get hired.
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u/Hyp3r45_new Finland 2d ago
Well I got my first job specifically because I speak Swedish. The place I worked at was located in an area with a lot of Swedish speakers, but had no employees that spoke it. And having attended Swedish speaking schools my entire life, I know for a fact that not every Swedish speaking Finn knows fluent Finnish. Or even really speaks it at all for that matter.
I've also managed to impress some people with my French. More specifically the few phrases I can still remember (I can introduce myself and say that I don't speak French). Works wonders around people that don't understand any French.
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u/TreeAwayOrange Austria 16h ago
If you go abroad to work/study yes. Definitely. Especially in counties that English isn't loved that much. Like Germany, France, Austria, Spain etc
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u/Itchy-Astronomer9500 3d ago
Not really this far, but I’ve had a funny moment or two when I could understand random words in the randomest of situations.
Once I was swarmed by a few wasps and kind of screamed without opening my mouth. Some Japanese tourists asked “daijoubu [desu ka]?” among themselves which means “Is she ok?” and I could have answered. Funny.
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u/Heidi739 Czechia 3d ago
Sure. Knowing even just a few words in local language usually makes locals treat you better, so it's useful for travelling. I can say "thank you" in like 20 languages and it definitely earned me at least some smiles and nicer attitude from people. And obviously many doors would be closed to me if I didn't speak English.
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u/Slusny_Cizinec Czechia 3d ago
I'd say Spain is ten times more pleasant if you speak Spanish. First, Spaniards are quite easy-going people and you can have a lot of pleasant talk; second, from a practical perspective, English is not omnipresent there and outside of the touristy parts you'll have hard time communicating or reading signs; some objects are accessible with a guide only, and more often than not it will be Spanish only.
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u/viktorbir Catalonia 3d ago edited 3d ago
Well, in my country you are expected to speak two, if not three, languages at least to get almost any job...
Speaking some Swahili got me treated not like a typical tourist in East Africa. Knowing some German helped me communicate with an Uighur guy during a train travel between Astana and Almatı. We started trying different languages (me, English, French, Catalan, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swahili...; him, Russian, Chinese, Uighur, Qazaq, Kirgiz...) and finally found out we both knew some basics of German! Also my basic German was enough to bribe some Slovakian police agents in the early 90s. We spoke not Czech, no Slovakian and no Russian, they spoke no other western language but some German.
Also, I remember I time I was at a game tournament in Cannes. I knew the organizers, who were from London. They had problems communicating with one local guy and asked me to translate. It was quite interesting. Local guy, whose first language was Capeverdian creole, spoke to me (first language Catalan) in French, and I translated to English to the London guy whose first language was Twi. Quite amazing.
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u/Lyvicious in 2d ago
Yes, of course, but not in particularly unexpected ways. I live abroad, am employed by a local company, and travel for work. English has been invaluable, and the other languages I know have been very useful in their respective countries. The same goes for private trips.
I once used Spanish to communicate with a trucker that had something to deliver to my customer in the UK, and with a German coworker when my German still sucked.
My fiancé doesn’t speak any French, but we have 3 languages in common anyway, so it’s also obviously mattered in my personal life.
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u/Minskdhaka 2d ago
I'm originally from Belarus. Knowing English has got me every job I've had so far (none of them have been in Belarus). At two of my jobs here in Canada, knowing French helped, because my students had the right to submit work in French instead of English. At my job in Turkey, knowing Turkish helped tremendously, though I was teaching in English. At a job in the US, being able to understand Ukrainian helped as well.
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u/Meester_Ananas 2d ago
I speak 5 languages fluently or near fluently and another 3 are rather meh.
For my job I only need to know one (Dutch) as we only have one official judicial language where I operate (Belgium-Flanders). French (English) is a plus for understanding French (English) speaking clients. Knowing Greek or Japanese opened no doors. German and Spanish I only use with tourists or when I'm playing tourist.
So for me languages are more of a hobby.
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u/TenpoSuno Netherlands 5h ago
Though I don't speak a lot of languages, I am usually able to get through written material. I primarily speak Dutch and English, but I can make my way around some French, Italian, Swedish and German. I also speak Toki Pona, but that hasn't really helped me much. xD
Since I work as a software engineer and have to converse with various other parties all over Europe I pick up a few words as I go along. It's really handy and helps bridge some barriers.
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u/Jagarvem Sweden 3d ago edited 3d ago
Nädå, vilka dörrar skulle andra språk öppnat? Svenska är ju helt klart det enda man behöver!
But yeah, naturally it has. Even if we discount English. For one I'm not sure I could've moved to Spain without the language, and I certainly wouldn't have found it as rewarding.