Addison
What language would be the most beneficial to those living in the lower center of America, such as: Oklahoma and Texas?
Language barriers, if they are overcome, open many doors and add opportunities to careers that may not have been possible otherwise. #linguistics
3 answers
Manuel Garcia
Manuel’s Answer
Addison,
First and foremost, obviously would be English but I assume you are asking about second languages that would be able to help in those areas. Texas has a large Spanish-speaking population, more than any other second language. However, the major cities are also centers with very large immigrant populations or second-generation immigrants. Houston, for example, has a large Vietnamese population and it is not unusual to hear many Asian languages and Middle Eastern dialects.
Here is an interesting article about languages spoken in Texas specifically: https://www.texastribune.org/2015/11/26/languages-spoken-texas-homes/
I just recently moved from OKC, and I completely agree with this. The two most frequently spoken languages in Oklahoma and Texas are English and Spanish. It is a massive advantage to know both when living in these areas.
Chance Anderson
Gloria Ortiz
Gloria’s Answer
Language barriers are going to vary even within states, such as Texas. However, Spanish is probably the biggest one in Texas. Your challenge here is that Spanish can vary a little by country. I am Puerto Rican and some idioms and slang really distinguish my Spanish from those spoken by say, Mexicans or El Salvadorians. If you are really into linguistics, the variations in the same language can be fun.
I think it will also depend on why you would expect to be using a different language. If you plan to be a translator, your knowledge of both languages needs to be very high. I have used translation companies in my job and those individuals often have masters degrees in both languages. If you want a second language for a lower level commitment to the language, then you may be able to take very focused language training for a specific language. For example, my Spanish is very good in personal or business settings. But my Spanish is not good enough to say review a legal document in Spanish. You should consider what level of fluency you need to achieve your goals.
Gloria
