Should I learn French or Japanese?

Question:

Which is more useful in the context of job opportunities across the world?

While I'm considering the marketing or entertainment industry as a potential long-term career, I'm most prolly taking political science as my major in university.

I'm more interested in Japanese, but heard that French is more commonly used especially in United Nations

Please help. Thanks!

Answer:

I would say definitely French. French does a lot for you in regards to your English, to start with. Over 15,000 words come directly from the French into English and they are usually the upper level words (underwear-lower level, lingerie-upper level). It's been proven to increase SAT scores in students who took French in high school.

When it comes to the international scene, French is much more widely spoken. It is one of the official languages of the UN and the Olympics. It is also more widely understood in Europe and Africa than Japanese would be. If you are more drawn to Asian job opportunities, Japanese would be more helpful, though. French is also spoken in Canada, which might be the direction you would want to take for a future job in the industries you mentioned.

You also need to take into consideration your tolerance for differences. Learning French is not as much of a stretch as learning Japanese. The writing characters are the same in French (except they have a few little accents to add in), but Japanese is quite different. Also think about the sounds of the language. Some languages are easier for a person to pronounce than others. Listen to some of each and decide which one sounds better to your ear. If the sounds seem difficult to pronounce, it will be harder for you to master.

Motivation is a large portion of success in learning another language. I knew a couple of students who loved animé of every kind. They loved learning Japanese. However, they had also already learned some basics of language learning by taking 3 years of Spanish. If it's a language you are motivated to learn, you'll learn it much easier.

Also take into consideration the cultures of both languages. Languages are not learned in isolation, but they are part of the culture they are rooted in. It needs to be a culture you are interested in and willing to understand better.

Ultimately, you'll have to look at your own goals and motivations along with your personal preferences to see which will be a better fit for you.