How to Become a Language Expert

How I Become a Language Expert

If you have a flair for and fancy to understand different languages and cultures, then a career in languages can prove fruitful for you. With foreign direct investment and coming of more and more MNCs, huge opportunities are opening for experts in foreign languages as compared to vernacular languages. With the increasing trade ties, there is an expanding need for foreign language experts especially in Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Japanese. To be successful, a thorough knowledge of a language that a person wants to specialise in is a must, for which formal education in languages is necessary.

Strong academic qualifications in foreign languages help in pursuing careers in the areas of literature, teaching, translation, interpretation, tourism and fields like advertising, IT, finance, entertainment, public relations, mass communication, business process outsourcing, embassies and publishing.

Skills and Education

To learn more than one or two languages can certainly be rewarding, but can exhaust a person at times till he/she is fully acquainted with it. So, one must have patience and willingness to learn different aspects of a language in depth apart from having good verbal aptitude. One should be flexible and adaptable to work in different settings.

Indian languages are taught by various State Universities at all levels. Similarly, a foreign language course can be studied after 10+2 as a three-year bachelor’s course or as a five-year integrated language course. And to specialise further in a language, a person can pursue a master’s and a doctorate programme. Some private and government institutions offer certificate and diploma courses as well. Besides, many embassies also conduct courses in foreign languages.

Career Prospects

There is no dearth of job opportunities for experts in languages. A person can choose to be a translator, interpreter, guide, teacher, content writer or tour operator. He/she can work with the External Affairs Ministry and other government offices, foreign embassies and MNCs. To explain job of an interpreter, he needs a thorough knowledge of the language, because they need to interpret live speeches or spoken statements from one language to another, however a translator has to translate written documents, which requires a strong command over different languages.