Schools Foreign Language for Graduate School

AI Thread Summary
For graduate students in mathematics considering learning a foreign language, the discussion highlights the importance of choosing a language that aligns with academic and professional needs. While Chinese and Vietnamese are noted for their relevance, traditional languages such as German, French, and Russian are commonly required in many mathematics programs. These languages are significant due to their historical contributions to mathematics research. Ultimately, the recommendation leans towards selecting one of these established languages for both academic utility and conversational use.
spb
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Hello all, particularly graduate students and PhDs,

I'm planning on learning a foreign language, mostly for fun, but I would like to learn a language used by many of my colleagues in mathematics programs. I've not yet entered graduate school (for mathematics, of course), so I was wondering what the general demographics were for said programs. The obvious choice would seem to be a Chinese dialect, but Vietnamese also stands out as being useful here. Which of those would you recommend? Would you recommend another? I know a lot of mathematics research has been done in Russia and Germany, but I think I want to learn a language to speak, not to learn.

Thank you,
-spb
 
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Many (maybe even most?) graduate level math programs require you to learn either German, French, or Russian. So, I'd recommend one of those.
 

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