Most useful language for math/physics

[the_kid]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some guidance regarding which foreign language might be most useful for an academic career in math or physics. I realize nearly everything is done in English now, but if you were forced to choose a second language, what would you learn? Russian? German? Chinese? Latin?

Thanks!

 

[Whovian]

Probably Latin, it was the academic standard for a while, so you'll be able to read the original versions of quite a few old textbooks.

 

[eri]

I studied Russian, and that never came in useful. Not once. I wish I had taken Spanish (I spent a lot of time in South America while working on my PhD) and Germany (spent some time in Germany as well). Latin and Chinese never would have come in useful for me.

 

[halifax12]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some guidance regarding which foreign language might be most useful for an academic career in math or physics. I realize nearly everything is done in English now, but if you were forced to choose a second language, what would you learn? Russian? German? Chinese? Latin?

Thanks!

French !
they are good in math !
and in France the universities are almost free !

 

[YAHA]

Russian. Landau, Kholmogorov, Fomin, Tolstov . . . enough said. Ohh, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Bulgakhov... I have heard its very difficult to learn.