Decisions 2015

[Heimat Historian]

I'm just a bad Europeanist. I only have 1 additional (German) to my English. 

[dr. t]

Holy crap!

 

I have 2, working on my third now and would love to add Arabic too.

 

I'm just happy I'm not a Byzantinist.

 

I can currently read English, Latin, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Old English. If I were to do Byzantine history, I would have to add Greek, Koine Greek, Arabic, Classical Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Old Church Slavonic, and maybe Hebrew. There's a reason why most Byz. history degrees take 8-11 years!

[Heimat Historian]

see nerd comment above

[mvlchicago]

The big question is how many of those languages one speaks .

Speaking of which (badum psht) have any other Latinists seriously considered the immersion programs hosted by a couple of schools? 

[mmehistorian]

things I wish were true! When I'm done, I'll have 4 languages & I'm an Americanist.

[dr. t]

Speaking of which (badum psht) have any other Latinists seriously considered the immersion programs hosted by a couple of schools? 

 

I've been consistently told to not bother with such programs. My Latin really doesn't need it (humblebrag), but the best Latin immersion is simply reading lots of text in any case. Plus, for the price of something like Middlebury's famous German immersion program, you can literally go to Germany and take German courses there for a full summer.

[mvlchicago]

Latin immersion I've always thought was for the fun of being forced to think and speak in Latin for the week rather than practice translations .

[maelia8]

It's a bit easier for us modern Europeanists in terms of languages. I've only learned German, French, and Spanish, but I am fluent in one and conversational in the two others, so it goes beyond reading knowledge in each case. I can read limited Dutch, Swedish, and Danish (and probably some Norwegian too, but I haven't tried that), but only because of my knowledge of German and English. My program actually only requires modern Europeanists to read German and French, which is nothing compared to the East Asianists, who have to speak at least one and read all of the following: classical Chinese, Mandarin, Japanese, classical Japanese, and usually Korean or Cantonese as well!

[L13]

Picking up Greek and Arabic is actually the main reason I'm considering CEU's one-year MA in Medieval Studies at the moment. (Fully funded, thankfully!)

 

However, I wonder whether it will actually increase my chances for next year in any meaningful way. I would be applying to PhD programs a couple of months into the program, so I wouldn't have much to show for my time there. And my application will be more competitive next year regardless of whether I'm enrolled in a master's program or not; I'll have a higher GPA, a much more polished writing sample, and a more finely tuned statement of purpose. (In fact, I plan to submit completely different SOPs to all my programs, which I didn't have the time to do this time around.) And, most importantly, I already have a much better list of schools in mind.

 

Going to CEU would only make a difference to my European/UK applications. If I don't take their offer, I will probably re-apply to Cambridge/King's College/Oxford's master's programs, and if I do, I will be applying directly to the DPhil/PhD.

 

Does anyone, especially someone familiar with medieval history, have any thoughts on this?

Edited April 5, 2015 by L13

[ToomuchLes]

things I wish were true! When I'm done, I'll have 4 languages & I'm an Americanist.

 

Right there with ya! Im a native Hungarian & Romanian speaker, and Hungarian is haaaaaard (from what everyone has told me). I'd really like to make Portuguese or Cherokee my fourth, depending which way I take my research. 

[ashiepoo72]

Portuguese is pretty easy in my opinion. Could be because I grew up speaking it, but I think the grammatical rules are pretty intuitive.

[dr. t]

Picking up Greek and Arabic is actually the main reason I'm considering CEU's one-year MA in Medieval Studies at the moment. (Fully funded, thankfully!)

 

The general warning I received about two years ago is that one year MA programs don't actually give you enough time to strengthen your language skills if that's an area you really need to firm up. But a fully-funded MA sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I would actually wait until after your MA is finished to apply again, and plan to use that extra year for language study too.

[dr. t]

Right there with ya! Im a native Hungarian & Romanian speaker, and Hungarian is haaaaaard (from what everyone has told me). I'd really like to make Portuguese or Cherokee my fourth, depending which way I take my research. 

 

Romanian: the only Romance language I can't muddle through *shakes fist*.

[L13]

The general warning I received about two years ago is that one year MA programs don't actually give you enough time to strengthen your language skills if that's an area you really need to firm up. But a fully-funded MA sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I would actually wait until after your MA is finished to apply again, and plan to use that extra year for language study too.

Thanks, that's good to know!

 

To clarify, I don't actually need Greek or Arabic for the project I'm proposing, at least not immediately. I just think it would be cool to start learning them soon. My project requires Latin, French and German, which I already have.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll re-apply this year, not the next. I'm just wondering if going to CEU for a year would make a difference to my applications.

Edited April 6, 2015 by L13

[mvlchicago]

A year is definitely not enough for Arabic, short of a program located in a country and run entirely in Arabic. 

[TMP]

Thanks, that's good to know!

 

To clarify, I don't actually need Greek or Arabic for the project I'm proposing, at least not immediately. I just think it would be cool to start learning them soon. My project requires Latin, French and German, which I already have.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll re-apply this year, not the next. I'm just wondering if going to CEU for a year would make a difference to my applications.

 

Skip the CEU and study the languages you need.  I mean, CEU... is in Budapest.

[L13]

Heh, I think I may have caused some confusion. I'd be taking introductory courses in Koine and medieval Greek and classical Arabic, which aren't spoken languages. It doesn't really matter where in the world you are when you learn them. Sorry for being unclear!

 

And again, these aren't languages I need to learn at this point, just ones I'd like to start learning now.

Edited April 6, 2015 by L13

[ashiepoo72]

I just completed all of the documentation for UC Davis, so it's officially official. I have an email address and everything 

[spellbanisher]

I just completed all of the documentation for UC Davis, so it's officially official. I have an email address and everything 

What is this doing in a thread about languages? 

[ashiepoo72]

It's the decisions thread! Stop being a hater, we are gonna be classmates soon

[Heimat Historian]

Congratulations Ashiepoo!

[spellbanisher]

It's the decisions thread! Stop being a hater, we are gonna be classmates soon

It is the decisions thread in the same way the Americas is Indian land. 

 

And hating is a critical tool in the historians toolkit. That and writing ridiculously complimentary dust jacket blurbs. 

Edited April 8, 2015 by spellbanisher

[rmw]

Hey everyone! I've accepted an offer to UConn! Is anyone else headed to Storrs?

[tingdeh]

Toronto official! Good old registration system is up and running, and supervisors all hyped to throw comps readings at me. Whoa there, Nelly.

[ashiepoo72]

Congrats guys! Can't wait to hear all about your programs.