Language studies influence careers, global business

On Malik Balla’s door there is a poster with a quote from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” foreshadowing what the most important languages of the 21st century would be:

“Aside from the basic African dialects, I would try to learn Chinese, because it looks as if Chinese will be the most powerful political language of the future. And already I have begun studying Arabic, which I think is going to be the most powerful spiritual language of the future.”

As an assistant professor of Arabic at MSU, Balla personally has seen Malcolm X’s prediction become a reality.

For students hoping to enter certain intelligence fields or global business economies, knowing a second, third or even forth language is becoming increasingly important.

“As Americans, we have only ever had to speak English,” supply chain management junior Gil Bonilla said.

But as the world is being flattened by globalization, Bonilla is studying Chinese to attack a new field to help him compete in and better understand the world around him — a decision Karin Wurst, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, understands.

“In an age when the world is so much more accessible than in the past through the Internet and travel, the study of languages and cultures enables us to follow and participate more knowledgeably and effectively in world events and in the global exchange of ideas,” Wurst said.

With MSU offering about 35 foreign language options to students, it’s not choosing whether to take a language that proves difficult for most students, but making the right choice out of the bunch, Wurst said.

World events affect many students in these types of decisions. Since the Sept. 11 2001, terrorist attacks, Arabic has become extremely important in politics.

“Nowadays, FBI or CIA, or anything like that, are looking for some people who know the language,” Balla said.

“We started with (two or three) students in classes and now we have hundreds. It’s something you can’t miss; especially after Sept. 11, the interest in Arabic and the enrollment sky-rocketed.”

Criminal justice junior Brandon Thomas is studying Arabic because federal law enforcements demand it. Additionally, he enjoys learning about another culture.

“The big thing that really drew me to it is just the culture, and the whole uniqueness of how many people actually speak the language,” Thomas said. “And I want to understand more about that.”

Sophomore Winta Gebrezgher has decided to make Arabic her major for similar reasons.

“I’m from East Africa, Eritrea … so I’m around that environment and I really like the culture and the language,” Gebrezgher said.

“I’m trying to do international law, so I feel like if I majored in Arabic, and I’m minoring in Spanish, with international law I felt like if I was fluent in these languages it would be good.”

On the business end, economics professor Mordechai Kreinin favors Chinese and Portuguese, both of which are spoken in the economically developing “BRIC” countries. The “BRIC” countries consist of Brazil, Russia, India and China, each having comparatively fast-growing economies for developing countries.

“I think Russia still has a lot of problems, corruptions — you name it,” Kreinin said. “India, China are doing well, and Brazil is doing very well. In China, you need Chinese, in Brazil, you need Portuguese and in India, well English is good enough.”

But Kreinin said, once out of the global recession, to remember the languages spoken in the European Union.

“The (European Union) is a good area to study. The thing is that in the (European Union) there are 18 languages, so which language do you study?” Kreinin said.

When it comes down to it, Wurst advises students to take in these factors and more when choosing a language.

“Determining which language to study is a personal decision that needs to be based on one’s interests, goals and career objectives,” Wurst said. “There cannot be an across-the-board answer to this question.”