When one thinks of learning a new language, some of the most popular choices include French, Chinese, and Spanish.
However, for students study in Russia or who want to challenge themselves and have better opportunities than their peers (who most probably studied other more popular languages), then learning Russian may be the right pick for them.
The Russian Language: A Brief History
Russian is part of the Slavic group of languages, which are a set of languages closely related to each other and is mostly found in the Eastern Europe.
The Russian language and its alphabet has a strong Christian origin. In fact, in the 9th century, missionaries Saint Cyril and Methodius from Thessalonica from the Ancient city of Macedon (now Greece) preached the bible to Moravian Slavs (now the Czech Republic) by translating it to a language known as the Old Church Slavonic. Eventually, other slavic regions, including the ones in Russia, began adopting the language and alphabet into their own with some local changes. Modern Russian is strongly influenced by the Old Church Slavonic.
Benefits of Learning Russian
Spoken by Millions of People Worldwide
Aside from being the official language of the largest country in the world, Russian is also the primary language of three other countries: Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Moreover, Russian is used as the second or unofficial language of other former Soviet Union republics such as Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, and many other countries in the Eastern part of Europe and some parts of Asia.
In 2021, around 258 million people worldwide speak Russian as a first language. In fact, in the overall world ranking, it is the 8th most spoken language in 2021 after French. This means that if you are planning to open a business and you incorporate Russian, you have access to more than 200 million prospective customers worldwide.
Better Career Opportunities in Russia and Beyond
Gone are the days when Russia’s image after the fall of the Soviet Union is that of a weak and collapsing nation. In recent years, Russia has regained its momentum in the world economy, which is expected to grow more in 2021. In fact, one can say that Russian might become one of the languages of the future due to the increasing economic opportunities in Russia, especially for engineering and tech professionals.
Moreover, since Russian is spoken by many people in Russia, Eastern Europe, and other parts of Asia, you can get a lot of opportunities abroad beyond Russia. This even expands to the US, since the US government has a huge demand on individuals that speak Russian for its various departments including agriculture, commerce, defense, energy, health and human services, homeland security, state department, and so on.
It Boosts Your Brain’s Capacity
According to Business Insider, learning a new language has a lot of benefits to one’s brain development. This includes better focus, better memory skills, better decision making skills, and bigger brain. This is due to the complex training one’s brain undergoes when learning a new language, which is not just memorizing new words, but also expanding one’s thought capabilities.
One of the best ways to immerse yourself in the Russian culture is by learning Russian. To learn more about Russia, check out our other study abroad articles here at MSM Unify.
