If you’ve ever confessed at a dinner party that you studied French, Spanish, or even Russian at university, you’ve probably been met with the classic question: “So, are you going to be a teacher then?”
For years, language degrees have been unfairly tarred with the brush of being impractical, fluffy, or worse, downright useless.
But are they really? Or are we Brits simply overlooking the surprising value of studying languages in a world that is becoming more connected by the day? Spoiler: it’s the latter.
And the team at BeTranslated would be the first to agree.
The misconception: a degree with no clear career path
Language degrees have long suffered from the stereotype of being the academic equivalent of learning how to order a pint on holiday.
Unlike medicine or law, which have neat pipelines into specific careers, languages are seen as floating somewhere in the middle ground.
The narrative goes: if you don’t end up teaching, what else could you possibly do? Yet this view is as outdated as using “bonjour” as your go-to phrase when you step off the ferry at Calais.
The truth is, language graduates are not bound by a single route. Their studies don’t funnel them into one rigid profession, but rather give them a toolkit that can be applied across countless industries.
In other words, the lack of a clear path is precisely what makes language degrees so versatile.
Transferable skills beyond grammar and vocabulary
When you think of studying a foreign language, you might imagine conjugating endless verbs or memorising vocab lists before exams. But what graduates really walk away with goes far beyond grammar drills.
They learn razor-sharp communication skills. If you’ve ever had to explain a British cultural quirk, like what a “Sunday roast” is, to someone who has never set foot in the UK, you’ll know that translating meaning is about clarity, persuasion, and tact.
Those skills are just as vital in boardrooms as they are in cafes abroad.
Language degrees also hone research and analytical skills. Unpicking complex texts and identifying cultural nuance trains students to think critically. You’re not just learning the word for “bread roll” (which, let’s face it, even in Britain can mean anything from a bap to a cob depending on where you live).
You’re learning to understand people, perspectives, and contexts.
And then there’s confidence and adaptability. Dropping a British student into a Spanish debating class or a German literature seminar forces them to sink or swim.
That ability to adapt to new and sometimes intimidating environments is pure gold in today’s workplace.
But there’s so much more. Think diplomacy and international relations, where being able to grasp nuance in negotiation can make all the difference. Or global NGOs, where communication in multiple languages is essential to tackling humanitarian challenges.
Marketing and communications are also big winners. Ever noticed how British humour doesn’t always travel well? A linguist knows exactly how to tweak campaigns so that a joke that lands in London doesn’t fall flat in Lisbon.
And let’s not forget travel and tourism. Language graduates often end up in cultural industries, shaping how visitors experience Britain, or helping Brits navigate life abroad.
Even in the world of tech and AI, linguists are playing a huge role. From localisation to data annotation, language graduates are working behind the scenes of apps, platforms, and services you probably use daily.
A passport to global living
Studying languages isn’t just about getting a job. It’s also about gaining cultural depth. A degree in Italian isn’t just learning how to order a gelato. It’s unlocking Dante, Fellini, and the untranslatable concept of “la dolce vita.”
That cultural richness doesn’t just stay in the classroom: language graduates often find themselves living and working abroad, immersed in cultures that many of us only experience on a city break. They come home with stories of building careers in Madrid, Berlin, or Tokyo, and with a perspective that makes them invaluable back in Britain.
It’s also about empathy. When you’ve struggled to find the right word in another language or been baffled by a cultural faux pas, you develop patience and understanding for others who do the same in English.
In a multicultural society like the UK, that empathy is priceless.
The business case: why employers value linguists
It’s easy to dismiss the “softer skills” of language graduates until you look at the bigger picture. British businesses are increasingly expanding into global markets, and the demand for multilingual employees is only growing. Companies want staff who can bridge divides, negotiate across cultures, and connect with clients in their own language.
Think of it this way: would you rather do business with someone who speaks your language and gets your culture, or someone who expects you to meet them halfway?
For British firms looking to expand abroad, having language graduates on the team is not just an asset, it’s a competitive edge.
Why “useless” misses the point
So why does the “useless” label persist? Perhaps because the career path isn’t always obvious, or because British monolingualism still lingers as a cultural norm. But this misses the bigger point. A language degree doesn’t tie you down to one job title. Instead, it arms you with adaptability, resilience, and cultural fluency.
In an age where the workplace is constantly changing, and industries rise and fall in the blink of an eye, those qualities are more important than ever.
The supposed weakness of language degrees, that they don’t lead to one fixed career, is in fact their greatest strength.
Conclusion: from “underrated” to indispensable
Far from being useless, language degrees are one of the most underrated qualifications you can pursue. They prepare you not just to speak another tongue, but to navigate the world with confidence and empathy. They open doors across industries, across borders, and across cultures.
So the next time someone raises an eyebrow when you say you studied languages, you can smile and say: actually, it’s one of the smartest moves I could have made.
Ans if you’re a student hesitating about whether to start a language degree, don’t let fear hold you back. Every graduate has felt that initial uncertainty, but those who take the leap discover a world of opportunities waiting for them.
From building friendships abroad to thriving in unexpected careers, the journey is worth it. Choosing to study languages is not a risk, it’s an investment in yourself and your future.
You’re about to embark on a sun-soaked adventure filled with delicious tapas, scenic beaches, and… expressions that may leave you scratching your head.
As much as you might think that your GCSE Spanish or Duolingo streak has got you covered, there’s a whole world of Spanish phrases that don’t quite translate into the Queen’s English.
Remember, language is the key to truly immersing yourself in Spanish culture. While learning these phrases is a great start, you might find yourself needing more comprehensive language support as you settle into your new life.
To help you avoid looking like a deer in headlights or worse, a tourist asking for “uno cerveza, por favor”—here are 10 common Spanish phrases you’ll want to master before making the big move.
Spanish phrases to know:
“Estar en las nubes”
Literal translation: To be in the clouds
English equivalent: ‘Head in the clouds’
If someone says you’re “en las nubes,” they’re politely suggesting that you’re a bit spaced out. Think of it as the Spanish version of “head in the clouds.” Perfect for when you’ve been daydreaming about sipping sangria on the Costa del Sol instead of listening to someone’s detailed description of the local tax regulations.
“Dar la lata”
Literal translation: To give the can
English equivalent: ‘To be a pain in the neck’
This might sound like you’re handing over a tin of baked beans, but it actually means to annoy or pester someone. If you’re repeatedly asking your neighbour to stop playing reggaeton at 3 a.m., they might just say you’re “dando la lata.” Don’t worry though; they’ll still invite you to the next barbecue.
“No hay mal que por bien no venga”
Literal translation: There’s no bad from which good doesn’t come
English equivalent: ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’
This phrase is a reminder that even bad situations can bring positive outcomes. If you’ve just lost your job and are feeling down, someone might tell you “no hay mal por que bien no venga.” Who knows? You might end up landing a dream job or discovering a new passion. It may seem like a tongue twister at first, but after a few tries, you’ll be dishing out optimism like a pro.
“Ponerse las pilas”
Literal translation: Put in your batteries
English equivalent: ‘Put your back into it’
No, this isn’t about swapping out your TV remote batteries. When someone tells you to “ponte las pilas,” they’re telling you to get your act together and put some effort in. It’s especially useful when your Spanish friends finally drag you to a flamenco class, and you’ve been standing in the back pretending to know the steps.
“Ser pan comido”
Literal translation: It’s bread eaten
English equivalent: “A piece of cake’
In English, we might say “piece of cake,” but in Spain, it’s all about bread. When something is “pan comido,” it means it’s easy or straightforward. So, the next time you finally manage to park your car in a tiny Spanish parking spot, you can proudly say it was “pan comido” (even if it took five attempts).
“Tirar la casa por la ventana”
Literal translation: Throw the house out the window
English equivalent: ‘To go all out’
While this may sound like something that happens at the end of a particularly bad house party, it actually means to spare no expense. If you decide to celebrate your new life in Spain with an elaborate fiesta, you’ll be “tirando la casa por la ventana.” Just make sure you don’t actually toss any furniture out.
“Me saca de mis casillas”
Literal translation: It drives me out of my boxes
English equivalent: ‘It is driving me nuts’
When someone says “me saca de mis casillas,” they’re not talking about moving house—they mean something is driving them absolutely bonkers. Perfect for when you’re in a queue and someone has the nerve to cut in front. Sure, you won’t magically teleport to the front, but at least you’ll sound impressively bilingual while fuming. Bonus points if you mutter it under your breath for dramatic effect.
“Buscar tres pies al gato”
Literal translation: To look for three legs on the cat
English equivalent: ‘Looking for a needle in the haystack’
No, this isn’t about an odd pet grooming habit. It means you’re overcomplicating things or looking for problems where there aren’t any. Perfect for when a fellow ex-pat is trying to decipher why the Wi-Fi never seems to work quite right. It’s just Spain being different.
“Estar frito”
Literal translation: To be fried
English equivalent: ‘To be wiped out’
This doesn’t mean you’ve spent too much time on the beach sunbathing. If you’re “frito,” you’re exhausted or fed up. After a long day trying to navigate the Spanish bureaucracy, you’ll probably be more than a little fried yourself.
“Salir rana”
Literal translation: To turn out a frog
English equivalent: ‘To get ripped off’
When something doesn’t go as planned or someone disappoints you, it “sale rana.” So, if that highly recommended tapas bar ends up being a tourist trap, you can sigh and say, “Pues, salió rana.” It’s a more poetic way of expressing your disappointment than “I got ripped off.”
In summary
And if that wasn’t enough, why don’t you try listening out for some of these Spanish words in your daily conversations and know what is being said around you:
‘Pavo’
‘Jope’
‘Guiri’
‘Chulo’
‘Tio/a’
‘Pijo/a’
‘Cayetano/a’
Try out our Spanish expressions quiz to test your knowledge and be one step closer to sounding like a native!
Whether you’re adjusting to the laid-back schedule, tackling the occasional bureaucratic hurdle, or just trying to avoid looking like a confused tourist, these phrases will give you a head start on understanding the culture.
Learning the local lingo isn’t just about fitting in; it’s about embracing the Spanish way of life, with all its charm and humour.
So, get ready to enjoy the adventure, have a laugh at the occasional language mishap, and remember that sometimes, the best way to learn is to dive in and enjoy the experience.
After all, life in Spain is about living it to the fullest—no need to overthink it.
Download our free PDF of essential Spanish phrases below and start communicating with confidence on your next adventure!
We live in a technological world. When we need to translate something, we tend to go to Google Translate, thinking this will do the job just fine.
But the truth is that Google often mistranslates sentences and doesn’t understand important cultural and linguistic nuances.
This is something that shouldn’t be overlooked, cultural sensitivity matters when you translate texts.
Here is what you need to know about understanding culture in order to translate texts correctly.
An example of how culture can change the meaning of words
As Europeans travelled West to conquer the New World, they brought their languages along too.
That is why people living in the Americas also speak English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
However, these languages are quite different today.
Let us take the example of French, in order to understand better how critical these variations can be, when one translates texts.
You’ll see why understanding French culture when learning French is so important.
France is the centre of the French language. People living in the province of Quebec, in Canada, have been speaking it ever since the French conqueror Jacques Cartier stepped foot on their soil, in 1534.
Almost 500 years later, the use of the language and the accents of people based in Canada are entirely different from their original motherland.
In fact, it can lead to great misunderstandings, when one uses a word that has two completely different meanings.
One example of such is the word “gosse,” which in France means children.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, this same word is used to describe a part of the male genitalia.
If you do not understand that there is an important cultural distinction in both regions, you could either make people laugh out loud, or you could embarrass them.
What is cultural sensitivity, and why is it essential in translation?
Everywhere around the world, societies have their own cultural sensitivities.
Although they tend to weaken in an increasingly international world, they still exist and need to be taken in account, whenever someone has to translate into another language.
It involves cultural norms, beliefs, and values, as well as customs and behaviours.
Without understanding them, trying to convey a message in another language can be difficult, or worse, it can create a deep misunderstanding.
Communicating also has its importance. If you are translating live and are directing the words to a person, you may be required to look them straight in the eyes, while the same could be considered impolite in another culture.
When it is your job to translate, these are elements that you need to be aware of.
The way that you dress may also be very important, as it might offend some people in regards to their religious beliefs.
The use of a single word can be sufficient to change the meaning of a whole sentence, even if it is the right translation.
In such cases, the message that is sent out may be seen as offensive when it is not meant to be.
One can always pretend that there was a misinterpretation, but it is quite difficult to reverse the power behind words, once they are said out loud, or worse, written.
It also needs to be mentioned that even though a person can understand that you don’t know the culture of their country, the fact that you do will generate great respect.
In business, such a small gesture can go a long way to create strong trading bonds that will last for a long time.
How can you ensure cultural sensitivity in your translations?
The learning process of a translator should never stop.
Finding more experienced professionals can help increase the cultural knowledge with regard to the specific countries where you would like to work.
Do your research
That should always be the very first step when starting to work in a new country.
There are so many ways to learn about various cultures nowadays, starting online.
Talking with the people is certainly a great way to go, when gaining an understanding of what you can and cannot say in conversations.
Be on the lookout for local dialects
There are countries where dialects play an important part in communication.
That is certainly true in Italy, where each region uses a different one.
Even provinces have their own, which sometimes varies from city to city.
A translator needs to take that into account.
It is clear that someone who works in translation needs to be aware of cultural sensitivities, if that person wants to convey the meaning of the words in the right way.
That is why it is better to focus on a few countries, in order to be good at your job.
If you’re looking for an introduction to Western European languages, this article is a great beginner’s read.
Within Europe, hundreds of languages exist, some of which are widely spoken worldwide.
In this article, we’ve created a brief overview of Western European languages and their history and prevalence within Europe and worldwide.
Let’s take a closer look at this fascinating language group.
Europe’s Languages
Within Europe, there are only 24 official languages, despite there being hundreds of additional languages actually spoken.
That number, of course, is low compared to other continents where sometimes thousands of languages are spoken.
However, the languages of Europe are incredibly diverse and influential, many with very interesting roots.
Looking back, the majority of European languages that continue to exist today came from Proto-Indo-European, which is the language that the Indo-European language family came from.
The Indo-European language family is large, containing the Romance, Germanic, Armenian, Celtic, Hellenic, Slavic and Baltic languages.
The area from which these languages originated is the subject of much debate.
In addition to Indo-European, Uralic, and Basque language families exist in Europe and within those families are the majority of European languages.
Romance Languages
Romance languages include a wide range of different languages, such as Catalan, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.
Germanic also includes languages such as Norwegian, Swedish, Bavarian, Dutch, and Afrikaans.
Slavic
The Slavic group of languages includes Slovak, Polish, Russian, Czech, and Bulgarian, to name a few. Multiple Slavic languages are spoken worldwide, especially Russian, which has over 250 million speakers across the globe.
Baltic
Baltic languages include Lithuanian and Latvian (Lettish), as well as multiple ancient extinct languages, including Prussian, Selenian, and Selonion.
Celtic
Celtic languages include Cornish, Gaelic, Breton, and Welsh. They are incredibly old languages that come from one Brittonic language that existed in the Iron Age.
Despite these languages being so old, some are still used commonly today, including Welsh, which is still spoken by nearly 30% of the population of Wales.
Hellenic
Hellenic includes Greek, the only language of this group within the Indo-European group of languages.
Albanian
Albanian is alone in its group within the Indo-European group of languages.
Armenian
Armenian is spoken by a high proportion of people living in Armenia, as well as people who live in Russia and Iran.
It’s also important to acknowledge the two other language groups of Europe – Basque and Uralic. Uralic includes Finnic languages and Urgic languages, whilst Basque is a language in its own right spoken in specific areas, such as Northern Spain.
Western European Languages
Western European languages contain a wide variety of languages which are mostly Romance languages from South Western and Central Europe and Germanic languages from Northern Europe, the British Isles and Central Europe.
Various languages are classified as Western European languages, including:
Irish
Scots
Gaelic
Manx
Welsh
Breton
Greek
Cornish
Finnish
Hungarian
Maltese
Basque
French
Portuguese
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Some of the most commonly spoken Western European languages are Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Portuguese.
These are the languages you may have considered learning if you want to travel around Western Europe, and you may have studied one or more of them at school.
Let’s take a closer look at these common Western European languages:
Spanish
There are around 460 million native Spanish speakers worldwide. Aside from Spain itself, America has the highest population of Spanish speakers in the world.
The language has been around for over 1,500 years and has its origins in Latin.
Unlike Classical Latin which we still see in the written word, the Spanish we see today is called Castilian Spanish.
This type of Spanish has an authoritative source called the Royal Spanish Academy, which was founded in 1713 to standardise this type of Spanish, produce reference dictionaries and keep official Spanish language dictionaries updated.
Italian
Italian has around 67 million native speakers, and it is spoken in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City.
The Italian language comes from Latin and developed over a long period of time following the Roman Empire falling in the 5th century.
While there are Italian documents dating as far back as 960 CE, the first real evidence appeared at the beginning of the 13th century.
Many poems and pieces of writing appeared during this time.
Modern Italian is formed from the Tuscan dialect, although multiple other influences exist and contributed to the Italian we know today.
French
Around 88% of the population of France speak French as their native language. French is also widely spoken across many countries, including 29 with it as their official language.
The French language we know today has origins in a part of Western Europe that no longer exists, called Gaul.
The language of that region has little impact on the actual French language we speak today, but over 100 words from that language went into the Latin language; those words then came into the French language and 70 are still used today.
More complex historical events have influenced the development of French, but its Latin roots are the reason many English speakers feel that it is easier to learn French than other languages.
The same could be said for other Romance languages, which all descend from Latin.
Dutch
There are over 23 million speakers of Dutch worldwide.
It is also spoken in various other countries, including Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten, where it is an official language.
The Dutch language spoken today was part of Old Franconian during medieval times.
Old Dutch then started to develop and branch off from Old Franconian, eventually becoming the main language in areas of Europe that we now know as Northern Belgium and the Southern Netherlands.
Old Dutch eventually turned into Middle Dutch, which then changed into various different dialects.
It was in the 17th Century that the language was standardised by Protestant authority figures within the Dutch Republic as they created a Dutch edition of the Bible.
Portuguese
Portuguese is spoken by over 275 million people in the world, with most speakers of the language in Brazil.
The language started on the Western Iberian Peninsula as Latin, which was introduced when Romans took over the area.
Once the Roman Empire collapsed, Germanic communities took over the area, and Latin developed into Galician-Portuguese because that part of the world was known as Galicia at the time.
Once Galicia was merged with Spain, Galician and Portuguese became two separate language branches, and Portuguese then developed into the language we know today.
Speak to a professional
If you’re looking to learn more about Western European languages as part of a business expansion, then consult an expert.
As we’ve outlined above, there are so many languages and variations within the broad spectrum of European languages.
Therefore, if you’re looking to put together new marketing materials, you’ll need to make sure your videos and voice-overs are accurate and relevant to your target audience.
Otherwise, have fun exploring and learning more about the rich culture and history of European languages.
Don’t hesitate to contact BeTranslated for any professional language services that you may require for your business or your personal needs.
