Questions and Answers
- What role does language play in national security and intelligence?
- Which languages are spoken in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries?
- How hard are these languages to learn?
- What is "minimal working proficiency?" How does the government know if someone speaks the language well enough to be of service?
- How many Americans are studying these languages in college?
- Why is there a shortage of linguists?
- How does the U.S. government train people in languages?
- How can I help?
What role does language play in national security and intelligence?
In the words of Ellen Laipson, Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council,
"Foreign languages come into play at virtually all points of the intelligence cycle, from collection to exploitation, to analysis and production. The collection of intelligence depends heavily on language, whether the information is gathered from a human source through a relationship with a field officer or gathered from a technical system."
Language skills and cultural knowledge of high sophistication are required for human intelligence (HUMINT) by both U.S. covert agents and by those who handle foreign operatives. Signals intelligence (SIGINT) must be translated and then analyzed. Law enforcement requires language skills for conducting interrogations, monitoring wiretaps, as well as processing intelligence.
Which languages are spoken in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries?
More than 40 languages are spoken in Afghanistan, many by small, isolated mountain communities. The major languages are Pashto, Farsi, Dari, Tajik (three closely related languages, also spoken in Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan), Azgari (a language related to Farsi), Uzbek, Turkmen, Berberi/Aimaq, and Baluchi. All have at least 200,000 speakers, with Pashto and Farsi/Dari/Tajik being the two largest, with eight and five million speakers in Afghanistan, respectively.
Iran borders Afghanistan to the west, Pakistan to the south and east. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and China all border Afghanistan to the north. In Iran, the two major languages are Farsi and Azeri. In Pakistan, the major languages (of more than 60) are Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Urdu, Baluchi, and Siraiki. In Tajikistan, the major languages are Tajik and Russian; in Uzbekistan, Uzbek and Russian; and in Turkmenistan, Turkmen and Russian.
How hard are these languages to learn?
The Department of State classifies all of these languages (except Arabic) as category III for native speakers of English, with category IV being the hardest. Arabic is a category IV language. In category III languages, 44 weeks of intensive language training in U.S. government language schools (five days per week, six hours per day) are required to achieve minimum working proficiency. Sixty-three weeks are required for category IV. Similar results are achieved after five years of typical college language courses, especially if students spend at least one semester abroad learning the language, in addition to their language courses in the U.S.
What is "minimal working proficiency?" How does the government know if someone speaks the language well enough to be of service?
The U.S. government and the U.S. educational system use several versions of a basic five-level scale to describe proficiency in language. The scale starts at zero – no knowledge of the given language, and goes up to five – proficiency equivalent to that of an educated native speaker of the language. Level two identifies minimal working proficiency – that is, someone able to function on their own, able to talk about familiar topics and daily life. Level three is working proficiency ("superior" on the academic scale), and identifies someone who can work as a professional – doctor, professor, engineer – in the language.
Several proficiency tests are used by different agencies, as well as the academic system, to assess the language skills of students and employees.
How many Americans are studying these languages in college?
Russian is studied by approximately 25,000 American college students, according to the Modern Language Association (1998). Farsi (the Iranian dialect of Farsi/Dari/Tajik) is studied by some 600 students, while some 500 study Urdu. Some 30 students study Punjabi. A handful of students (less than 10 per year) study Uzbek, Turkmen, and Tajik. None of the other languages are studied in the U.S. educational system at all, except for small courses at U.S. government language schools.
Why is there a shortage of linguists?
There are several reasons: language studies require substantial time to acquire high proficiency; languages are perceived as hard to learn; Americans believe, perhaps naively, that English suffices for all communications around the world. In addition, languages are not required of American students in general, with the exception of two years of coursework for college entry or graduation. As a result, few Americans take language courses, and few of those take critical languages.
How does the U.S. government train people in languages?
The U.S. government maintains two large language schools: the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California, and the Foreign Service Institute School for Language Studies, in Arlington, Virginia. At any one time some 5,000 service people, Foreign Service officers, and federal civil servants are enrolled in more than 80 languages in these two schools. In addition, several agencies and military commands have smaller language schools or standing language teaching programs.
How can I help?
The NFLC is not involved in placing employees in the Federal Government. If you have high-level skills in a critical language and are interested in working for the U.S. government, go to:
