Over the last six years, New York University has rebuilt its interdisciplinary department of Near East languages and literature, adding 12 specialists.
Students in ancient Near Eastern History need to pass exams in two ancient Near East languages before taking the oral exam.
Far East languages like Mandarin are also very good.
Students must complete at least six semesters of coursework in an East Asian language or languages as an undergraduate.
Although spoken in the heart of the Caucasus, Ossetic is an East Iranian language not mutually intelligible with any other Iranian language.
Courses in a second East Asian language (one year minimum) or a classical East Asian language (one semester minimum) may be used to fulfill one of the two elective requirements, but placement examinations may not be used to do so.
Students may demonstrate intermediate-level ability in an East European language by (1) completing a two-year sequence in an East European language (currently Czech, Polish, Romanian, or Ukrainian; students interested in studying other East European languages should contact the DUS); or (2) by passing a language examination demonstrating equivalent ability.
Yale's online library catalog – Orbis – includes functionalities of searching and displaying East Asian language materials in its original script (see technical requirements and East Asian languages computing guide).
The Nakho-Dagestanian languages are a complex group, sometimes subdivided into Nakh, or Central, languages and Dagestanian, or East Caucasian, languages.
Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian constitute the East Slavic language group.
Students must demonstrate either proficiency in Russian or intermediate-level ability in an East European language.
