Avish Zindal Week 11 - The Power of Language
Where would we be without Google Translate? Those layovers where everything you see is in German. Or French. What about when you leave the airport? Road signs appear in Spanish, sometimes with Basque. How is an English-speaking traveler who hasn’t studied Spanish supposed to know that “parada de descanso” means rest stop?
Despite the widespread use of English around the world, knowing ONLY English can often be a disadvantage. In the Bay Area, this is especially obvious with a high concentration of people who know a second language, so someone who only knows English would feel left out.
Conversely, there are people here who only know the language of their home country, who don’t speak English. If somebody learns a second language, some of these difficulties disappear, as you could easily just switch languages if communication becomes hard.
What about learning more than two languages? Maybe three? Four? For someone who travels often, learning these extra languages can be extremely beneficial. Not to mention it’s a cool flex to randomly switch languages in the middle of a conversation and catch your friends off-guard. While becoming a polyglot has its many travel benefits like having a high chance of being able to communicate with many people in a foreign country, it also makes you a more useful asset to most employers. Most large companies value those who speak multiple languages, as they can be very useful when collaborating with foreign companies, discussing with foreign clients, or just making a product for a foreign country.
And of course, it’s nice to have that extra fun fact that you can pop at parties or just any time you wish. Yes, it takes time and effort to learn another language, but I believe that it’s a useful skill that is worth the hard work.
Hey Avish! I've never truly thought about these ideas from the standpoint of how important it could be to learn other languages that aren't English. I guess my mind was framed under the mindset of English being the universal language. Being even fluent in my mother tongue honestly would be a huge accomplishment for me, because I grew up having to unlearn it for school early on. But I totally agree with the value that being bilingual or a polyglot could bring to someone and how it can improve even our world view. I read an article a few years ago citing that being a polyglot is a gem for our minds as well, as it trains our minds to pick up new skills and latch on to old ones, while working on our recall ability as a whole. I think learning a language is even more so helpful to learn different cultures. For me, I feel like a lot of my culture is divided between my South Indian roots and my American roots, while being completely closed off to everything else. In the few times that I have been able to delve into new cultures, I find that I not only am more well-versed in my perception but that I am able to look outside of myself, and explore things I never would have otherwise. I enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteHi, Avish! As someone who loves to travel and speaks multiple languages, a lot of what you share in your blog really resonates with me. During our summer trips, my family and I try out different airlines every time, each with a layover in an entirely different country or even continent. Oftentimes, we wouldn’t be able to understand anything or anyone, and I don’t know how we would've ever survived and made it to our final destination without the help of Google Translate. Knowing multiple languages is also so beneficial when watching television shows and movies of different cultures, one of my favorite pastimes.
ReplyDeleteSomething I really appreciated while reading your blog is how each paragraph you’ve written corresponds to a different aspect of the power of language; this creates a really comprehensive reflection on how lack of knowledge on different languages can cause limitations while learning more than one language is extremely beneficial in traveling and for future careers (and like you mention, being fluent in 4 languages is also my fun fact that I often resort to during icebreakers). Along with that, while reading, the rhetorical questions you’ve posed in the beginning really spoke to me and made me reflect and agree with your ideas. Thank you for writing, and I look forward to reading your last blog about power this coming week!