How it helps to be Multi Lingual / Importance of Cultural Awareness

by - Analía Gómez Vidal (Argentina)

Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

I started studying English when I was 8 years old. At that time, it was just another class at school, and it had little to do with the fact that speaking a second language would open a great amount of doors. In fact, at that age, the only relevant door was the one my teacher opened everyday to say “See you tomorrow, kids”. By the time I was 13, I enjoyed my English classes as I identified some of the benefits that studying it would give me. For example, I could sing all my favorite songs while watching videos on MTV, without going through the kind of embarrassing practice of humming and making up words in public. Then, my ambitious-slash-nerdish side awoke. So I started learning German, my father’s choice, but as a reward I would have permission to learn a fourth language: French. Over the past ten years, I have completed my studies on some of those languages, and I have started learning some others, as Portuguese and Chinese. The reasons why I did that go beyond singing along.

First of all, there is an undoubtedly sense of curiosity that drives most of the people that start learning more than two languages. As we live in an interconnected, globalised world, it becomes vital for us to learn a second language that can let us communicate with people around the world. However, the possibility of learning more languages opens up doors... and worlds. Each time you go into a classroom to get a language course, you can feel almost immediately how its culture embraces you, through its rhythm, its colors, or even through the hidden logic of the language itself.

Also, we can’t deny an obvious fact: sharing a language makes you feel closer to others. Think about being abroad, think about all day speaking a language that is not your own. But suddenly, in the middle of your day, you run into someone that shares some words with you, or maybe recognizes your nationality and tries to speak with you in your first language. It feels like an oasis in the middle of a place you can make your own, but it is not actual yours.

The most powerful reason to learn several languages may be, precisely, a combination of both previous reasons: as you learn more languages, you can get to know more people coming for different worlds and cultures. In the process of getting to know each other, you can understand the way they act and feel, because you get to the soul of their culture, and the structure of their mind-setting. In the meantime, you can get to know people in a deeper, involving way, which leads you, inevitably, to learn about your own language... and yourself.

 

All in all, my personal experience taught me there is no good reason why you shouldn’t start studying more languages. Just pick a place you would love to know, or even a culture you are fascinated with, and look for the closest school around that teaches its language. After some time and probably a few exams, I’m sure you will not regret it.

At skyKpaar, we celebrate the spirit of exploration and encourage people to experience new things because that is what ultimately leads to discover your own self !!