World Language Week Essay Contest Winner

How Can the Study of Another Language Prepare Us to Contribute to the Modern World?

---

Language. One of the many ways people are united and divided. 6,500 languages are spoken all around the world. Many people know or are learning more than one. Why is it that this idea of learning yet another language so popular? What’s the point?

Learning another language does more than most people know. It broadens your capabilities and opportunities. By studying another language, sometimes it can be easier to learn and understand your own. There are similarities and derivatives from one language to the next, whether it’s English or Latin or Spanish or any language from the same origin. On top of that, once you know one language, research has shown that it becomes much easier to learn another. Also, how spectacular would it be to travel to a different country and speak their lingo with them? Not only would it be incredibly impressive, but also it would be an advantage when navigating around a new nation.  Reading other languages would be a valuable skill to have, too. This can connect you to what’s going on in the international world.

Another thing research has found is that speaking in another tongue can help in your career. Whether you’re an accountant or a zoo-keeper, language will follow you wherever life takes you. Many adults regret not studying harder in their language class when they were younger. Learning when you are young is so important, because it helps you prepare for the future when it is likely you will need those skills. It is much harder to learn when you’re all grown up. Fluency in another language looks great on a job application, and this skill will support you if you need to talk to someone in a different country for work. No matter what you do for a living, it will always help to know a new language.

However, the best thing about discovering a new language is the unity and connection with the rest of the world. I believe that you cannot learn a new language without learning the culture of its native people, too. This is fascinating to learn about, and it helps people understand the language better as well. The culture shows us how other people live around the globe. This creates awareness of the place we all exist in, and it makes us more accepting of others. Learning and understanding language starts communication with other countries and eventually brings us all closer together. Before people got the hang of speaking new tongues, there was much less known about other countries besides their own. Often, when people can’t interact with others outside their community, terrible assumptions are made about them. Fear and distrust starts to build up from the lack of awareness and communication, and soon fighting breaks out. If everyone could understand what other people were saying, we would all become stronger together. Who knows what we could accomplish in the future?

Learning a language does take hard work and commitment. It takes lot of practice, and to succeed, reviewing material repeatedly is a must. However, if everyone could speak a language fluently, I think the world would become a happier and stronger united place.