Language Learning...Why Bother?

Learn a new language and get a new soul. ~Czech Proverb

This is a question often asked by many native speakers of English. Even people from nations whose native language is not English, consider English to be the ultimate salvation. Granted, English is an International language, and if you know it, you can sail through life without a great deal of difficulty. It is also beautiful language, with a rich store of literary treasure. But it is only ONE of many such languages.

To understand a foreign language is great. To be able to read, write and speak that language is nothing short of a delight. Often in public places when I happen to be near a group of people talking loudly in a foreign language I cannot understand, I find it quite irritating because it just feels like a lot of noise. However if it is a language that I do understand then suddenly that loud noise becomes intriguing conversation. It could be amusing, disgusting or just dull…but because I understand it, I can judge it for myself and block it out.

All of that is well and good, but I want to learn languages - as many as I possibly can - for the world of opportunities it could open up. What a wonder it would be to pick up a book in Italian, German, Hindi, Arabic, Hebrew or any one of the hundreds of languages and read it in it’s original language! Only the famous books gets translated into English. But there must be millions of other worthy books that never gets translated - all that knowledge, mysteries and stories waiting to be discovered…the key to it all is new languages.

Better get cracking then…