Why learn a foreign language?

Clark   Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:44 pm GMT
I would like some feedback on reasons to learn a foreign language. If a person who lives in one country (that speaks one language) is a monolingual speaker of his/her native language, is tied down to his/her city (house, job, family, etc.) and prefers to read in his/her native language, is there any reason to learn a second language? Perhaps I have answered my own question, but if anyone has any thoughts on the topic...
fish'n'chips   Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:53 pm GMT
English speakers don't need to learn other languages. English is the supreme world lingua franca and non native are the first ones who will adress natives in English just to improve their skills, so why wasting your time?. Learn Physics instead.
ciao   Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:07 pm GMT
Peccato, ma non sarete mai in grado di capire un cavolo di ciò che ho scritto. D'altronde, che bisogno ne avete.
feati   Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:36 pm GMT
Peccato, ma non sarete mai in grado di capire un cavolo di ciò che ho scritto. D'altronde, che bisogno ne avete.
=
Too bad you'll never be able to understand even a bit of what I've written. But then again, why should it bother you?
(I think)

I'm learning English because I'd feel like I'd miss something if I weren't able to understand it. Just take the Internet for example. But that's obviously only the case for English. There isn't a language that's only remotely as influential as English, which is probably the reason why there isn't another language I'm that much interested in.

I'm a monolingual speaker of German, by the way, and I don't plan to live or work abroad.
Clark   Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:20 pm GMT
With a lot of material in English, it becomes very easy to remain a monolingual English-speaker.
unfdsndsffdsn   Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:22 pm GMT
<<Well, I think that's why so many Engish speakers remain monolingual because they reach the same conclusions. There are a few reasons why you might want to learn another language, but I'd say you need to have a strong motivation for it, because it is not an easy task. I'm not sure if someone can tell you why or what reasons you should learn another language. >>


Well, to be fair, that conclusion is reached 'for' people by the education system that doesn't give them the choice even if they wanted it. A lot of people would like to learn a foreign language, not out of necessity, but out of interest, in the same way they might like to learn an instrument or how to paint. As with instruments, you ought to start learning it as a child for maximum benefit... but you can't.

Yes, many monolinguals hold the opinion of the uselessness of other languages, but it's often a post-factum opinion, a justification for why they don't speak another language.
Clark   Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:26 pm GMT
I do not want to remain monolingual, and then justify myslef for being one. But as Mjdt says, there must be strong motivation to learn a language.
Another Guest   Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:13 am GMT
While English is the dominant world language, there are still people who don't know it, or who produce content in other languages, so there are direct benefits from learning other languages. But there are also a lot of indirect benefits. It's a lot easier to learn about grammar in a foreign language, because in your native language, your intuitive grasp of grammar dominates, making it difficult to truly see the rules. Plus, without the need for formal rules, it's hard to be motived to learn about them. There's also the empathy issue; once you've gone through learning another language, you probably won't be quite so quick to look down on those who aren't fluent in English. There are also features of English there are hard to see within English, and difficult to talk about even if you do see them. For instance, the Spanish words "que" and "esto" are both translated into English as "that"; "that" has two completely different meanings, and Spanish recognizes that fact by having two different words. English, however, for some reasons uses the same word for both meanings, and someone who has never studied another language might just take that for granted. On the other hand, Spanish has one word for both "clock" and "watch"; someone learning Spanish may very well start to wonder whether the distinction is arbitrary, and whether it really makes sense to have different words for basically the same thing depending on whether it's on the wall or on your wrist. I don't think that you can truly understand English without being exposed to other languages; that's why I like hanging out here: trying to figure out how English works to explain it to others makes me understand it better.

feati
<<There isn't a language that's only remotely as influential as English, which is probably the reason why there isn't another language I'm that much interested in. >>
I think that should be "there isn't a language that's even remotely". Does German use the same word for both "even" and "only"?
Rhoi (Sp3ctre18)   Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:15 am GMT
I'll make a few quick point. I want to saw more, but i'm pretty busy right now.

1. interest over necessity: an interest in learning languages is better than thinking about necessity. Interest will make it fun, and you don't worry much about show slow or fast you go. Thinking it's "necessary" or simply a good thing to do, may mean it'll feel like work, you'll get frustrated, etc. On the other hand, kudos if you can make interest out of necessity, or can create big interest out of small. I for one, tend to do that; I like languages, but had a passing interest in linguistics, IPA, or things like...types of government, sociology, and other random stuff. But I now have more interest because I'm a writer / novelist, creating an original scifi universe, so now I'm interested in some of those things to have a better foundation on which I can make fun stuff for my scifi. I've done similar for more immediate real world applications.

2. necessity and benefits come in all forms. which one matters to you? do you want to have an edge over a competing applicant for a job? is there a culture you like you might want to learn about more or get more in touch with?

3. Pride, not feeling like a dumb English-speaker? :P Most internationl students at my university speak 4+ languages. Most Americans speak only English. Many already feel a little embarrassed, or in awe when I tell them I can speak close to 3 languages. Well, then *I* end up feeling the same way when Indians, Pakistani, German, and various Africans speak / know 5+ languages. Almost ALL know 3 AT LEAST because they're know TWO from their country (ie, the regional / family language, and the national one) PLUS english. So it's quite humbling when you only know ONE.

4. coolness? closely related to pride but, how depending on your internet usage, you may run into a lot of webiste that are in chinese, or japanese, or russian, in hindi. woudln't it be cool if you could actually read it? American movies are...well, American movies. How about a change in the theatrical experience and watch international movies. And instead of depending on subtitles, be able to understand the spoken words? Or anime and manga, they've been SO influential, with MANY American movies being remakes of their movies (and you woudln't normally know), Anime influencing our movies (ie, the Matrix to pick a big one), and anime have a lot of GREAT stories not typically seen in American media, so maybe it'd be cool to be able to understand it and not be distracted by subtitles.

heck, although I haven't gotten around to it, I wanna learn Base 12 (duodecimal). Although Base 16 (hexadecimal) is better and more practical, Base 12 should still be more usable and easier to work with than our Base 10 mathematics. Past civilizations were based on twelve, and the number 12 is still a a typical number for us, dozen, months in a year, hours in PM / AM, etc. and how the "teens" don't start until THIRTEEN (all numbers before that have unique names, ending at twelve... NOT two-teen). So yeah, I want to get used to Base 12 and learn to do Math in Base 12 just for the fun of it. :)

5: a new perspective on communication, expression, language use itself, etc. closely related languages might not do much. Ie, there's not much different in romance languages except, thinking of objects as having a gender, or saying "I'll wash the hands" instead of "my hands" because "my" sound redundant. But something more different like Japanese..even as a newbie you'll learn Konnichiwa means "Today is" and might learn how that became a set expression. Or the idea of using little words to mark parts of sentence and having a topic - comment grammar system rather than SOV. You don't say "This is medicine" you say "This (Topic) medicine is" with medicine being the subject.

so much for my short, quick points. I wrote way too much. <.<

Honestly, I should have just told you to GOOGLE IT. Because you question is nothing unique and something tons of people have asked. Google and you'll find tons of answers. I ended up giving you a long, probably superfluous reply though. :P
Tionghoa   Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:23 am GMT
Why learn a foreign language?

1, for a good job or bright future.

2, for personal interest and passion.
(this is the reason why I learn a few foreign languages)

3. for studying, working or living abroad.

4. for broaden one's vision by reading foreign information.
Xie   Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:32 am GMT
For many of us Chinese, we think while English has more innovative words than ours, our poetry looks more beautiful than English's. We also speak of a lot of expressions that cannot be translated. If you think this is interesting, then that's a point of learning Chinese/English.

>>Well, I think that's why so many Engish speakers remain monolingual because they reach the same conclusions. There are a few reasons why you might want to learn another language, but I'd say you need to have a strong motivation for it, because it is not an easy task. I'm not sure if someone can tell you why or what reasons you should learn another language.<<

Well said. Obviously, there are a lot of purposes. But for most language learners, they're always looking for something more. Since you're educated, since you're cultured, and since you're somewhat perfectionist, you want to become, also, ACADEMICALLY proficient in the language you're learning. This is where the trouble begins. Even with half of German in hand (not quite, but you can guess how limited it is instead of half), I still can't listen and read quite well. That requires a lot of effort with very complicated topics which I dealt with in Chinese years ago, and it also means that, to be literate in German, I have to do it in multiple years like how I did it in both Chinese and English. That's a few years' time. If you're looking for business and career, you can better spend such a long time on at least a bachelor and a master and probably multiple internships. Do you guys see my point?

And that's why, as time passes, I can see more easily the point of doing a language thoroughly to get the most AND the best out of it. My English is still quite limited, but I think such a level would be enough for some languages. Those would be languages that I don't expect to be very proficient in, or that I don't have a die-hard interest or a stake in it. Examples would be ... Spanish, Russian, Dutch, some other Romance and Germanic languages, Japanese, you name them (I haven't learned any of them yet). But in any case, I wouldn't be satisfied with my present-day English since English is too important. Suppose if I have a stake in German (and I do), then German would also be in the list. But that just makes 2 languages in the must-be-mastered-list. 2 wouldn't be too much.

In linguistics terms, since a language often takes you multiple years to reach academic proficiency (forgot the exact term)... well, around from 4 to 8 years, that's why I say my best languages should be limited to just a few. I won't say exactly how many, but there exists a limit. For some, I expect almost complete acquisition. For some others, I can safely remain illiterate. For some, I don't care.
K. T. (not the Chinese KT   Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:04 am GMT
"I would like some feedback on reasons to learn a foreign language. If a person who lives in one country (that speaks one language) is a monolingual speaker of his/her native language, is tied down to his/her city (house, job, family, etc.) and prefers to read in his/her native language, is there any reason to learn a second language"

Where is that country? It cannot be the US although it is usually not a problem to be monolingual in English here.

Such a theoretical person would do fine as a monolingual until the political situation changes. Refugees, dictators and wars can change the language landscape.

It is wise to learn your neighbour's language. It is wise to learn your enemy's language. It is a sage thing to learn the finer points of your friend's language, so that you do not inadvertently offend him/her.
PC GONE MAD!   Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:56 am GMT
<<It is a sage thing to learn the finer points of your friend's language, so that you do not inadvertently offend him/her. >>


Surely PC has gone far enough already that we don't need to actually learn languages just to avoid offending people! LOL!
a demotivator   Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:15 am GMT
<<I would like some feedback on reasons to learn a foreign language. If a person who lives in one country (that speaks one language) is a monolingual speaker of his/her native language, is tied down to his/her city (house, job, family, etc.) and prefers to read in his/her native language, is there any reason to learn a second language? Perhaps I have answered my own question, but if anyone has any thoughts on the topic... >>


I can answer resoundingly. There are no reasons whatsoever to learn a second language. My reasons not to learn one are:

1. You said it yourself, if you don't need a language, don't learn one. Sure, some people learn out of curiosity/interest. I suppose that's one argument (though flawed in itself, although I'll refrain from deconstructing it as it's irrelevant and I don't have enough motivation to go into it). But ask those people, why be curious about languages in the first place? They're completely uninteresting and banal. Even if you don't think they're boring now, just convince yourself that they are boring and eventually you will believe it. It's called "selfpropaganda".
2. Even if you do try to learn it you will not be successful, so it's time wasted for little gain.
3. It's not worth the effort.
4. Yes, learning a language can help one understand the world and understand people. But who cares about people? What's to understand? They're all the same, they eat, shit and sleep and that's pretty much all there is to it. No need to exaggerate the need to understand people.
5. It's boring.
6. Someone mentioned refugees, wars and dictatorships. True, that could be a problem, but I think a little sign language will be the least of your problems. You'd probably die anyway or get locked up, and then all your effort will turn out to be a waste. Also, knowing a language can get you killed as you could be mistaken for a spy or the 'wrong' ethnic group. So instead of learning languages, you should study possible conflict scenarios and make sure that you're on the right side. Who knows, maybe you yourself can even manage to be the dictator himself. Then if you feel bad for not knowing a language, just decree that language learning be illegal.
7. It's not as interesting as it sounds.
8. Languages are all just channels for communication. Know one language, know 'em all. Knowing two words for something turns out to be pointless when you think about it, such a waste of brain space to store two words for everything when you can just know one. Why put up with pointless redundancy?
9. Someone mentioned broadening one's vision by reading foreign information. Well, why go foreign if there is enough information in English to keep you reading for a lifetime. You won't even be able to read a 1 millionth of all the information in English in your lifetime, so why not broaden your vision the easy way.
10. Always take the path of least resistance. Always look for an easy way out.
11. Someone mentioned new perspectives on communication. Yes, it's true that Spanish has one word for 'watch' and 'clock'. Now you have learnt that fact, are you a better person? Did your life change? Not likely! It is just an inane fact and nothing ground breaking. If you want a list of inane facts go buy the Guinness Book of World Records.
12. Someone mentioned pride and not feeling dumb. You will feel even dumber when you have attempted learning a language and failed. It will be a great disappointment. Better to not even attempt it. If you don't succeed on the first attempt - give up. Moreover, if success is unlikely in the first place - don't even make a first attempt.
Besides, how much pride can one gain from speaking another language? It is just evidence that your mind is packed with redundant information. And in the end a few moments (yes, because it won't happen often) of pride when you get to show off will not be worth the many years of hard study. And being proud is pointless in the first place, it's better just to accept one's deficiencies and move on, and to be honest, being monolingual is not really a very serious deficiency, but rather a triviality. I'm sure you have many other deficiencies that you could worry about that are more serious.
13. Someone mentioned learning physics instead. No, don't learn physics instead. You will fail at that too. Just learn NOTHING instead.

I could go on all day, but I lack the motivation to do so. Hopefully I've shown you some good reasons not to learn a language.
Zorro   Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:16 am GMT
It is easy to give you thousands of reasons, but I give you 3 funny and practical ones:

1. In USA and UK are a lot of inmmigrants. If you speak their language they can be more polite with you. For example in a shop where the owner is Hispanic or Chinese, for instance, if you speak some Spanish/Chinese with him, he can sell you the better product...or at least not the worse.

2. You can know more girls (if you are a girl, the opposite). If there is a pretty foreigner girl in a pub and she only speaks French or Spanish, for example, and you speak the language...you will have more sex.

3. An Armaggedon day. If you are in USA and there is a very dangerous virus in New York, for example, American politicians (they control all the TVs) will tell you that there is a virus, but not all the truth to avoid the chaos. But the European/Mexican TVs will tell you the real situation...and you will flight to Alaska the first one!