Becoming a polygot isn’t an easy thing to accomplish. But once you learn a second language, the benefits are plentiful. The following benefits of being bilingual will be enough to inspire you to start learning your second language as soon as possible.
From being able to negotiate prices, to asking locals where their favorite food joint is, knowing the local language while traveling to a foreign country can make your trip so much easier. You won’t have to rely on guides or expensive tourist traps – with the local language, the sky’s the limit for what you can do.
Pop some popcorn, sit back and relax as you enjoy a piece of cinema spoken in its intended language. You won’t have to multitask by reading the text while watching the film at the same time. Another benefit is also not worrying about watching a poorly dubbed version of your favorite foreign film.
Learning another language allows for intercultural exchange and bonds with new people from around the world. Making the effort to really understand another person’s language also shows respect for their culture, which often causes people to open up and share their time. One of the best benefits of being bilingual is the easiness of connecting with new people from different backgrounds.
Learning a second language has proven to make people more adept at multitasking and better at focusing overall. When you’re used to listening in one language, and thinking in another, learning to do more than one thing at once becomes so natural.
Languages are specific to certain cultures and are used in a way that reflects the values of the culture. Learning another language allows you to adopt another cultural perspective and identity.
Bilinguals have more grey matter and alternative pathways than do monolinguals. This means that when someone who is bilingual gets a disease like Alzheimer’s, the effects on their brain are delayed 4-5 years compared to monolinguals.
It’s always fun to hear the different accents and dialects of your native language. It’s just as fun to discover that there are so many ways to speak other languages too.
If you’re fascinated by languages you can earn a living working with them if you become fluent in two languages. Being a translator also gives you a lot of freedom to work where you want to. A lot of the work is remote and can be done from anywhere, which is perfect for someone who wants to travel.
Although literature in a second language is always difficult, it’s rewarding to finish a novel in its original tongue. Reading in more than one language is another one of the best benefits of being bilingual.
Without needing a translator, you’ll be able to communicate directly with many different kinds of people when you’re in a community that speaks your second language. Conversations and friendships will come more easily when you speak the local language.
Language barriers often cause cultural barriers. Learning a second language helps break that barrier down by providing an avenue for people to converse and exchange ideas.
Reading foreign headlines and articles from another region will help you understand another culture’s take on global events. It may even change the way you previously thought about the world too.
Your second language is generally more challenging to learn than your third, studies have shown. Also, if you learn a romance language like Spanish, you’ll see that the root words are very similar in Portuguese, Italian and French.
Learning another language can really open up your dating pool – or at least allow for some fun international flings. Being able to speak to someone in their native tongue makes it that much easier to connect with them.
Language is deeply tied to our identity and personality. Who and where we are when we’re learning a language will affect our personalities, how we express ourselves and the memories we’re able to conjure.
The added skill of knowing another language can actually lead to a higher salary and better job opportunities. One of the best benefits of being bilingual is the chance to make more cash.
One of the most surprising benefits of learning another language is that it actually can lower the risk of having a stroke. You’ll thank yourself later for constantly working your brain daily.
Sources: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160811-the-amazing-benefits-of-being-bilingual
Photos:
1. based on Feria del Caballo – Jerez Horse Fair, by Dominic Alves, CC-by-2.0
2. based on Stop/Arrêt, by MPD01605, CC-by-sa 2.0
3. based on Zanda Kalnina-Lukaševica – Latvian part press photos: Citizens’ Corner debate on EU citizens and their digital rights, by euranet_plus, CC-by-SA 2.0