Language Is Often Regarded As Something You Use To Get By In Life

by | Apr 27, 2012

“Language is often regarded as something you use to get by in your life. But language should fulfill your individual existence as a wholesome human being who knows how to speak as well as how to communicate with others. I think we have to draw a line between these two approaches: either you use words just to jumble things together or you speak so that you declare yourself as an individual. Language should be more than just getting by.”
-Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Learning another language will do more than help you get by in another country or broaden your career opportunities. While the tangible benefits to studying a new language are appealing enough, the intangible benefits are even better! As you learn a new language, you open yourself up to new vocabulary, culture and literature…all which help you better express yourself and expand your perspective on life. Language and cultural sensitivity go hand in hand, and learning more than one language is key to intercultural dialogue. As you begin to learn another language and immerse yourself in another culture, your opportunities for new and exciting experiences expand exponentially. Studies show that people who learn another language have better analytic and interpretive capacities. Remaining monolingual can restrict your learning capacity and education development, as well as deny you the opportunity to fully experience the world in which you live.
When you make the choice to learn another language, you are able to express yourself in more words and exchange your ideas with more people. Whether you decide to learn Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese or Arabic, learning another language will change the way you see the world and the way you see yourself.

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