Start Your Bilingual Journey
We live on a multilingual planet. The Ethnologue catalogue of world languages lists 6909 living languages. (A living language is one that is still used and spoken by people. Latin, for instance, is considered a “dead” language, because, even though we still use it in science and academic research, it is not used as an actual language of daily life.) About six percent of these languages account for almost all people on earth.
Levels of multilingualism vary across the world, although the estimate is that 60-75% of earth’s population speak more than one language. In the United States, it’s estimated that about 20% of the population speak a language other than English at home; however, just seven percent of American college students are enrolled in a language course–a big drop from just twenty years ago.
In an increasingly globalized world, it’s more important than ever to have an understanding of other languages. Speaking another language has myriad benefits. By communicating in more than one language, you are constantly exercising your brain. The BBC tells us that speaking a second language may help slow the symptoms of Dementia, and after a stroke, cognitive recovery is twice as high for bilingual people as it is for those who speak only one language. People who speak more than one language may have higher levels of empathy. It’s easy to think of those who don’t speak our own language as “foreigners” or “others”–a dangerous mindset.
On a business level, the ability to communicate in a language such as Spanish will open the door to a whole new customer base, especially in parts of the country where the Latinx community is large. You will make your service more appealing than the competition if you can easily communicate with this sizeable population. On a less mercenary level, being able to communicate bilingually could make potentially marginalized people feel safer and more respected. If you’re a doctor, your patients with apnea del sueño need treatment just as much as your patients with sleep apnea (they’re the same thing). If you’re an insurance agent, you want to make sure that any claims your insured clients make are communicated clearly. For companies that work on a global scale and work with international compliance laws, such as international medical device consulting, it is essential that they have team members who can operate in any of the languages that may come up.
If you are looking to learn another language, there are plenty of options available. Companies such as Duolingo, Livemocha, and BUSUU offer easy (and inexpensive to free) website and app interfaces to quickly build basic vocabulary and grammar. Pimsleur will integrate you with listen-and repeat exercises. Most universities open their courses to community members as well. If you’re traveling, it will mean a lot to the people who live in another country that you are making an attempt to learn the language, and at least use basic phrases. If you have a preliminary understanding of another language, see if your business will let you start using it there. They may even pay for you to get further education. You may also see if there is a meetup group in your community, where you can mingle with other speakers of that language.