What's the point of learning a new language?

[Ceros]

I speak two languages at a native level (English and Russian), and right now I'm at the point where I have to decide whether to leave my German at the current level, or invest a considerable amount of time and energy over the next few years to bump it up to a native level.

While I love learning languages and am definitely considering the investment, pragmatically speaking I just don't see the point. I never use my Russian in my day to day life, most people I come in contact with know English anyway, and when it comes to browsing the internet - you can find pretty much anything with the exception of some local stuff on English speaking websites. There's no more than a couple occurrences per year when I think "Maybe I should check out a Russian website" and even then it's mostly to kill time when I'm bored.

So, I'll ask again - is there any pragmatical reason for learning a new language? Or with the advent of globalisation and the spread of English, learning languages is reduced to nothing more than a hobby?

[Angela]

-- grow new brain synapses (be more intelligent)
-- give access to more people (be more connected)
-- be able to take care of yourself in situations where English isn't spoke -- there are places like that, believe it or not! (be autonomous, be admired by your traveling companions, be more flexible)
-- enjoy the beauty of the sound of the new language (be open and aesthetic)
-- be able to make a difference in new ways (be contribution)

[Ceros]

Oh! Just realized that I wasn't particularly clear with my question.

To clarify, I am aware of all the side benefits of learning the language such as improved cognitive ability, potential to travel in other countries and meet new friends, and a deeper understanding and appreciation of other peoples cultures.

But all of those are just side effects. You don't just learn a language and say "Well, my cognitive abilities have improved by five percent, so now I'll just forget all about French and never use it again".

What I mean is, what practical day-to-day uses does a foreign language have, that will justify the time spent learning it? And when I ask this, I don't just mean my German - quite honestly I would love to put my Russian to good use as well, but I just don't know what to do with it.

[Angela]

I see. I don't see those as side-benefits, though; I see them as primary benefits -- reasons for their own sake.

Being a translator is an excellent way to make a buck in a pinch! (does that fit your criteria?)

[newmark]

I agree with all the benefits Angela mentioned.
However, if you really want to use a language everyday, and you don't live in an area where it's spoken, then unless you are interested in the language's literature, songs, media or some other aspect of the culture, or communicating with people via the internet; then there's probably not much point.

[Ceros]

I see. I don't see those as side-benefits, though; I see them as primary benefits -- reasons for their own sake.

That may be true, but they're more like passive benefits - something that's always there from the moment you learn the language.

What I'm interested in are active uses for a foreign language - specific actions that you are able to perform thanks to knowing an extra language.

Being a translator is an excellent way to make a buck in a pinch! (does that fit your criteria?)

Sure, this does seem more like the kind of thing I was thinking of.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

I feel like knowing another language enables connection. That would be my main reason to learn it, so I could feel connected to others with whom I may not usually be able to communicate. It's true that when you know English, you can usually find someone (at least in developed areas) that will know it as well.

For me, where I live there is a huge population of Spanish speakers who don't know English so it would be an asset. Many jobs here pay more for bilingual people (well, if those two languages are English and Spanish).

In addition, I just find the variations in language fascinating, so that's a good enough reason for me.

[Kindred]

You can move to another country that speaks the language you've learned for higher paying work. That is, if any higher paying work exists. Many people are doing this, and it's more of an active involvement than a passive benefit.

Personally, my only reasons for learning German and Japanese are cultural ones--something in their culture I want to enjoy but cannot due to the language barrier or not living there. Eventually, this could be turned into a practical use by exporting cultural goods (literature, movies, music, comics, etc.) to English-speaking countries or vice versa.

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by Ceros

what practical day-to-day uses does a foreign language have, that will justify the time spent learning it? Russian to

I can only think of casual visiting websites in that language and talking to friends that speak that language.

But there's so much more than "practical day-to-day uses" to learning a language, such as the benefits Angela said. I believe you can't think of learning a new language with the mindset of "well how i'm going to use it on my day-to-day", because it's a foreign language! Most likely, you'll not use it on your day to day unless you're in a country that speaks that language!



With that said, some benefits, in addition to the ones said by Angela, are:

- You can get more jobs, jobs where you need to speak this language or where you need to know as many languages as possible

- You can add it to your curriculum to make it more impressive and possibly get a better salary in many jobs

- You have access to a whole new culture and way of thinking

- You're able to watch movies from that country without the subtitles

- Show off that you know many languages



Although these are some benefits, you need to have a concrete reason for wanting to learn a new language. Why, exactly, would you want to know one more language?

[Doku]

The reasons to learn would depend on the language, your likes and desires, etc.

examples: I have many friends that are trying to learn (or have learned) Japanese simply because they love Anime, and want to watch it w/o the subtitles and still understand it.

I used to work with some people who picked up languages because they got bonuses at their job for doing so.

Where I used to live, there was a bank that gives preferential treatment to bi-lingual people, and paid them really well as tellers. My neighbor was a grocery bagger, and learned some kind of east european language in order to get a job there. (which he got)

Tied to that last example, if you are running or working in any kind of business where you come in contact with customers on a regular basis, it can be a real boon to the business. The bank that hired bi-lingual people, for example, had a Russian family come in. (yes, Russian, how ironic given your background). The wife spoke broken english, and the husband spoke none. The teller, who spoke Russian, decided that it would be better to work with both than through the wife as a translator, and as such, she switched to speaking Russian. The couple lit up. She closed the deal, set up the checking/savings, and went on her merry way. Two days later, the couple was back with two other Russian families. The chairman of the board for that bank (I think they had only had a dozen or so branches) happened to witness this, and the rest is history.
(that was BlueBall National Bank, which was recently bought out by Susquehanna Bank)