The benefits of learning new languages, Part 2: The business world

January 29 2010. TalentEgg Incubator.

In Part 1 of The benefits of learning new languages, I asked McMaster University professor Alexandré Sevigny about his opinions on the benefits of learning additional languages, and I provided some of my own justifications for learning or being in the process of learning five languages other than English.

I’ve heard there are many benefits of learning a second (or third) language because it can drastically improve your career options. For example, if you’re interested in working in government, knowing both French and English could offer you better opportunities.

I’ve also read that students considering working in business, especially in international business, should contemplate learning Mandarin since China has become such a powerhouse in the business world in recent years.

Here, Sevingy answers another question on the importance of learning additional languages, but this time his response focuses on future work and career possibilities.

Q. Do you think particular languages are advantageous to learn for certain career aspirations? Why or why not?

A. Well, French is certainly very useful for working in the public sector, or for one of the banks, or even in public relations. It is very difficult to be involved in any of Canada’s national industries without a working knowledge of French.

French is also a key international language as it permits access to the cultures of the Francophonie, an international collection of francophone and francophile states that represent almost every region of the world. French is spoken in North and South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Maghreb, Asia and Oceania.

French also still remains an international language of culture, prestige and diplomacy. Knowledge of it can raise your status and open doors in international not-for-profit and non-governmental organisations, such as the United Nations.

Spanish is, of course, very important for speaking with our neighbours in Latin America.

Brazilian Portuguese, having recently overtaken Continental Portuguese as the world standard, is an emerging language of business and culture. Brazil will be a very big player in geopolitics and world business in the next 50 years.

Mandarin Chinese permits access to the language and culture of the only serious challenger to the United States’ lone superpower status.

Russian is also a language of importance. It is still a key language of culture, prestige and business in the Slavic world, which represents a world population of approximately 300 million people.

Finally, the leading languages of India will emerge as important for trade and culture. One has only to look at the massive popularity of Bollywood films across the globe to see that India is rising. Some would say that the lingua franca of the sub-continent is English, but as the nation becomes wealthier, its most popular languages will grow in prominence.

Stephen R. Anderson states that there are 6,809 known languages to date worldwide. This number is certainly much greater than I would have initially expected, and I do not think many other people would think there to be so many. The tragedy in this is the number of languages are rapidly decreasing. For example, about 88 languages in Canada are in danger of becoming extinct.

Regardless of what language or languages you decide to learn, how you learn them, or for what purpose, having additional language skills will benefit you in countless ways. Although there are some more practical reasons for learning a language, such as to improve your employability skills, it may also help you personally, such as if you plan on doing a lot of travelling.

The benefits of learning new languages, Part 1: Why take a language?

January 27 2009. TalentEgg Incubator.

Kwékwé skennenkó: wa ken? Danielle ióntiats. Ok nì: se?

I said, “Hello how are you? My name is Danielle. And yours?” in Mohawk.

Mohawk is the fifth language I am in the process of learning. I have completed classes in French, Spanish and Ojibwe as well as learned some German from my family.

Unfortunately, my fluency in all of these languages is poor at best: my French is limited to food packaging and episodes of Telefrançais. Although I could once read Harry Potter in Spanish, my knowledge of the language has deteriorated.

You could say I am really interested in languages, but I don’t know if I see it that way. If that statement were true, I would have much better speaking, and certainly reading, abilities in both Spanish and French.

Ojibwe and Mohawk fulfil some of the degree requirements for my Indigenous Studies minor. I was wary of taking Mohawk because I struggled so much with Ojibwe – it is not an easy language to learn since it is very different than English .

I have heard that there are many benefits to learning additional languages, and wanted to find out why so many experts suggest this. I asked McMaster University French and communication students professorAlexandré Sevigny about his opinions on learning additional languages.

Q. What are the benefits of learning a second or additional language? How can this help students academically or in their future careers?

A. The advantages of taking a second language are many.

First, every language you learn is a window onto a new cultural landscape. When you hear and read the world in a second language, the same scenes, the same family relationships are vibrant in new colours. That is why it is such a tragedy when a language is extinguished, when the last speaker passes.

Second, when you learn a second language, you learn how to interact with a new group of people. A whole new set of social possibilities are open to you.

ou can make new friends, engage new people politically or do business with them – all in a fashion that makes you feel and seem authentic to their way of living.

You can make new friends, engage new people politically or do business with them – all in a fashion that makes you feel and seem authentic to their way of living.

To address someone in his or her own language is profound sign of respect. It shows you are willing to step out of the bounds of your own identity, to make yourself vulnerable and communicate with someone else on his or her own terms, rather than on your own.

Third, it has been demonstrated that speaking several languages has cognitive and neurological health benefits.

While much of this sort of science is preliminary and maybe even shaky, some studies have suggested that practising multilingual people suffer less from things like Alzheimers and dementia.

Fourth, there is the academic asset of being able to read the thinkers whose theories you are studying in the original. No matter how good the translator is, there are nuances and subtleties in the original text that can never be transferred through a translation. Every text is much greater than the sum of its sentences and paragraphs. It has a tone, a feel, a music that can’t be replicated.

Roland Barthes, the famous French semiotician captured this very well when he spoke of “the rustle of language,” like the rustle of leaves in the trees, when a wind or breeze passes through the forest. That sound is unique and experiencing it in its forest of origin is unlike hearing it another place. The roll of the land, the height of the trees, the density of the leaves all make for sound that, while it resembles the wind in the trees in any other forest, is unique and beautiful in its little differences.

Language is the same – different languages permit the rustle of different winds of meaning and culture. Each language is unique.