7 Reasons to Learn Another Language

1. Travel the world more easily/readily

While most of the world speaks English, there are many interesting places in which only the native language is spoken.

You can get away with visiting Rome without knowing Italian, but good luck finding your way around if you want to see a small town in Southern Italy and you speak only English.

2. Communicate with people around the world

People do not live in a world of only English. Many people feel more comfortable expressing themselves in their native language.

You can learn so much about the world by simply talking to people. Don't deny yourself knowledge about most of the world's population because of something like a language barrier.

3. Better job opportunities

Many jobs these days (especially in places like Texas and California) are facing something of a bilingual society, and are therefore requiring their employees to be proficient in another language.

Markets and companies in Latin American and Asian countries have been recently growing at an exponential rate. Don't limit yourself by speaking only one language and miss out on an otherwise fantastic business venture.

4. More literature

Gabriel García Marquéz wrote some fantastic novels in his day. Many of them have been translated into English, but his true words are in Spanish.

Poems, songs, and literature just don't have the same "oomph" in English as they do in their native tongue.

5. Earn the respect of others

Learning another language is no small undertaking. It requires extensive studying and a LOT of work. People understand this and will respect someone who is bilingual much like they respect someone with a PhD.

6. Learn about other cultures

The world does not have a monoculture, and in order to really understand and experience all that other cultures have to offer, you have to know the language of the place.

Many historical texts have never been translated - or have been translated incorrectly - into English, and without knowing the native language, you will never know for certain what the text says.

7. Gain self-respect

Finishing such a task as learning another language, which can take years, is one of the best things you can do for your self-esteem. Besides being a fantastic accomplishment and opportunity-generator, learning another language adds something to the spirit.

Learning another language is like discovering fiction when you've lived in a world of biography. It's like adding color to a black-and-white television picture.

You might not ever travel the world or listen to an Italian opera, but wouldn't it be nice to know that you could?