I’m a polyglot; I speak a couple of languages, and I cannot stress enough the benefits of picking up a new language.
As a simple illustration, I can’t even imagine what my life would have been like hadn’t I learned Spanish in the past; I would have missed out on so much.
Learning a new language is one of the best skills to acquire; it brings plenty to the table. Let me elaborate about some of those benefits:
Emotional bond
Talking to people in their native tongue forges an unparalleled connection. As someone once stated, “If you talk to someone in a language he understands, it goes to his mind. If it’s his native language, it goes to his heart”.
Humans are about emotions; it’s a mistake to overlook that.
Widening your horizons
The immersion you get into the local culture when you speak the language is very different compared to not speaking it. The point is, there are aspects of the culture you’ll never fully integrate into unless you speak the local language.
Languages and cultures are frequently more intertwined than we think.
Greater business & career opportunities
Every language you speak is a new gate that opens to you. New job opportunities, better market competitiveness, etc.
I personally wouldn’t do business in a market without speaking the local language; I simply wouldn’t feel confident enough.
Let me phrase it this way: “Every language you speak is another opportunity to make money!”.
Wider social circle
Countless are the awesome conversations and connections I have made with people just because I could speak their native tongue.
Whenever I ask a stranger, “Where are you from?” and I find out I speak their language, I switch to it right away; it creates a different energy.
It’s fascinating that as you get more familiar with accents, sometimes you can accurately identify your interlocutor’s nation even without asking.
Better haggling ability
When you speak the language, local vendors will often assume that you’ve been around the place for a long time or even live there currently. They will treat you nearly like a local, and even dishonest ones are unlikely to overcharge you.
Occasionally you might even be offered freebies or special discounts as a welcoming act of courtesy and hospitality.
Minimizing scams likelihood
Speaking the language can help tremendously avoid scams, including those involving documents. The amusing part is sometimes scammers assume you don’t speak the language and discuss in front of you how they’ll rip you off while you’re there laughing inside as you understand every bit of it.
Speaking the language gives you clearly an edge.
Enjoying original material
It’s a completely different experience when you read or watch stuff in the original language. There is simply a lot that gets lost in translation and dubbing, especially emotions.
I personally do not read or watch anything that has been translated or dubbed. If I don’t speak the language, I pass on.
Unlocking new dimensions of oneself
It might sound weird, but I feel my personality relatively alters when I switch languages. It’s like exploring a new dimension of who I am.
A low-maintenance skill over the long run
Once you achieve a certain level of proficiency in a language, it becomes yours for the rest of your life with little maintenance efforts required.
Final thoughts
It’s worth adding that we don’t necessarily have the same starting points when it comes to learning languages.
In some countries, it’s fairly common to speak several languages (think Belgium, India, or Morocco); in some others, speaking exclusively the local language is just about the norm (I don’t speak Japanese, and I often had hard times communicating during my time in Japan).
If you’re not a native English speaker and languages do not particularly interest you, I still believe you should make the effort to learn English; otherwise, you’ll be simply missing out on far more than you can imagine.
I also strongly suggest prioritizing languages that are widely spoken by a significant global population (such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and Hindi/Urdu). Mastering a new language often takes commitment, time, and effort, at least initially; it’s an ongoing process of trial & error. These languages are the ones that, in my opinion, yield the highest return on investment.
