Articles and Stories

June 6, 2013

Having grown up bilingual and being fluent in two additional languages, I had never thought about the benefits of speaking several languages, as everyone had that skill where I grew up. Later in life, after moving to the USA in particular, I started to be more aware my language abilities, though keeping them low key so as not to make anyone else who speaks one to two languages feel uncomfortable.

As I came across this table above I felt that it was worth sharing. The way the benefits are categorized into Love, Travel, Intelligence and Money (almost sounds like your horoscope) is interesting, as are the statistics. It is hard to quantify the benefit of speaking other languages, but Kaplan seems to have assembled a good picture based on a wide range of reputable sources. Who would have thought that one of the sexiest accents is the Irish one? I certainly don’t feel like that when our Irish-Catholic priest is preaching to us on Sundays, even though I do feel that the accent adds to his personality and charisma. Certainly the number of international students has multiplied; does that also have something to do with the fact that more and more universities now offer courses in English in addition to the language of their country? I cannot imagine following a college level class in a language that I would not at least be fluent in. Nonetheless, I am a big proponent of a semester abroad for all the learning in addition to language that happens during such experiences.

About the money: yes, I do believe that language skills can lead to increased professional success, though it is also directly related to the level of qualification of the person as well as other circumstances, such as the additional languages needed in that specific geography and the overall supply of speakers of that language with a comparable skill set. And sometimes circumstances are unpredictable, so bottom line, a good bit of plain good luck helps pave the way.