by Kevin Burton
At one of my newspaper stops I was introduced to readers as speaking “fluent Spanish” That wasn’t, and isn’t, quite true.
But I do speak some Spanish and it has done me some good over the years.
How much Spanish do I speak? I once described it as “enough to rap to the ladies.”
Well, I am out of the rapping business, and when rapping to my wife/lady Jeannette, I need to stick to English, although she is not devoid of abilities in Spanish.
Sometimes I pause the clicker on a telenovela, Mexican soap opera, on Univision. Jeannette will hilariously translate what the actors are saying back into English, based on their facial expressions and body language. And she is usually about 75 percent correct.
The language of what my grandpa used to call “stupid stories” is of course, universal.
Speaking a second language is great fun. Now the Dictionary Scoop website has published a list of other benefits of adding a second language.
You have perhaps heard the joke: What do you call someone who speaks three languages – trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages – bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks just one language, American.
Here then, from Dictionary Scoop is what the xenophobe Americans are missing out on
1-Brain stimulation
Learning a new language means mastering a whole new set of grammar rules and vocabulary. As the brain works to keep up with the language’s complexities and absorb its patterns, new developments occur within it. Just like muscles, the brain becomes stronger and more efficient the more it is used.
2–Attention span improvement
It’s no secret that the human attention span is steadily shrinking. This is mainly due to new technologies designed to compress and deliver information in the shortest possible time.
Learning a new language can be an antidote to this trend. Researchers suggest that regularly switching between languages helps the brain maintain focus and block distractions.
3–More career options
Learning a language is like acquiring a valuable tool, and as such, it is highly sought after by companies operating in multilingual markets. Nowadays, the demand for bilingual candidates is greater than ever. By acquiring a foreign language, a person can significantly increase their job opportunities and advance up the career ladder much faster.
4–Creativity boost
Creativity often involves combining unrelated concepts, and few activities do this better than learning a new language, where you have to assign a new word to every single known concept. This shift in perspective fosters the creative part of the brain.
5–First language improvement
People learn their mother tongue intuitively and without formal education. However, learning another language requires studying grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and sentence structure. As learners progress in a second language, they become more aware of the structure and rules of their first language.
6–Multitasking skills
When the brain practices switching between languages, it exercises its multitasking ability. As it becomes accustomed to this demanding task, it adapts and improves its ability to multitask in other areas as well.
7–Less cognitive decline
It should come as no surprise that exercising the brain can delay its decline in senior adults and keep it sharper for longer. On that note, learning a new language is an excellent way for retirees to continue challenging their minds and maintain mental agility.
8–Memory improvement
Learning a language involves storing large amounts of new information in your brain. That’s why people who speak more than one language tend to have better memory retention. They are often better at remembering lists, names, phone numbers, and directions than those who speak only one language.
9–Self-esteem boost
Learning a new language often puts you in the spotlight, with many opportunities to make mistakes, especially during the early stages. This makes it a great exercise for building self-esteem, as it encourages learners to push through discomfort until they feel confident in any situation.
10–Deeper connections
Communicating with someone through hand gestures, basic words, or a third person is very different from speaking with them in their own language. The experience of interacting with another person is greatly enriched by sharing their language.
11–Better decision-making
Making decisions in a language other than your native tongue often leads to more reasoned and logical choices. This is because the brain takes extra steps to process information in a different language, which adds time and encourages more deliberate thinking.
12–Experience art in its original form
Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentine writer, learned German so he could read Goethe in the original language. While this might sound like a rare example, it’s undeniable that reading the exact words a writer chose offers a richer and more rewarding experience than reading a translation, no matter how good the translation may be.
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