Sunday, February 19, 2012

MY LANGUAGE FASCINATION

Those for whom multilingualism is a foreign (pun intended) concept are probably wondering why in the world I would want to trouble myself learning Italian.  My family doesn't come from Italy and I'm not going there to live or work, so why bother?

The truth is that I just love languages.  Every new language offers me a new insight into a different culture, a new way of experiencing the world, and a whole new set of possible friends.  I love to travel and when I travel, I love to talk to people.  It isn't just that it's handy to be able to ask directions or read the captions in the museums, although those skills are certainly useful.  I like being able to chat with the old woman sitting next to me on the bus.  I'm curious.  I just don't want to miss out on anything.

Today, I attended my first session of a meetup group that gets together on Sunday morning to speak Spanish and I remembered something else I love about studying languages.  I really enjoy other people who love languages.  What a marvelous group of interesting people of all ages and backgrounds!  In general, the people I have met who study languages simply because they want to are intelligent, curious, well traveled and open-minded.  Getting up early on Sunday isn't usually my thing, but I know that I'll be doing so again.

I'm a language addict.

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