When you are settled in to spend 10 hours at an international terminal, what should you do? Sure you may do your homework, you may get some food, but you definitely should take in the diversity.
I just went to Fuddruckers and the three groups sitting around me were all having conversations in different languages. How often does that happen? It also makes me question my once myopic, English centric, view of the world.
In HS, I felt that because English is becoming the Lingua Franca, there was no reason to invest myself into learning another language. Proving once again, teenagers know nothing!
Embedded in each one of these languages is history, culture, and thousands of years of development. Language emerged and transformed for a reason, and in reality, it will continue to do so. There is no reason to believe that English won't be supplanted in the future as well.
In fact, with the increased global focus on math and science, a language that has a base-10 counting system built into it may actually be the rational choice in regards to efficiency.
I think I am losing my point. Did I ever really have one? I suppose I didn't.
Well, now I have one. Embrace other languages, don't fear or belittle them. You might find that your suspicion and frustration may transform into curiosity.
No comments:
Post a Comment