I agree with the argument that it’s important for everyone to learn at least one foreign language. As our interconnected world becomes dominated by globalization, the need for effective communication across languages grows. This isn’t just about individuals who operate in the global sphere—businesspeople and politicians. Learning another language enhances our interactions with people close to us, in our local communities, who happen to speak that language.
The formation of global interconnectedness has allowed for the meeting and mingling of people from various backgrounds, with the outcome almost invariably being a friendship formed. The nearly fathomless possibilities for cross-cultural interactions beg one very serious question, though: How can we ever expect to understand one another in the absence of a common language? The most spoken languages in the world—English and Mandarin Chinese—barely scratch the surface of global linguistic diversity. And if history is any guide, the languages of the future will be quite different from those we speak today.
Imagine a person going to a country where people mainly speak the person’s native language. If the person travels to a country where their native language is predominantly spoken, they can more easily blend into society and communicate with locals. But even if a person’s language is prevalent, there are still innumerable locals who speak other languages. These other languages aren’t just spoken in the country visited; they also exist in a person’s home country. For better or for worse, our global society is linguistically diverse, with literally thousands of languages and dialects.
So, using a shared language for communication is of fundamental importance. This could be Mandarin, Portuguese, or our most popular choice, English. It is essential that we as a society embrace basic language skills and not only communicate for the sake of our immediate conversations but also on behalf of the more significant, multigenerational cause of our family tree’s growth. Knowing a foreign language or languages enables one not only to communicate but also to understand a culture to which that language applies.