Now, reffering to the text from The Observer, to be able to comment on it, I should imagine I'm, let's say, British for a moment. So, hypothetically I know English perfectly, thus, I'm able to communicate through lingua franca all over the world. But not learning any other language, in that case, would probably made me feel poor, as if I lacked something.
But, maybe I should facilitate those considerations and try to imagine that, being Polish, I wouldn't learn any other foreign language. First of all, I just can't think of anything else to do in life, and secondly, how would I function in today's world without knowing the almost international language? Impossible.
I don't think that The Observer's text is exaggerated and I have quite good a justification for that. Mainly, everyone knows and thus will most certainly agree with me, that nowadays people travel a lot. And I really mean it - A LOT. The world is changed, politics is changed, international relations are changed. Basically, travelling gradually gets easier and easier for people. And this seems to be the main and most important motivation for learning foreign languages. The British may say that if they speak English, which is widely spoken almost everywhere, then they don't need another language. But don't you think it is really polite if you visit another country, let's say France as an example, and you put so much effort into communicating in the language of the country you came to visit and admire? Personally speaking, I'm very much moved when a foreigner asks me about the direction on the street, trying to use Polish language. You may find it a bit lame, but I think it's cute:)
There is a number of other examples of good reasons for learning foreign languages, but they deserve an essay.
But to cut a long story short, I'd say that a person who considers him/herself a modern world citizen is obliged to speak a foreign language, if not many of them.
And just as a conclusion, this note made me think about my French and that I really should work on it.
I regret that i cannot "Like it"
ReplyDeleteThat's true that it's "easy" for the British not to learn any foerign language. They go anywhere they want and communicate with others at ease. It's a pity though, that they do not appreciate learning foreign languages just as a way to enrich themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange how many Poles laugh when they hear Polish spoken by a foreigner, instead of being happy and positive about it. I've heard some complaints about this from English-speaking people living in Poland and doing their best at learning our language. I wonder why that is so.
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