Reason you should Learn a New Language.

Ever since i was young i was brought up in a very diverse community. We have over 42 tribes in Kenya each with a different language, culture, norms and traditions. This in one way has made me understand why people live and behave the way they are. In a way i think language impacts on someone behavior and also it makes you appreciate each others cultures.

I have in the time tried to learn other languages from our Kenyan tribe though not as fluent as they are. I admire how they teach young people, their food, songs, dress code and traditions. When i joined campus back in 2009 i joined German class. I was inspired to join this class because i had a cousin who studied in German and she would come with her friends from German home. Some of the words to me sounded like broken English lol!! I love how dutch people speak and interact and it made more want to learn more.

What motivates you to learn another language besides yours?

It's an achievement if you know another language aside from your native. You will feel like you have an edge over others. It's also fun learning other languages. Those are some of the reasons why I like doing what I'm doing now. 

Personally, I like reading literature quite a bit, particularly world literature. The problem is, there're probably more literature not translated, than literature that's translated. 

So learning new languages is a way for me to access other cultures' written texts. 

Also, quite helpful when you travel and want to eat at a hole-in-the-wall with no English menu. Once, I was in Xishuangbanna in China, and at 6pm sharp, all the foreigners spilled into that one restaurant with an English menu holding their Lonely Planet guides. There's gotta be a better way to live and learn about the world we live in.

meifeng wrote:

The problem is, there're probably more literature not translated, than literature that's translated.

And translations are never as good as originals. I'm not a big foreign language reader for pleasure, but I really enjoyed the Three musketeers, Journey to the center of the earth, The Stranger, and many other French books in the original French and they were fantastic!