Why I love foreign languages
I love foreign languages. I love living in them. I rarely listen to podcasts or watch videos in English, my native language. Only about half of the books I read each year are in English.
It's no secret that learning a foreign language offers a myriad of benefits: opening yourself up to new perspectives, better comprehending what is going on in other countries, combating cognitive decline. And so on.
All of those things are wonderful, but I think what really drives me to spend hours almost every day away from my native languagex is feeling like I am someone else, or at least in the process of becoming a new person.
The funny thing is that my first foray into learning languages in first grade was a bit deflating. It was short-lived, as my school district had to cut its budget and decided to sacrifice foreign language instruction in elementary schools. For two years I learned Spanish, and all I remember is being utterly confused when our teacher was explaining the days of the week to us. It just didn't click with me.
At thirteen I had the freedom to choose: Would I start learning a foreign language in school or not? In true American fashion, my district did not mandate even a single year of foreign language instruction for middle and high schoolers.
For some reason I was adamant about doing so, faced with the choice between French, German, or Spanish. Japanese was also offered but not popular because it required being shuttled to a different school for instruction. So, I chose the second least popular one — German.
Despite the perpetual stereotypes that suggest otherwise, I've always found German to be a beautiful language. It has become a huge part of who I am after more than fourteen years of learning it, even though neither I nor anyone from my childhood has German roots. I would even like to move to Germany for the long term and obtain a German passport. Whether/when that becomes a reality doesn't matter though: The language just feels like home to me. I like who I am when I speak it, more confident and maybe even kinder at the same time. German is my strongest foreign language, and my second "identity" feels almost complete. Though that will never be the case, as there will always be ways to improve.
But it wasn't until I branched out that I realized language learning is like carving a new identity that becomes more refined as your vocabulary and grasp of the language grow. Improving your skills becomes addictive as you unlock new ways to express your thoughts and make your second (or third or even fourth and so on) self known.
Five years ago I started learning Russian, my birth language, that I lost when I moved to the United States at an early age. I still have a lot of room to go, but I'm proud of how competent I've become. Enough to feel like my Russian self is blooming, and now I have a third personality of sorts. Or maybe it's about rediscovering a lost identity rather than forging a new one. Not sure.
To make things even more interesting, I started learning Turkish in June. I can't hold a conversation yet. It is really tough. Not only because it's not an Indo-European language but also due to my little time to dedicate to it. I'm hoping to change that soon because I'm excited to maybe discover a new self and way of thinking.