There are an unfathomable number of languages spoken in this world. To honor the variety of tongues, National Foreign Language Week was held from March 6-12. Created in 1957 by the Honor Society of Alpha Mu Gamma at Los Angeles City College, the annual theme is “Celebrating Humanity through Language”.

In the hallways at East you may have seen the decorative, informational posters made by our students. Maybe you have heard about it from one of the world language teachers. Just what really is the significance of National Foreign Language Week?

I myself take great interest in such languages spoken worldwide. I would say my extensive knowledge on the subject both fascinates and concerns my friends! As a disciple of French for four years and someone who has also dabbled in other languages such as Spanish and Turkish, I was very excited to find out about this week of honor. There really is another world in languages that young people today should look into.

Language is not just a way of communication, but an expression of culture. It reflects different ethnic groups, regional differences, and customs. As an avid fan of world culture and language, it is my duty to educate the readers of this article on the exciting aspects of learning a foreign language, as well as some fun facts I have picked up from my experience!

Why?

Open your Spotify or YouTube playlist. Chances are most of the songs are by Western musicians sung in English. Somewhere across the world, someone is listening to music sung in their own language. Think about all the great music you are missing out on due to a language barrier! Picking up a new language is a great way to discover new tunes! (and annoy your friends and family when handed the Aux in the car).

When taking required language courses in school, you may think, “When am I ever going to use this in real life? They won’t make me conjugate Hacer during a job interview!” You are wrong. The workplace is actually an important place to have this knowledge, especially if you work with the public. There is always the chance that a client may not speak English. If you are the only person in the workplace that can help, they will be grateful that you took your lessons in high school.

Making New Friends: There is a sense of camaraderie between language learners. I personally have always enjoyed group speaking activities. Since you all share a common interest, you will all want to help each other improve. Outside of the classroom, you may be able to make friends with native speakers around the world once you reach a certain point of fluency. Remember, bonds aren’t limited to one language.

Fun Facts

French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese are all Romance languages. This is not because they are attractive (well, it depends on the speaker) but rather because their origin can be traced back to the Roman Empire. They all can be connected to the spread of Latin.

Mandarin Chinese is the biggest language in the world in more ways than one! It has the most speakers, having over one billion people with it as their native tongue. Their alphabet, too, is huge, with at least 50,000 characters! The characters all make up the words in Mandarin, some that do not have direct translations in English.

While we do not consider Southern or British slang any different from standard English, there are some languages with dialects that are considered an entirely different tongue! Regional dialects take different word or grammar usages. Italian, for example, has many dialects, such as Sicilian, Venetian, and Piedmontese! They can sound very different based on where you are.

In English and a myriad of other languages, we read across the page left to right. However, in languages like Arabic, Hebrew, or Urdu, one would read from right to left. If you visit a website or read a book in one of these languages, you will find that the layout is totally different. These are all very old languages and their format originates from an early method of writing, chiseling in stone.

Afterword

Hopefully your interest in the world of language has been piqued. Even if you do not take a world language class in school, there are still many online resources such as Duolingo or OkyDoky that can help. Like any hobby, learning a new language can make your life more fulfilling. Don’t forget the importance of this year’s theme: “Celebrating Humanity Through Language”.