What Learning a New Language Brings Us

When I watched the TED talk, ‘4 reasons to learn a new language’, given by John McWhorter, I was attracted by an idea is his lecture, which is that language channels people’s thoughts. I haven’t thought that a table can own ‘a gender’, female until I learned Italian. In Mandarin and English, abiotic objects don’t have genders. It provides me a new point to treat to think about these non-living things although remembering these Italian vocabulary is not a easy thing. In addition, just like McWhorter mentioned that in different languages, the order of a sentence varies. It somehow shapes people’s way to think because although the meaning they express is the same, orders of a sentence may have difference. This factor also influences distinguished culture. Compared to English-spoken people, Mandarin-spoken people express their sentiments in a more reserved way. Thus, I strongly agree with that language shapes people’s thoughts.

McWhorter also introduced that languages help people imbibe culture. Language is one of the most important part in a culture. Thus, understanding a language may make people more easier to fit into the environment. Language have fun consonants which makes people be willing to learn a new language. When a beginner imitates a sound, he or she will have lots of fun. For me, I especially like to pronounce ‘r’ in Italian, because this sound requires me to wave my tongues. I have never experienced this movement in both Mandarin and English, so I practiced a lot when I learn it. Learning a new language make people take multiple tasks at the same time so that people can separate their attentions into different parts.

Learning a new language can bring a lot of benefits to a learner. If you have time, why not learning a new language?