On Language.

Language, a communication medium, a barrier and a bridge between people. Enlightening and masking at the same time, it divides the world into a those who understand each other and everyone else. Of course, these are entirely arbitrary groupings. Anyone could be in the first group; it just depends on who you pick to start with.

People complain about language. Whether it should be learnt by rote or roleplay, which and how many languages to teach in schools, the evolution of a language, the low standards of language in society.

By its very nature, language divides the world into small portions, setting up walls of incomprehension between different zones of the world, between different languages. One can run away from this fact; for instance, if one only knows English, one can take relief that English is a remarkably oft-spoken language in the world, and that major countries such as the U.S. have it as their main/working/official language. Online, too, there are pockets of communities of different tongues; one could live their whole life being a monolingual and not be any the worse for it.

All the same, multilingualism is an advantage. Just as language carves trenches between people, knowing more than one language bridges the chasms. It multiplies your realm of knowledge, pushes your horizons further, and opens up new experiences on Earth. It is entirely worth it to be versed in more than one tongue.

...even if it is hell to learn more than 2 languages.

One language? Better excel in it, or you'll have serious problems.
Two languages? Excelling in one, comprehending the other. That's the bare minimum of aptitude.
Three languages? Again, you'd better be great in at least one.

Language has 4 main aspects to it:
- Reading (to be literate. To understand printed material.) [passive, visual]
- Writing (to create printed works.) [active, visual]
- Listening (to understand the spoken word.) [passive, aural]
- Speaking (to be able to communicate verbally) [active, verbal]

To understand a language, one merely needs to be skilled in reading and listening (still no mean feat, though.) To truly know the language, one must also know how to speak the lingo and write up a storm. In other words, all 4 aspects.

Then there's the choice of which language to study. Personally:
- English (compulsory; besides, it's a useful language, both on the interwebs and in general.)
- Mandarin (compulsory (erk) but useful. Useful for work/future, and useful for...)
- Japanese (it was this or French. French may have been easier/better, but Japanese has upsides...)

Namely, ANIME AND MANGA. Reading and listening to Japanese is simpler than speaking and writing. Mandarin (Chinese) is also incredibly helpful in learning the characters, and comprehending them.

One last thing: 3 languages = reduced reliance on any one language as a source. For research, for example. For online games, as another example. As a third example, if a particular sub/scanlation isn't out in English, Chinese would be the second choice. If all else fails, raw Japanese. :--D


Learn languages. They are useful. Fun. Or rather, the things produced in that language are fun.