Building a more socially tolerant society one language at a time.

All throughout High school and most of my adult life, I’ve had no real interest in learning a second language even though English is my second language.

Allow me to explain.

I was born in Germany and at 4 years old moved to the United States with my parents so all the German I did learn from birth was quickly forgotten and replaced with English. So I was bilingual at 5 years old and monolingual at 6 years old.

Recently, at least since mid-2022, I’ve been having an itch to learn a new language. I started going onto YouTube and learning basic Japanese vocabulary and then found Japanesepod101.com which has really helped me not only learn more Japanese, it’s also fun and engaging so I’m retaining a lot more of the information being presented.

I started wondering what the benefits of learning a new language were, specifically the social benefits.

There are numerous social benefits associated with learning a new language.

For starters, learning a new language will provide you with a deeper understanding of the culture and history of the country’s language you’re learning.

Why is this important?

The way I see it is like this,

By learning a new language you’ll invariably start learning about its history and culture in the process. You’ll learn why certain holidays exist and what factors influenced the evolution of its culture. By doing so you’ll gain a deeper understanding of its people which in turn fosters increased tolerance towards each other.

At the time of me writing this article, I’ve just finished reading Napoleon Hill’s Classic “The Law of Success in 15 Lessons” There’s a whole chapter dedicated to Cooperation and Tolerance and the tremendous benefits you’ll experience as well as how it benefits society.

This is one surefire way to decrease and/or eliminate geopolitical instability as well as more local squabbles.

This is probably one of the most powerful and impactful social benefits of learning a new language.

Other benefits include,

Increasing your circle of friends and professional contacts. So, if you’re a social media influencer, public speaker, author, business executive, entrepreneur, etc…. Speaking the native language of the people you’re trying to connect with will build more trust and rapport faster than if you didn’t speak their native language.

This in turn will foster and bring about greater opportunities for economic growth and benefit everyone. Learning the language as a social media influencer will allow you to inspire more people around the world.

Not to mention, if you’re single learning a new language will increase your romantic prospects.

What I’m starting to find interesting about learning a new language is I’m starting to become more aware of my native language and how I use it, meaning I’m starting to notice I put more thought into what I’m going to say before I say it. I think that by learning a new language it’s starting to become easier for me to tune into the thoughts and emotions of other people.

It’s interesting what you’ll start uncovering when you decide to actively start learning a new language.

These are the 4 reasons why I decided to start learning Japanese.

I love anime and would love to watch it in Japanese without subtitles.

I think Japanese women are incredibly beautiful so I guess I’d better learn some Japanese to increase my chances of finding someone special.

I’m learning Japanese because one day in the not-too-distant future I might find myself visiting or studying abroad in Tokyo.

Lastly, I enjoy a good challenge and Japanese is a challenging language from what I’m told, but I disagree with everyone’s opinion because I’m finding it quite enjoyable, easy, and fun.

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