Surrounded by the English language, it’s easy for people to overlook other languages – and with reason, since English is the most spoken language in the world. However, with over 7,000 other languages in existence around the world, they’re worth spending time learning and appreciating.
Echolier recently conducted a survey about the languages spoken across Collegedale Academy, which received 64 responses. More specifically, it sought to discover the languages students at CA speak fluently other than English. Despite the limited turnout, the survey yielded fascinating results.
The survey revealed that about 60% of respondents only speak English, while 31.3% are bilingual, speaking English and one other language fluently. A much smaller percentage, about 6.3%, speak at least three languages. Combined, about 40% of students speak more than one language.
These polyglots shared the array of different languages they speak. Not surprisingly, Spanish accounted for almost 70% of the languages spoken. Chinese and Korean are spoken by one respondent each, as well as Tagalog and Cebuano – two languages from the Philippines. One respondent speaks both Spanish and an Indian language called Gujarati. Some other languages spoken are Portuguese, Ukrainian, and even Haitian Creole, which is influenced heavily by French and African languages.
Daniel Evans, class of 2027, grew up in Latvia, where he learned both Latvian and Russian. Knowing multiple languages has helped him “understand what people [are] saying or talking about when I’m in their country.” Despite acknowledging the advantage he has over others for being multilingual, he says, “I don’t brag about it.”
Daniel isn’t the only one who has noticed the benefits of knowing more than language. “Practically, it opens doors for you professionally,” explains Mrs. Jenniffer Marquez, one of the Spanish teachers at CA. “You are more marketable and a more sought-after hire.” The pros of having this skill aren’t limited to career opportunities, though. “More importantly, you are able to help more people the more languages you know,” Mrs. Marquez says. “Whether that is as a missionary in a far away place or in your own neighborhood.”
Want to expand your horizons by learning a new language or blowing the dust off one you haven’t spoken in a while? Mrs. Marquez says that there are plenty of options available. Some free resources include YouTube videos and the popular language-learning app Duolingo. Foreign movies, shows, and music offer a more entertaining way to pick up new languages. Befriending someone who speaks the language you’re trying to learn can help you not only reach your goal, but discover different cultures. What are you waiting for? Learning a new language could be your opportunity to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19).
