In today’s media there is a lot of backlash about people who live in America and do not speak English. Many hold the idea that since you live in this country you should be able to speak the language, but why should we limit ourselves to just one? Being the child of a Spanish speaking mother meant growing up exposed to two different cultures; I spoke Spanish at home and spoke English at school. Speaking two languages was a constant part of my life and it has opened so many doors for me. So to all of my fellow bilinguals out there, here are some of the advantages of being slightly different than everyone else.
1. You can use it as your own secret language. When you and your friends are caught up in an uncomfortable situation you can easily communicate with each other. This can come in handy when you are trying to escape Chad from Econ who always tries a lame pickup line on you.
2. You can be more valuable to your employer. When speaking another language chances are you can come in handy when your boss needs help translating, and being on your boss’s good side is always a plus!
3. Your vocabulary expands. A perk of knowing another language is knowing more words. So when you’re stuck trying to describe something to one of your fellow girlfriends, you have countless words to choose from that can help you gossip efficiently.
4. Improves cognitive function. Studies have shown that bilingualism helps improve your brain function, such as multitasking efficiently. Knowing more than one language has also shown to delay symptoms of dementia in older age, so study up y’all.
5. It opens door for communication with others. Knowing another language means you have the ability to talk to more people, making this one of the best reasons to be bilingual. It can help you open doors with employers, friends, and family, not to mention your music library expands as well.
Whether you grew up speaking two languages or just happened to pick it up, knowing more than one language gives us all a unique story that we should be proud of.
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