Lots of reasons. Hunch.com recently asked its users, “in how many languages could you call a restaurant and make a reservation?”
If you’re thinking “just one,” you’re in the majority. Only 40% of 129,626 users felt comfortable saying they could perform the task in 2 or more languages.
So why learn another language when machine translators are getting more accurate and easily accessible every day? It’s not all black and white, but Hunch data shows that people who know more than one language are, on average, more adventurous and well-educated than monolinguals. Do you want to travel more? Learn a language and get comfortable with the culture.
Another correlation (and we’d like to note that correlation does not imply causation, but it’s at least interesting to note) falls between language, math, and music. Those who are multilingual tend to have an easier time with both music and math. One study looks at the trend of Asian students to excel in math. The researcher notes that while his work mostly points to growing up within a culture that rewards hard work, the complex linguistic structure of Asian languages probably doesn’t hurt either.
Hunch has noted a slew of similar correlations listed on their website. For the full article, click here.
If learning a new language is something you’ve been meaning to do, we offer private and group lessons in dozens of languages. Give us a call at (513)745-0888.