According to the Eton Institute, learning a foreign language boosts brain power, improves memory, enhances the ability to multi-task, keeps your mind sharp (and for longer), enhances decision making, helps improve your first language, and can help open the door to other career opportunities. Have you taken the time to learn a second language? Did you grow up speaking more than one language?
If you want to learn a new language, here’s a website with tons of resources. They sure make it easy these days (and most of the time, free!), so we encourage you to try.
If you grew up speaking another language, or started learning one in high school and stuck with it, or whatever your story may be, will you share it with us in the comments below? Thanks!
From the South, so I am fluent in Southern. Speak and understand Yankee and enough English to get by if I am ever in England. I also can speak enough Spanish to keep from starving.
I checked one, but I got to thinking, I’m from rural East Texas and in some parts of the country folks can hardly understand me.
I’m trained in 3 fluently and working on a fourth “functionally”… …but since no one understands me in any of them the count is debatable…
I speak American tinged with sailor
I selected just one language (English). However, I do consider myself functional (not fluent) in Spanish.
Speak fluently? None should have been an option.
Several people may be fluent in computer languages OR Sign language for the deaf (American or otherwise). Anyone?
I chose 2. I assume morse code counts. I’m a ham radio licensee.
Chuck Dunn below, made me think, when I was in the army, I knew a Canadian who had joined our army.
One day another guy in our unit said to him, “You sure do talk good American not to be from here”.
I speak two, American and Candian. Or does that count?
I checked one, but i claim to be fluent in two: English and nautical (which really is a language all its own).
I remember my (1950’s) high school american history teacher (football coach) telling everyone, “If the SOBs want to talk to us, let’em learn American.” I do sort of wished I took Mexican (not European Spanish) back then, come in handy these days.
Forget all the French I took (remember the song?). 3 years of Latin was a waste while studying it. Americanized English and Vietnamese. That one I wish I never learned!
A person that speaks 3 languages is trilingual. A person that speaks two languages is bilingual. A person that speaks one language is an American. When I lived in Europe I saw numerous Americans yelling in English at people, thinking if they talked louder they would be understood.
When I was teaching Languages we called it “paralytic monolingualism”.
I speak a American version of English with a modified Appalachian accent (Southern Ohio). I also can use Morse Code.
dah di dah di dah dah di dah
Does “RV” count as a language? It should.
My Spanish is limited to beer and bathroom.
That’s too funny, Impavid. The gal I walk with at the track most evenings told me last week that all she knows in Spanish is beer and bathroom! 😆 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I selected one (English) but like David I am a Ham Radio Operator and also speak and read Morse Code. However I am sure there are those that will question how Fluently my English is.
Stay Safe, Stay Well.
Hi, Dick and Sandy. My grandpa was a Ham Radio Operator and was very fluent in Morse Code. Seventy years ago I was fascinated watching him communicate around the world tapping very rapidly on the key. His call letters were K7SD. Thanks for the fun memory. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I regret that I had to chose the only one option. Despite two years of high school french, a fair amount of which I still remember, and four semesters of college-level German, which as a non-traditional (i.e. old) student was very difficult in a class full of people who had it in their high school backgrounds, I’m nowhere near fluent in either. So I have to satisfy myself with my love of both spoken and written English. I also love and occasionally culturally appropriate American dialects. My hometown is an hour away from Hannibal, MO and Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers. He was one of if not the best at writing in dialect.
We used to visit Hannibal when we were kids. We had adopted relatives in Palmyra, Mo. Good memories. Because of the Mark Twain museum and his locks of hair, I started saving mine.
One, unless you can count Morse Code…then two.
Same here