America has a
great diversity of languages, ethnic backgrounds, and cultures. Of course,
almost everyone speaks English here. There are also many that grow up speaking
their native language along with speaking English. Students these days get to
learn another language in school, allowing many to perhaps be able to speak two
or three languages. Yet, learning a completely new language is no easy task.
There definitely is a sense of accomplishment from being able to speak many
languages and it can be quite useful as well. Amazing as it is to know
two, three, or perhaps four languages, it is incredible to know that there are
people in this world that know ten or even twenty languages.
In Africa alone, there are at least hundreds of different, unique
languages and it makes me wonder how many there are total in the world. The
fact that there are people that are willing to take on the task of learning so
many languages is tremendously admirable. After reading the article, Adventures of a Teenage Polyglot, I was surprised to learn
about Timothy Doner, a teenager, that at the age of 16 could speak more than 20
languages. It all began when he wanted to learn modern Hebrew for his bar
mitzvah and from there, he took an interest in learning Arabic. Then he dived into Russian, Italian, Persian, Swahili,
Indonesian, Hindi, Ojibwe, Pashto, and Turkish, just to name a few. He taught
himself mostly from grammar books and flash card apps on his phone. He later
more formally learned French, Latin, and Mandarin in his sophomore year of high
school.
It is a momentous feat for someone Timothy
Doner's age to be able to speak so many different languages. This
accomplishment not only requires hard work but also a gifted mind that can
retain all of the languages learned. The practicality of knowing so many languages
it quite useful. The more languages a person knows, the more diverse
communication can be for them. It is also helpful for many jobs too. Although
most people don't know the 20 or so languages that Timothy Doner does, learning
more languages can be beneficial for yourself in many aspects.
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