In the United States there is an attitude of complacency when it comes to learning languages. Too many of us seem to think that because English is the language that everyone else in the world is learning, we don't have to learn any other languages. Up until several of years ago I didn't really give much value to my own desires and abilities to learn languages. Even though I could speak Spanish, French, and Chinese, I considered my language learning as nothing more than a hobby I did for fun in my free time. However, an experience my husband and I had at the Summer Palace in Beijing, China woke me up and made me realize just how important it is to be able to communicate in different languages.
"冰淇淋 一元, 一元 Bīngqílín--yīyuán, yīyuán!" (Ice cream--one yuan, one yuan!), the lady called out as we passed. It was a hot day in Bejing. My husband and I had done a lot of walking in the gardens around the Summer Palace so we stopped for a cold treat. "Five yuan." the lady told us in English as she showed us our choices of ice cream. "五元 Wǔyuán!" (Five yuan!) I replied, surprised. "但是 你说一元 Dànshì nǐ shuōle yīyuán!" (But you just said one yuan! "哦,你说中国. Ó, nǐ shuō zhōngguó!" (Oh, you speak Chinese!) The lady said as she blushed and started to giggle. She quickly took my two yuan in exchange for two ice cream bars. She continued to laugh as my husband and I walked away. We weren't quite sure what to think, but a lesson had been learned: my knowledge of Chinese had just saved us eight yuan--not a big sum of money, but it could have been. It suddenly became clear to me, even if the whole world is learning English, it is still very important for United States citizens to learn different languages!
1 Comment
|
AuthorI'm Holly. I love learning languages! I speak English, Spanish, French, and Chinese. I am currently learning Arabic, Hindi, and German. Archives
December 2016
Categories |