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Í speak 4 languages and I love it: Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and English. I have lived or worked in countries where those languages are spoken. Each
by florakel 3y ago
Í speak 4 languages and I love it: Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and English. I have lived or worked in countries where those languages are spoken. Each language feels
like a unique perspective on life and unlocks the understanding of a new culture for you. When talking to a taxi driver or reading a local newspaper you will
be confronted with words or phrases that have no literal translation into your mother tongue. For a moment you are left without clear references and you have to make a significant cognitive effort to understand a concept that does not exist in your native culture (and therefore language). The construction of new references and meanings is what makes learning a new language all worth it. Understanding a new way to describe this world (while ideally living in a different culture) can make you a more empathetic, curious, and serene human being - in opposition to the polarizing black and white thinking that dominates most parts of the world these days.
- tharkun__ 3y agoYou seem to speak 4 languages so well that at least in one of them you can't count to 5 ;) Please take this tongue in cheek, as in kind of like the other comment said: for lots of folks splitting that atte tion is detrimental at least in some regard. Personally I think some diversification in language is good. It "keeps you on your toes". If you never use a muscle it will deteriorate. But you won't be able to exercise all of your muscles equally all the time. That said I do get your point about viewpoints. It's so easy to just have exactly one if all you speak is one language. Plenty of places in the world today where that is the case. And it's not just the ones we see in the international news all the time.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- nohaydeprobleme 3y ago> "You seem to speak 4 languages so well that at least in one of them you can't count to 5 ;) " For what it's worth, I counted 4 languages instead of 5, assuming the comment wasn't edited. The commenter wrote: "Í speak 4 languages and I love it: Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and English." Brazilian Portuguese is a single language as the dialect of Portuguese used in Brazil [1], versus the European Portuguese dialect used in Portugal [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Portuguese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Portuguese [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Portuguese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Portuguese
- tharkun__ 3y agoTouché! Does that count as #5 ;)
- nohaydeprobleme 3y agoHaha, I suppose this counts. Bon mot.
- florakel 3y agoI guess I was too precise when I wrote "Brazilian Portuguese" and caused some confusion. ;) It is actually quite different from European Portuguese, especially when spoken.