The rise of the polyglotsMelanie Ho is a writer living in Hong Kong. She reviews for the "Asian Review of Books".UPDATED JANUARY 29, 2012, 7:00 PMLike many other kids in Ottawa, Canada, I started learning a second language at age 4, when I was enrolled in French immersion school. I studied French throughout school and learned Italian during a semester abroad. Speaking Italian has been fruitful for me, even in Hong Kong where I live now. Job opportunities have arisen because I have an understanding of and an interest in Italy and Italians.[...]People often talk about the practical upsides to learning a second (a third, a fourth) language, like employability in this global economy. But learning a new tongue is important beyond that. A foreign language helps with the understanding of one’s native language. The process of learning to communicate in a foreign language often forces us to learn how to listen. Language provides insight into another way of thinking, another mind-set.This is not to say that everyone must be fluent in multiple languages, just as not everyone is “fluent” in statistics. There is a difference between functionality and fluency; it may be enough to be proficient.E, embora o inglês seja comum ao redor do mundo, está longe de ser universal. Há pouco tempo atrás eu perguntei a um amigo meu da China continental — uma pessoa rica, que se mudou para Hong Kong, há um ano — se ela estaria interessada em me ajudar com meu chinês, e em troca eu ensinaria o seu inglês. Ela disse que ela ia me ajudar, mas respondeu que ela não tinha interesse em aprender inglês. Se alguém queria falar com ela, ela disse, eles poderiam aprender chinês.
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