As of today, we currently live in a world that constantly requires us to upgrade our skills, better our understanding of things, seek for more profitable opportunities and strive to be the best at whatever we involve ourselves in, all for the reason that we want a better life or people would say in order to live the dream. So, the point I’m definitely driving towards is that the world is extremely competitive.
You will find corporate individuals in several companies trying so hard to look like the smartest of them all, you will find students trying so hard to be the best in their class probably for the purpose of gaining Ivy league scholarship to Ivy League schools or it could be for the purpose of impressing their parent or even to make them proud by all means. I can actually say I know how this feels cause I was a member this category back then in my secondary school. I always made sure I tried my best in being the best in my class by getting good grades in order to make mama and papa proud of my achievement. In other words, you could know I was competitive in class, in fact that could be my secret ingredient towards my speedy improvement at chess and I’m extremely glad to say I was one of the chess stars in school and I could say to an extent in the state I and my parent lived in.
WOO!!! It feels like I have got carried away already, I have to come back to the discussion of the day. So it’s alright to say that I have buttressed the point that people strive to gain more skills for better opportunities and to stay ahead in this fast-growing competitive world.
And one of the skill that has gradually become a predominant booster for several resumes is the ability to speak multiple languages. What I love to call the power of multilingualism.
Before I move on with the details of this article, the need for a foundational of the definition and true meaning of multilingualism needs to be established because then and only then will we be able to understand the true power of being multilingual speaker.
In accordance to the definition on the web page of wikipedia,
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Europeans claim to speak at least one language other than their mother tongue; but many read and write in one language. Multilingualism is advantageous for people wanting to participate in trade, globalization and cultural openness.Owing to the ease of access to information facilitated by the Internet, individuals' exposure to multiple languages is becoming increasingly possible. People who speak several languages are also called polyglots.
In a nutshell, the definition gotten from one of the popular sites for information, wikipedia, talks about the fact that multilingualism simply means the ability for a speaker or a group of speakers to communicate in more than one language.
The site even went further to inform us that there are individuals mostly Europeans are more of multilingual speakers rather than monolingual speakers and the site even backs up their information by informing us that more than half of the population of Europeans speak one language aside from their mother tongue also known as their first language.
This simply means that most Europeans speak other languages aside from English which happens to be their mother tongue. More so, wikipedia made mention of an important advantage about the power of multilingualism which is multilingualism is quite advantageous for people who have the desire to engage in trade, globalization and cultural openness and mind you we all fall under one of these criteria in one way or another.
I would say that this fact tends to be true because through language we can actually experience the culture of the owners of the language. It’s like saying you never really experience a different culture if can’t experience the language of such culture. I can also say I know what this means because being a Yoruba man from the western part of Nigeria, I could never really identify myself as a member of such tribe until I was able to learn the language. Then I finally know how it feels to be a Yoruba Man. In the ending part of the definition of multilingualism from wikipedia, the definition of a polyglot was given as a person with the ability to speak many languages. And I must say till date this is something I still refer to as a supernatural power cause knowing the challenges it entails in learning a particular language, talk more of learning several languages.
Now that a foundational knowledge of what multilingualism means has been established, it’s time to look at the opportunities that comes with being a multilingual speaker.
Better Understanding of People
Through the power of multilingualism there is an innate understanding of people which comes with the ability. For instance, by engaging with an individual in a language best known to him or her, there is a better understanding in knowing what the person wants, feels or more importantly what the person is trying to tell you. No wonder it is not a surprise that corporate organizations like the banks and telecommunication companies are more willing to employ individuals with the ability to speak more than one language, most especially in the customer care segment of the company.
Better Means of Communicating
When a common ground for which language to use is established between two individuals or more, the problem of miscommunication becomes a thing of the past because we have the chance of airing out our opinions, views and feelings in the best way possible using the language to fullest of our understanding.
Better Job Opportunities
The most important of them all, better job opportunities comes with being a multilingual speaker, which explains why individuals who can speak more one language stand a better chance of getting the job or the promotion. At the end, job employment or job promotion happen to those who have better skill set or more experience.
Job positions that can be attained through the power of multilingualism includes
Translator/Interpreter
Customer Service Representative
Flight Attendant
Writer/Journalist and many more.
I am @samostically,I love to talk and write about chess because i benefited alot from playing chess. sometimes i share my thoughts on life in general and i write about my love for hive!
I love to engage with others and i love communication.I believe life is all about staying happy and maintaining peace.
♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟