Dialogue With Multilingual Person

We all have our own ideas about social advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism but are we right? I talked to my friend who grew up with two languages and saw what she said about whether she considered it an advantage or a disadvantage. Here is our dialogue:

– Are you glad to be multilingual?

– Yes, I think it is my personal advantage. I feel comfortable with people and in places I visit. I have more social and cultural benefits, too. If you really mastered a second or third language, you have an advantage of seeing the world from different vantage points.

– Do you continue to use both of the languages you know? Describe how and when you use them. Are they used in separate domains or do you use multilingual discourse?

– As known, “there are many different paths to multilingualism, and many different ways of using multiple languages” (p. 105). Now, I am an English speaker, I live and work in the  United States, but I am spending a lot of time speaking, hearing, or reading another language that I know (German). German is my native language. I feel like it is another side to me. Like there is my English side and there is my German side. My family live in Germany, brothers and sisters, my grandmother, and sometimes I really miss speaking German like I am missing a part of myself. I spent most of my childhood in Germany, and I was surrounded by German everywhere. For me, it is impossible to ignore it.

– Have you ever been ashamed of speaking more than one language, or of being a speaker of a particular language?

– No, no, of course not. I am really proud of this. For me, it is an ability to reach out to people from different cultural backgrounds.

– Do you have different emotional attachments to your different languages?

– The language I speak really defines the way I think sometimes. When I am in a bad mood, I try to use German phrased, words, or even the whole sentences. When I am thinking about something related to Germany or speaking about my childhood, I think in German. Despite living and working in the United States, speaking German helps me relax a bit more in difficult situations, and it seems more familiar to me.

– Are there situations when it is very good to be multilingual and others where it is less good? What are these situations, and what influences how you feel about your language background?

– Being multilingual gives me only an advantage. It gives me a sense of pride, a competitive advantage when searching for job, career potential, an ability to connect to more people easily, and a good base to learn new languages. It is very good to be multilingual, incredibly beneficial… 

– If you had children, would you raise them multilingually? Why or why not?

– Yes, of course. Once a child learns more than one language, it is easily to learn other languages in the future. By the way, scientists have found that multilingual children develop better cognitive functions, openness, working memory, decision-making skills, flexibility, and attention.                                                                                                    

Works Cited:

Wardhaugh, R. & Fuller, J. M. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Seventh Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2015.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]
close
Haven't found the right essay?
Get an expert to write you the one you need!
print

Professional writers and researchers

quotes

Sources and citation are provided

clock

3 hour delivery

person