A lot of us have clocked in on the language survey thread. Some have said that communication is the important thing, while it seems that others feel that you get something else — maybe a new cultural perspective? — out of learning a variety of languages.

It doesn’t seem very practical to learn different languages if you just need to communicate. Wouldn’t English be enough, whether it’s your native language or the second language you learn? English is, after all, the language of world communication. It’s what the rest of the world is learning. Unless you are going to live for an extended period in, say, France, what possible pragmatic value is there in going to all the trouble to learn French?

If you feel that learning another language gives you some enhanced intercultural perspective, can you explain this? If I study French, what do I learn from the French language that makes me a more culturally enlightened individual?

I think learning other languages might be a nice hobby, but I’m uncertain about whether it’s a very pragmatic way to spend time. If you have acquired new "cultural horizons" through language learning, leave a post and tell what you’ve learned.