Shaifali Khulbe
In a world where more than half of the population can speak more than one language, being a multilinguist comes as an advantage and opens the door to a broader sense of undderstanding and wider approach towards life.
As one learns a new language, one acquires the capability of connecting to a larger part of the world and learns about a whole new culture and way of living as followed by the native speakers. As a citizen journalist, one who connects to people in social media platforms to share informtion, facts, research and knowledge, you can connect to a larger audience and get a wide support for whatever you present.
The fact that one can speak and write, and thus comprehend different foriegn languages helps break the 'foriegn' barrier and that specific 'foriegn' society becomes more relatable and understandable. As such, one gets to know what's going on in a completely different place and about the people there. The most acceptable example of this scenario is the wide usage and acceptance of English language in the society. India now identifies itself as the second largest english-speaking country. Thus, a large number of people use english as a means of communication in social media platforms. As a result, they can also enjoy the wide variety of information accessibility from English speaking countries and sources using English as the main language for example various newspapers like The Guardian, Times of India, The New York Times, etc. After recieving the information from different parts of the world, now they can comment or present a perspective of their own. And also, they can be understood by a large proportion of the audience due to common language ground. Now if we consider the case with French language, the non-French speakers cannot understand the posts of LeMonde which is a leading French newspaper. Thus, they cannot get connected with the French society and whatever is going on in France until unless they are provided with the translated script or speech. This is where the multilinguists enter the scene. The one who knows English and French both can build a bridge between the people and let the word spread to a wider audience. Multilinguists help connect the world by helping people and information pass through the language barrier.
There is no denying the fact that multilinguists have the ability to make a difference in the society. Not only can they opt to become the guides for the people in getting to know about different cultures, they can also help people learn a new language which has its own perks. There are a lot of job opportutnities as well for multilinguists, thus knowing more than two languages never goes to waste and having a decent source of income can help a person stay focused and reduce the unemployment rates in a country, benefitting the society one way or the other.
User profile link: http://www.modlingua.com/interns/444-shaifali-khulbe-french-english-translator.html
Writer Shaifali is French and English Language and Translation Intern at Modlingua, India's No1. certified translation and Language service providers based in New Delhi
