The Mystery Of People Who Speak Dozens Of Languages

Multilingualism has become a norm in many parts of the world as populations in big cities are becoming more and more diverse, to the point that people sitting at one table can speak several languages, yet all of them understand each other.The hegemony of the English language is still quite strong and most of the time people tend to choose English as their common language:

Nearly two billion people study English as a foreign language—about four times the number of native speakers.

This article discusses the scientific reasons behind the ability of some people to learn more languages, and some theories that are yet to be confirmed:

An extreme language learner has a more-than-random chance of being a gay, left-handed male on the autism spectrum, with an autoimmune disorder, such as asthma or allergies.

Reading this article encouraged me to improve my language skills and be more attentive when I hear foreign languages. I hope this will inspire other readers to do the same, as many misunderstandings and stereotypes originate from a lack of knowledge and ignorance about the language and the culture of “others”.

I will finish with a quote from Nelson Mandela:

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”