English is an internationally accepted language. However, in the interconnected global world, the need for learning a new language is becoming increasingly important.
Rosetta Stone — a popular language acquisition service that helps its customers develop a better understanding of a foreign language and the culture that encompasses it — has already booked more than $265 million in revenue during 2010, according to a recent USA Today article.
Besides being able to travel to a foreign country and move around freely without a translator, knowing another language can come in handy on the job market and, given the Rosetta Stone revenue, there just might be a payoff for becoming an expert in another field, such as Chinese.
But English might not be completely out of the picture. In 2007, an article from The New York Times cited a trend in global business schools — in countries ranging from South Korea to France — that are instructing their students in English, as a marketing tool. Since English is used alongside other languages in business transactions even outside the U.K. and the U.S., courses taught in English can help narrow the communication gap in globalization.
That’s why it’s important to take advantage of the opportunities that ASU provides through the School of International Letters and Cultures.
There is a cultural element to every language, and sometimes that means going beyond the classroom. Whether it’s spending a summer in Brazil to learn Portuguese or completing an internship in France, there are plenty of options to be immersed in another language and a different way of life in order to better understand your own.
The U.S. has a unique linguistic history that spans cultural threads from Europe to North America and beyond. Even British and American versions of English differ, even though some of the divergences can be pretty subtle at times.
In the book “Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English,” written by Christopher Davies, the terms “mobile phone” and “cell phone” are discussed as examples of how vocabulary differences can be manageable. The same device would more commonly be referred to as a cell phone in the States and a mobile phone in the U.K., but travelers to either destination would pick up on the underlying concept. Although British and American English variations initially emerged due to physical separation in the form of the Atlantic Ocean, languages in close proximity can influence each other, too.
The continental U.S. rests between two very large trading partners — Canada and Mexico. With study abroad programs, vacation trips, and business transactions in the mix, it’s only a matter of time before new English, French, and Spanish words work their way into the American vernacular.
If you’re an avant-garde student of linguistics, you can probably already pick out new phrases that have entered the American English lexicon from foreign languages. In any case, learning another language is a personal decision. It really is up to you, but you don’t have to accept the status quo. You can branch out and tackle the language that you wish you could have learned during high school. English is accepted almost everywhere MasterCard is, but speak as you wish today.
Send travel guides to Isaiah at isaiah.mccoy@asu.edu
