In his blog on
tennis players and language proficiency, http://www.jeromejerome.fr/en/Blog/tennis-and-languages,
Jérôme Osselaer cited Novak Djokovic in regards to the
reasons for his knowing so many languages as saying that he understood that
Serbian is a minor language. This
polyglot was in strong contrast with most other players, who only know their
own native tongue. This comparison begs
the question of why certain people learn many languages.
Let’s start with the
assumption that, aside from some “weirdos” who like learning another tongue for
its own sake, most people learn what they need to learn, i.e. necessity is the main
motivation for actually learning something.
In support of this hypothesis, go to a country speaking an exotic language,
such as Iceland, Finland, and Israel, the level of English in the street is
quite good. The average person is rather
proficient in conducting a standard conversion in at least one foreign
language, albeit with a strong accent and occasionally faulty grammar. The example of German is interesting since
English is highly emphasized in Germany, with even some job interviews being
conducted in English. This tendency may be
explained by the fact that, outside of Austria and parts of Switzerland, German
is not the first language in any other country as well as the bad connotation the
German language had/has with the older generation. In Switzerland, the home of
another polyglot tennis player, Rodger Federer, it is quite useful to speak at
least three languages given the linguistic diversity of this physically small
country. On the same level, Spanish proficiency
is required in many jobs in the US states adjoining the Mexican border,
encouraging a wide knowledge of that language.
By contrast, visit a
medium sized city in any of the countries speaking a prevalent first language
such as English, Spanish or French, the difference between studying and knowing
is striking. Most people cannot give
directions in a foreign language. Of
course, the reasons for this ignorance vary.
In some cases, such as in much of the United States, the assumption is
that everybody knows English. Therefore,
learning a foreign language is superfluous.
In poor countries, most of the population does not have the income to
travel abroad, in fact rendering a foreign language superfluous for travel but
not business purposes. Some countries
have extremely poor education systems, such as France, increasing the gap
between learning and using. Finally,
some countries have been politically isolated, with active discouragement of
foreign languages, as is the case of parts of Eastern Europe. In Budapest, the capital city of Hungary,
relatively few people over the age of 40 understand English (or choose not to
understand Russian). In these places,
the mother tongue is considered all that is necessary.
Younger computer users
quite interestingly may have a solid reading knowledge of English due to the
latter’s status as the lingua franca of the Internet. It is unclear how
this comprehension translated into speaking ability. Yet, it is clear that the
need to understand English strongly motivates this group to learn English, even
in a non-systematic manner.
So, imploring people to
learn a foreign language is not very effective.
Linking the world, physically or virtually, seems to provide the “reality”
they need to actually go out and learn it.
