A true traveller is expected to accept boredom when it comes, not merely philosophically, but with pleasure. It is the symbol of his liberty- the cost he has to pay for his freedom. No lands are foreign, it is only the traveller who is and you wouldn’t want to feel more foreign by not speaking the language spoken by over 380 million people around the globe if you plan to mill around the globe.
Here goes 10 reasons why every globetrotter needs to learn Spanish.
Spanish-a widely spoken language: Apart from the 20 sovereign nations where Spanish is the National Language (where Spanish is the main or only language of communication), there are several countries where Spanish-based Creole language is official. The sheer number of Spanish speakers and their rate of growth makes learning Spanish a smart choice.
It expands your horizons: “The limits of my language are the limits of my universe”, said the learned philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Learning Spanish can undoubtedly push the boundaries of your personal universe to a wider spectrum. Armed with your knowledge of Spanish, you could dive head first into a culture and a way of life that is so beautiful and different from yours.
Locals will love you:Natives love travellers who attempt to learn and speak in their language. It does matter if you are wrong, the natives will encourage you and help you with it. Taxi drivers, shopkeepers, ticket sellers and pretty much anyone you meet on the street will be more helpful towards you if you attempt to converse in the native language.
You will make more friends: Knowing Spanish will let you make friends you would not have otherwise made. Making new friends outside the comfortable periphery of your country and language would give you an insight into the lives, culture, thought and a whole array of aspects about life on the other side. This is sure to make your travel a truly enriching experience.
Learning Spanish makes you smarter:Studies have proved that people who are bilingual are smarter than people who speak just one language, thanks to the number of new connections in your grey matter your brain develops while you struggle to learn a new language.
Learning Spanish will make it easy for you learn other Latin-based languages: Spanish is very similar to other Romance languages in terms of vocabulary and grammar. Learning Spanish will give you a head start in learning other Romance languages such as Portuguese, Italian, French and Romanian.
You could find employment while you travel: For the backpacker who has no return ticket booked, getting a job while on travel is the dream come true. Knowing the local language will land you a job waiting tables at a restaurant or serving drinksa bar. If you are really good at your native language, you could become a professional Spanish translator during your stay at some exotic faraway land.
You could say ‘Teamo’ to the love of your life: It might so happen that you meet the love of your life during your travel. It would help the situation a lot if you could tell her your feelings in her mother tongue.
You could settle down in a country you fall in love with: If you are a wanderer who fell in love with a country you visited and wanted to settle there, knowing the local language is a big plus. And, it will make your attempts to get a citizenship easier.
Learning Spanish will improve your native language: Thanks to the enhanced learning capacity your brain develops while you learn a second language, your native language gets enhanced too. Your speech has more clarity in ideas and diction than that of most people you meet.
From enriching your travel experience to making it easier to learn other languages, learning Spanish will surely enrich not just your travel experience, but your life too. What is stopping you now?
