Tongue-Tied In America | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Tongue-Tied In America

We should be multilingual.

11
Tongue-Tied In America
ClearSky/ClearSchui

If you are familiar with the sacred texts of Judaism or Christianity, you probably know the story of the Tower of Babel. Essentially, this narrative tells of ancient people attempting to build a really cool tower that stretched to the heavens so that other people would see it and say, "Wow. They have a tall tower. I bet that's because their god is better than ours!" This led to God being angry, as was often the case in these stories and God decided to mess them up by causing all the builders to speak in different languages.

This story illustrates a very key point -- even ancient Jewish guys knew that language barriers are the worst.

I think this is a point that we all understand, but we deal with it in some different ways. Europeans, for example, will encounter several different languages on a regular basis, due to interaction with neighboring countries with different language and close proximity.

For those of us who live in the United States, the issue is handled differently. For most Americans, English is spoken almost exclusively in our communities and the only other language that we regularly encounter in person is Spanish.

To be honest, we have it very easy in the U.S. Most of the world is bilingual, and we get very angry at people who don't speak English, even though our country was intentionally founded with no state language.

I am currently touring Bulgaria with a choir from my university, and I have learned more Bulgarian in a week than some people know of Spanish, even though they have heard it spoken their whole lives.

Now, I am not saying that everyone needs to go out and buy expensive software to learn a different language. I am just saying that maybe we could stop judging people for speaking a different language around us. We have to share the world, and compared to the billions of bilingual people in the world, we are not very good at it. Let's learn to share.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

5 Things To Do That Are Better Than Writing A Paper

Don't waste your time trying to write that paper when there are so many more interesting things you could be doing.

5813
computer keyboard
Unsplash

Writing a paper is never fun and is rarely rewarding. The writer's block, the page requirement, be specific, but don’t summarize, make sure you fixed any grammatical errors, did you even use spellcheck? and analyze, analyze, analyze.

Papers can be a major pain. They take up so much time and effort that by the end of the process you hate yourself and you hate the professor for making life so difficult. Questions of your existence start roaming in your mind. Am I even cut out for college if I can’t write a single paper? Am I even capable of taking care of myself if I lack the energy to open my laptop and start typing?

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons Why Sisters Are The Best

Who could be a better friend than your own sister?

3546
sisters
Taylor Hooper

I can barely remember back when I was the only child. Most would say it’s because it is extremely difficult to remember things as a toddler but I would say it's because I was bored until my sister came along. My mother always says how important the "sister bond" is and with every year that passes I realize how right she is. Instead of writing a novel about all of the wonderful things there are about having a sister I decided to list a few of them instead.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Adult

You're gonna make it after all.

4547
how to adult
Twitter

It is the time of our lives that we are beginning to enter the adult world and most of us, if not all of us, have no idea what we are doing. It's like starting a video game, but skipping the tutorial. We're all just running around aimlessly hoping we accidentally do something right that moves us along the right path. Now that graduation has just happened, or is right around the corner for some of us, it's time to start thinking about how we are going to take care of ourselves once we are on our own.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

7 Signs You're A Starbucks Addict

I'll be the first one to admit I'm addicted to Starbucks.

2617
drinking coffee
Tumblr

If you’re anything like me, you love a good cup of coffee. My coffee always comes from Starbucks; I refuse to drink it from anywhere else. Over the years, it’s become one of my biggest addictions. So, if you are aware that you’re a Starbucks addict as well, or maybe you need to check to see if you’re an addict, here are seven ways to tell.

Keep Reading...Show less
people  in library
Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash

College involves a whirlwind of emotions, whether it’s from the stress of an assignment (or twenty), or from fighting with your roommate. It can be overwhelming at times and it’s important to take a step a back and calmly think things over. Maybe gain some perspective. The following aren’t foolproof tips and may not apply to you, but I was able to find success with them (hope you do too!)

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments