Recently, I've fallen in love with French author Delphine de Vigan, whose style is so incredibly close to what I'm feeling right now. Really, I don't think I've ever had this happen to me before, to find a writer I resonated with so intensely, and her writing has been such a perfect accompaniment for the things I'm going through.
Anyway, I was looking for more of her books on Amazon last night, and I found something that struck me as odd. The French version of her book "Non et moi" was priced at roughly $7 (Kindle edition), whereas the English version was double that price. I thought surely, that's quite a difference. Whereas I'd expected the English version to be somewhat more expensive, I wouldn't have guessed it would be at double the price.
It got me thinking about the benefits of knowing more. Traditionally, a penchant for foreign languages has always been in my family. One of my clearest memories from when I was a small girl is of my grandmother telling me proudly that my grandfather spoke five languages. I used to list them in my head, to see if I remembered them all. It always struck me how respectful and proud my grandmother was when she spoke of this, of my grandfather's intelligence. Even though that relationship was less than ideal, this was one topic that never came into question.
Luckily, we have all inherited that, my mother, my aunts, and my generation. I was only yesterday thinking how three of my cousins will be spending their Christmas in France (where two of them now study), and how fortunate that they're all fluent in French, how perfect.
Here, at least, there used to be a real high regard around foreign languages, particularly French, since Paris was considered an example of high society. But gradually, this respect has waned to the point where it's now alright not to know any foreign language, at all. Not understanding English is, of course, inconvenient, since so much of our culture is assimilated from the West, but other than that, it doesn't seem to be a problem if you don't speak French, or German, or Italian.
Then again, there's the above example with the book I mentioned. It seems that although society may forgive you for not having mastered a foreign language, the market won't. You must pay for the convenience of having your literature, movies, and TV shows translated and dubbed. (Which in this case wouldn't be so bad, since the translator of de Vigan's books is also extraordinary)
We've transitioned from an age of culture to an age of mere convenience. Why bother learning a language when you can have it translated to suit the language you already know? And don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing translation in itself, I think that's a remarkably convenient avenue, but it's also enabling you to be complacent and lazy. Ultimately, it's the person who doesn't strive to learn more that will suffer, because although entertainment may be translated and made nice, real world is not.
One aspect about French people that I myself have noticed on my travels, and that I've heard others complain about, also, is that they are reluctant to switch to English, and tend to look down on you if you don't speak French on at least a decent level. I remember I was in Paris a couple of years ago, and this woman on the metro picked up my ticket which had fallen. We exchanged a few sentences, and then each of us went on her way. Outside the station (it seemed we'd both gotten off at the same time). She started speaking to me in that hurried style that French people sometimes have, and I panicked, asked her if she didn't speak English. I know French, to read and write, but I have very little experience speaking, so I tend to panic.
Immediately, her attitude changed from friendly to dismissive. She shook her head, and went on her way. The whole experience struck me as bizzare.
I could recount a similar experience lost in the Berlin underground, but you get the point.
I heard they're working on an app of some sort that will translate any spoken language in real-time, so that you can converse with anyone in the world, without hesitation. And while I see that is a remarkable technological advancement, I can't help also viewing it as a terrible loss. There is an important part of the brain that is taxed by learning and memorizing a foreign language. It would be a shame if that part were to rust simply because we wanted to be convenient.
Typically, people weigh the pros and cons of learning a language before taking it up. Will you be taking a job in France? Do you plan on studying there? If not, then, what's the point?