As someone fluent in German, with half-decent French and some knowledge of bits of other languages, I certainly agree with you that learning another language is a Good Thing. But it does set you apart a bit, adding perhaps to the sense of alienation from your own culture that you hint at. I dealt with it by opting not to use my language skills in my career, training to teach English and Drama rather than MFL, and not pursuing a career in translating and/or interpreting. I sometimes feel a bit of regret about that, though at the time it was definitely motivated by a desire to belong more to the culture I grew up in.
Indeed. It's paid off for me recently in a pecuniary sense, but it's been a long slog to get there. And I do think the nature of UK culture, being both multicultural and insular, can be difficult to slot into once you've got another language or two. The done thing is just to say 'I'm crap at languages', rather than try and do something about it!
Having performed all over Europe, I've only ever accounted English audiences react with hostility to a few foreign phrases in a set. It's a certain type of crowd who does, but there's definitely a hostility to moving outside of English even for a few lines out there. Aside from crap puns on foreign words, that is.
As someone fluent in German, with half-decent French and some knowledge of bits of other languages, I certainly agree with you that learning another language is a Good Thing. But it does set you apart a bit, adding perhaps to the sense of alienation from your own culture that you hint at. I dealt with it by opting not to use my language skills in my career, training to teach English and Drama rather than MFL, and not pursuing a career in translating and/or interpreting. I sometimes feel a bit of regret about that, though at the time it was definitely motivated by a desire to belong more to the culture I grew up in.
Indeed. It's paid off for me recently in a pecuniary sense, but it's been a long slog to get there. And I do think the nature of UK culture, being both multicultural and insular, can be difficult to slot into once you've got another language or two. The done thing is just to say 'I'm crap at languages', rather than try and do something about it!
Yes, bizarre really. It’s only English speakers who say that with some strange sense of pride!
Having performed all over Europe, I've only ever accounted English audiences react with hostility to a few foreign phrases in a set. It's a certain type of crowd who does, but there's definitely a hostility to moving outside of English even for a few lines out there. Aside from crap puns on foreign words, that is.