SEC - S10W2 | My Languages.

I will love to start by defining language as a developed system of communication among a group, involving words that are spoken or written, gestures and signs that convey meaning.

While we are able to learn and speak more than one language, that first language a person grown up speaking from their early critical period is known as the mother tongue.

I personally have a complicated language history and will try to explain what I mean in this post.

The Number of languages I speak

I am almost a polyglot and curreny speak a total of four languages, French, English, Igbo and Ibibio. Two of which are my mother tongue. One is almost expirencing Language attrition and the last one for now is my ancestral language which happens to be my second language. I think I can still learn a few more.

My native and studied Languages

I have two native or mother tongue, these are French and English. It so happened because I grew up in a bilingual environment. I grew up learning both languages simultaneously. More of the French language was spoken in the environment and at home it's usage was 70% while at school, English was the perdominant language with a usage of 90%.
At Government Primary School, Bastos in Yaounde, French was studied as a subject. English was the primary language.

The language I studied in school
The English language continued to be the language I used in learning, and I studied with it. All through my education, I attended English schools. I do all of my intellectual work in English but i reason and think in the French language.
French is our home language while English is for academics.

How I got to learn other languages?

We moved down to Anambra State in Nigeria when I was ten years old and learning a language is easy and fast when you are still a kid. At Anambra State I learned the Igbo language from the people in the environment.
Moving down to Uyo in AkwaIbom State I picked up the Ibibio language. Which is my ancestral language And it was at this point that the Igbo language started to suffer Language attrition.
So I basically learnt by interaction with the people who are native speakers of the language.

On Steemit, I can communicate in any language as long as it is supported by the Google translate app.

Other language I would really love to learn

I would love to learn Chinese and Spanish

Spanish
I will love to learn Español because it feels like an easy blend of French and English twisted and wrapped with some kind of colourful ribbon. The language is as romantic as the French language.

Chinese
Learning the Chino is strictly for business, I would prefer to engage in business communication without the help of an interpreter.

My opinion of the most difficult thing about learning another language?

Going by the fact that I have learnt directly from the environment, it is hard to learn the language away from it's speakers, and not having a lot of people to contribute in the learning.

Age, interest and disposition are also a barrier to learning a new language. Children learn better and faster from their surrounding. When we are interested in a language and we are motivated, learning a new language is easy but without proper motivation, it's an uphill task.

Why Master several languages?

Some languages have the structure and vocabulary to express certain concepts and ideas, if your current language is deficient, you need to learn a language that meets your need.

There seem to be more literary work in English, more web content, but the french language is closer to the heart and is more romantic when expressing feelings and emotions.

Being multilingual helps me understand things from various perspective and allows me think in different modes. It is true that the language you speak affects your reasoning. Having more language adds colour to your imagination.

Conclusion

The world has become a global neighborhood with people speaking different languages, it will be of an advantage if we can talk to most of our neighbors in the language that touches their heart...