I cannot agree less on the general suggestion of avoiding to study foreign languages. This suggestion probably comes out of a brit-american person used to mess around in the planet thinking that anyone shall obey to their dictat.
Freedom is a path that forces the individual in reshaping his/her knowledge and making it blunter. Languages are knowledge, they make your brain work, both from the computational point of view and from the cultural one.
Coding languages are great and you're right, I also suggest to study them. But it's not a mutually exclusive scenario...coding languages are utilitarian tools, foreign languages are a tool of for culture.
As a final remark, tools for translation are out there, but that does not mean that it's not worth learning the language.
Have you ever found yourself in a foreign country with no access to digital devices?
Have you ever tried to ask yourself "uhm, I wonder how this essay/novel/book/article/whatever is in its original form" - and not translated
Sooner or later, anyone will happen to be a foreigner somewhere, being it a party o a different country. The ability to adapt is one of the best tools human beings have, just cultivate it.
You're missing the point here. Learning another language is not only a means of communication but also another way of thinking. For technical purposes it makes no distinction, that's for sure, but the moment you step outside that bare-bones use you will start missing increasingly more and more. I'm a native spanish speaker and I can not imagine my existence not understanding english from heart. Translations can't get anywhere close. So that much, that many translated movies have some lines directly changed to a completely different meaning because the original english one makes absolutely no sense regardless of reformulation, or might even sound hopelessly dumb.
spanish is a beautiful language that is the easiest for americans to learn, and would help them get closer to the true meaning of words. beauty is in the true meaning of words. if i were fluent, i would happily teach it and take english-speaking people along on spanish-speaking adventures.
For me understanding is usually harder than speaking. Although, there have been times when I could puzzle out what was said and I definitely wouldn't have known how to say it.
Japanese for me, as there's both a ton of great pro wrestling from Japan, and also an incredibly deep amount of crime fiction (not all of which gets translated).
yes one day. theres such rich cultural heritage in the language I'm totally drawn to it. for now just scratching the surface doing my own online learning though and loving it
Already knowing English, Spanish and French from heart, my next choice is Mandarin Chinese, would love to read the ancient books in the original language.
The German language is closer to the English language, in addition to being necessary for me to achieve good work results due to the publication of articles in this language related to my profession.
I think it's a pleasure to learn a different language upto an extent. Why learn other language fluently? The language of emotions is also a language. You don't always need words to explain. Do you?