Over the years, we have had students from many countries studying at the ELI. Here are some famous quotes from cultures around the world on learning a language.
Which one do you like the most? Do you have any you would like to add? In the comment box, write your suggestions about what learning a language means to you.
1. Do you know what a foreign accent is? It's a sign of bravery. - Amy Chua
2. Learn a language, and you'll avoid a war. - Arab Proverb
3. Learning [a language] is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. - Chinese Proverb
4. To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. - Chinese Proverb
5. With languages, you are at home anywhere. - Edward De Waal
6. A different language is a different vision of life. - Federico Fellini
7. The limits of my language are the limits of my world. - Ludwig Wittgenstein
8. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. - Nelson Mandela
9. Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world. - Rumi
10. One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. - Turkish proverb
11. A foreign language is like a frail, delicate muscle. If you do not use it, it weakens. - Jhumpa Lahiri