Parlez-vous Francais - why would you bother?

They say that French is the language of love.  
Why is this?  Is there any truth in it?  
Is it just that the accent sounds sexy, or is there more to it?

French - the vibrant and sexy 'language of love'?

Language is something that sits as one of our array of brain filters.  A lens through which we experience the world.  And it is pretty unconscious for those of us who only speak our mother tongue.  Isn't language 'just the way the world is'?  Apparently there is more to it.

Ask someone who speaks a different language fluently about their experiences and you will most probably find that they experience the world quite differently when they 'view' it from a different language.

For example, Sami people of polar Europe have hundreds of words for 'snow'.  Which means that their experience of snow is different from the person who has English as their first language who may only have one word.  This is also different to the experience of an expert skier who may have five words for snow. So if all three were to view the same icy scene, they would actually 'see' something different due to their language filter.

The basic English speaker would not be able to distinguish the nuances which would be obvious to the Sami folk.  To her they would appear identical.

If we understood 'Penguin', how many words for 'snow' might they have?

There are six ways to say 'sorry' in Japanese.  Hmmmm.

And the Penan people of Sarawak have one word for 'he, she, it' and six words for 'we'.  What impact do you think this language filter has on their map of the world, their behaviour, and the results they achieve?  In what ways do you think it affects Penan society?

I have a friend who is fluent in both French and English, who says that her experience of food is quite different in French.  When she discusses food in French she is able to find richer descriptions and more elaborate gastronomic terms that increase her enjoyment.  And for her, sharing a meal with friends 'in French' also tends to enhance the flavour - no matter what type of cuisine is represented on the plate.  Sadly, she declined to comment on her more intimate experiences ... but smiled lots!

So learning the local language not only helps us ask for directions and order a coffee, but it gives us a window into the thinking and perspective of people from different parts of our amazing planet.

How cool!

If you speak more than one language, I would be incredibly interested to hear your thoughts on this - and more particularly your experiences.