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Multilingualism is a term used to refer to the concept where a person speaks two or more languages. That is, his or her mother tongue and two or more foreign languages. Multilingualism is a combination of 'multi' which means more than one and 'lingualism' which is the study of language. Polyglot is used to also refer to people that have the ability to speak many languages - they are also admired by people that speak just one language.
It might interest you to know the benefits of being a multilingual. Using an international student as a case study, moving from an environment you are conversant with, where there is/was no language barrier, where virtually everything has a different meaning. To move from one bus stop to another, to buy one or two goods may be quite difficult if one is not acquainted with the language of the new environment. In such case, it would be much more easier for a multilingual student as he or she would be able to blend with the new environment, learn new language or languages.
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One of the merits of multilingualism is that people are able to translate and understand more than one language, both for themselves and for others. Translation could be a source of income for a multilingual person and they can be useful in so many fields. Also, translators could be helpful in the field of religion and history as they could assist in reading, translating original documents written in dialects.
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A multilingual person is able to speak and relate to many more people. It is quite obvious that one would be able to communicate with more people when one speaks more language. Being multilingual opens up a whole lot of opportunities and possibilities. This also makes it a lot easier for people that love travelling abroad as they would have the ability to speak to the native inhabitants in their own language. Overtime, it has been observed that it feels safer when you meet someone that you speak the same native language.
Check out my next post for more merits of being a multilingual.