Is it helpful to know other languages when writing?

PinkTurtle Level 1

August 1, 2017, 3:46 pm

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Is it helpful to know other languages when writing?

Hello guys!
As everyone knows, speaking another language apart from your mother tongue can open up a world of possibilities.

Learning a second language is easier than learning your first and will make learning a third language even easier. In fact, the more languages you learn, the easier it will be for your brain to absorb information.

You will become better at multi-tasking and surely this will assist your writing as it will help you to become more organized, not just as a writer but for life in general.

As a multi-lingual writer, you'll have opportunities to use your language skills for translation jobs. And, you can even interview 'experts' in a niche who don't speak your native language.

Just a few of the advantages of learning and knowing a second or third language.

So I was wondering do you know other languages? and do you find them helpful when it comes to writing your content?

How do you find it helpful? please share your experiences.

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Tronia

Tronia

I definitely agree with your observation. Knowing more than just your mother language is extremely useful. My native language isn't English but I am completely fluent in writing/talking in it. I also know around 4 more languages, 2 of which I am also fluent in and the other 2 I am at an intermediate level. I always loved learning new languages because it makes you learn the culture as well. Not to mention how useful it is for any sort of work. I frequently offer services on freelancing portals that involve the use of my knowledge, languages included so it is undoubtedly beneficial in earning more money. It's logical that if you only know one language you will have potentially fewer job opportunities versus if you know 2+ languages.

7 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

It is sad that I was not able to practice my Spanish. We have a Spanish subject in college for 2 years (that's 4 semesters) so we should be able to talk in basic Spanish. English is our second language although in the professional field, English is the dominant language than Filipino much more in computers because the technical terms are all in English. I'd say that knowing more languages is an advantage in writing because you get to stretch your vocabulary. Like me, I usually think in Filipino and translate it into English when I write.

7 years ago

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SimplyD

SimplyD

English is our second language here in the Philippines. Thus, it is imperative for the teachers to be teaching the ENglish as one of the subjects in school since elementary.
That being so, most of the Filipinos, know how to speak and write English.
But as to learning other languages, I think it isn't much important because the International language is English.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think some writers are from multilingual places. So it's possible that they may know about it. But they can't do much about it in that case. You can see that languages may change in one way or the other. But the understanding of the region matters a lot as well. So one has to take that as benefit. You can see that languages do play a good role in that case.

7 years ago

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ballyhara

ballyhara

Absolutely, in fact, English is not my native one, I was born and raised in a Spanish speaker country. I'm very grateful that my mom pushed my sisters and I to learn another languages, that has open another possibilities to work and live abroad. So far I can manage 3 languages, but of course I would love to learn more. Also, when you learn another language, you need to practice it, so you usually go to forums, blogs, chats, to keep it up, and that leads you to make new friends, which is a plus.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

I think having knowledge of multiple languages definitely brightens your prospects in writing. It opens up the option of doing translation work. Translation work is pretty lucrative if you go for the right sites to sell your services on a contractual basis. You can also chose to do it as a freelance job. As for article writing, it helps if you are doing bilingual editions of written works. I have done some of these for newsletters on a freelance basis. However, I am currently focusing on writing in English.

7 years ago

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ksundisk9

ksundisk9

+
I would say yes is does helps, I will also say that it's much easier to write in a different language that you don't know because of technology, it's a translator apps that will make writing in another language much easier then is was in the past.

7 years ago

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giovanniiiii

giovanniiiii

It is very helpful to learn more than just one or two languages. Language basically connects people with each other. With this, you can easily converse with people that can only speak certain languages, as not all people know how to speak English. I hope that more languages are taught in schools here, in addition to Mandarin and Nihongo.

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

Thanks for your answers guys! I agree with you all, Definitely knowing another language can be very positive, it can increase your earnings in a very substantial way and it can connect you with the globe and gain more clients because of it. It just takes a little determination and consistency to do it and in no time you'll be speaking a new language.

7 years ago

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coolavender

coolavender

Although English is not my native tongue, it's the medium of instruction for most subjects in school so it's like something I grew up with and not something I have to take so much effort to learn on my own. Even then, I can't say that I know every nuances of this international language we all acknowledge as the lingua franca of the world. Thanks to the internet, it has become so much easier to find reading materials that can help us widen our vocabulary and provide us something to model our writing style with. Knowing English has certainly paved the way for many of my achievements.

I also speak Spanish because I had two years of it in college and I took the subjects seriously. Back then, internet wasn't as widespread as it is now. Nowadays, there are plenty of websites that offer free Spanish tutorials as well as sites that allow you to listen to native Speakers of the language so it is so much easier to learn it. The same is true with other languages.

7 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

I don't see how it could hurt to know multiple languages. If you're fluent in different languages, that opens up opportunities for additional writing jobs for you in each of those languages, which is something a lot of people can't do. Not to mention it could open up translation work for you as well, which is greatly desired in our closely connected world!

7 years ago

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augusta

augusta

sure, that's the way to go has a good writer.I'm writing in English now but this is not my language, if I haven't learned it I wouldn't be able to read and write this.

secondly, they're a lot of gigs now on freelancing sites that need transcribing.like writing in Spanish, German or French if you are versatile in languages you'll be making extra bucks from this

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

I think that the answer to this question is a resounding yes.
I have a friend who knows Korean, and he makes a very good living doing freelance translating. I was shocked, actually, at the amount of his last check for the relatively small size of the document he had to translate. I know English was once called the "currency" or "cash" language of the world, but translating and transcribing other languages for websites and as a freelance, as has been noticed above in this thread, can apparently be quite profitable.

7 years ago

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TsuyoyRival

TsuyoyRival

Of course it's useful, i'm a portuguese native that speaks fluently english, how do you think i can make some profit in this big world wide web. The answer: english

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

hahaha yes! English is definitely one of the most helpful languages when it comes to working online. I'll say mandarin is really helpful too but I guess it depends on your field. I only speak 3 languages: spanish, french and english but I sure would like to keep learning new languages to add to my list and to make profit out of them.

7 years ago

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kgord

kgord

Yes, I think the more fluent you are, and how easily you are able to write in other languages influences your marketabitlity in other fields, specifically those that deal with writing. It is important to be able to communicate with others in their language so it can only increase your marketability.

7 years ago

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JonathanS98

JonathanS98

Most of the time, yes! It's a major benefit to know other languages when writing. Especially when you're seeking a freelance writing career. Generally speaking, it's a perk to be fluent in a second or third language dealing with writing/typing jobs. Transcribers are prime examples of this as they are able to transcribe different meetings and conversions from audio to text depending on the native tongue. As well as translate if needed. Those that know multiple languages usually get more work and better commission. It's not the easiest learning a second language. But if you were lucky enough to grow up in a bilingual household, take advantage of it!

7 years ago

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peachpurple

peachpurple

I wished my parents had sent me to learn Chinese language. In our country, most people are equipped with knowledge of Malay and English languages, we can read, write and listen to both of them However, Chinese is not a compulsory subject but most spoken among the working class people.

If you can speak but not write, people look down on you because you are a Chinese. This is what we call Banana Man.

I can speak and listen Chinese .

7 years ago

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Joteque

Joteque

Yes learning multiple languages is a plus. It opens up avenues that you would't even think that it did initially. The exposure to different cultures and backgrounds increases the ability to improve upon ideas and find different ways and techniques to achieve things. The opportunities are numerous and it works wonders for your memory and mind concept as well.

7 years ago

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rosethornes

rosethornes

English is my second language. Learning new language other your native language is an advantage and it can also open new opportunity for you. Its useful to communicate with other people around the world and close some deals in business world.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

Yes, you never know when someone from other countries might want to collaborate with you. The more languages you know, the better it is in this borderless world.

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

Exactly and not only you get to have a better income if you get more projects because you are fluid in other languages , you can also get new content from writing on your experience on other cultures. When you are learning a new language you not only learn the language you also dipped yourself in that new culture that involves the language.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

Yes, languages are most effectively learned by using it on a daily basis. In fact, some of our language skills may deteriorate over time.

7 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

In my experience, I would definitely say it doesn't hurt. Knowing a second or third language can only expand your opportunities. It may be true that English is an extremely common language these days, but that doesn't mean that everyone is going to speak it. The more people you can fluently communicate with, the further you expand your horizons. That being said, in my experience, finding good work in languages besides English seems to be a bit uncommon. I know three languages and I have almost exclusively only ever found work in English.

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

Yes, this is true. I'm not saying english is the most important language but if you are going to learn a new one I would also recommend starting with it because is the one that get's you better opportunities to find jobs. Especially online jobs. I have only found jobs in english and spanish. French not that much. But I have seen there's a lot opportunities with chinese too...

7 years ago

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Fuzyon

Fuzyon

I think it's extremely important to know English if you're not from a country that speaks it. Being able to scale your site by writing your content in English as well could prove to be an important asset in growing your business.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

Well, English is pretty much like a key to the Internet. If we have limited English, it is important to brush out so more opportunities will be made available to us.

7 years ago

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Fuzyon

Fuzyon

I guess you can always hire ghostwriters to write in English if you're not familiar with the language but you also need to know a little bit in order to communicate with the writer. There's no way out!

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

I think learning english is definitely a MUST in "online working". I don't think knowing a " little bit " as you said it's enough. I'm not saying you need to be a english teacher but you do need to know the basics of it... Especially if you are a writer.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I have a grasp on two languages, Nepali, my mother tongue and English, my second language. I have written books and articles on these two languages. If I only knew Nepali, I would have never written in English, and hence never earned money that I am earning by writing in English. Therefore, it is always helpful to know other languages.
I wish I knew other languages. I would have earned by writing on this language or working as a translator.

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

That's right! You are still on time to learn a new language, Don't give up yet!. I was wondering do you know any places to work as a translator? I mean online places, of course.

7 years ago

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Pixie06

Pixie06

I actually know four languages but I am fluent in only two of them and they are English and French. I am glad that I learnt French and I have been able to get a job as an online tutor because I am bilingual. Basically, I teach English to French students. I love my job

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

That's great Pixie! Good for you. If you don't mind me asking: do you work as an online tutor? If so where? I mean which site, I know french and english too and I would love to try a job like this

7 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

Not always as long as your first language is English. If you do not know English then it's probably a good idea to learn it because it is the most popular language for writing. If you are looking to do paid posting then most sites will only accept English content. It may be a good idea to learn other languages when writing because it allows you to expand into other niches and write for a much larger user base. It can obviously increase the opportunities that you can get for making money.

7 years ago

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vhinz

vhinz

Learning other language is really a great skill because it allows you to know other people and their culture. It could also give you possible income. For example, if you live in US but knows how to speak Mandarin, you could teach Chinese people to learn speak English, and you could also teach Americans to learn to speak Mandarin. You can create tutorial videos for youtube or you could create your online English/Mandarin speaking class.

When you learn additional new foreign languages, it increases the possibilities of reaching more people around the world. And you can even get closer to the heart of the people when you learn to speak on their native language.

7 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

We have a family friend who studied Japanese when the technology was just starting. He as able to work as a translator for a big Japanese software. We all know that a Japanese company pays a big salary. That friend was lucky to be ahead of his time in learning the foreign language that he was able to cash in after sometime. The trend now is Korean hence I am advising the young ones to study the Korean language because business is booming with the Korean companies.

6 years ago

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