My chosen movie of interest is none other than the acclaimed movie series; Mission Impossible. Made popular by edge-of-your-seats action and it's main actor Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible tries it's best to include realistic struggles for it's characters. From machinery malfunctions to botched plans and traitors in the midst, Mission Impossible successfully integrated another important aspect to being a spy; language. It made sense that anyone involved in espionage had to learn multiple languages to fit into enemy territory and the M.I. series did just that. But how is this important to the subject?
In the narrative of the movie, we have seen Ethan Hunt and his fellow agents travel to numerous foreign countries and managed to blend in like chameleons each time. They can't do that if they couldn't communicate with the locals and that is an important point. Just like how language propels just how believable the movie can be, it also shows us how important the multiplicity of language truly is. According to Michal B. Paradowski of the Institute of Applied Linguistics, he had this to say;
"The advantages that multilinguals exhibit over monolinguals are not restricted to linguistic knowledge only, but extend outside the area of language. The substantial long-lived cognitive, social, personal, academic, and professional benefits of enrichment bilingual contexts have been well documented."
He then goes on with a list of interesting benefits that applies to the people befitting his stated description. Multilingualism is also recognized to a positive factor to the general public, according to
International Writer Anne Meritt, she stated in an article on the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph that learning and practicing more than 2 languages usually grant the user numerous passive benefits like better decision-making skills, higher perception and other benefits that you can read about here;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-a-foreign-language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-a-foreign-language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html
You can also read on Michal's expert opinion on multilingualism here;
http://www.multilingualliving.com/2010/05/01/the-benefits-of-multilingualism/
I believe this has helped me find some clarity to the importance of multilingualism. Not only do they serve to promote good cultural behavior as well mixing of company, it also has other benefits I was not aware of until reading these articles. I hope to find more to strengthen my point.
Harvard Reference list:
"The Benefits Of Multilingualism | Multilingual Living". Multilingual Living. N.p., 2010. Web. 9 June 2016.
Merritt, Anne. "Why Learn A Foreign Language? Benefits Of Bilingualism". Telegraph.co.uk. N.p., 2013. Web. 9 June 2016.
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