Visiting a foreign country and feeling clueless about everything going on around you could be one of the worst feelings ever; are they making fun of you or are they just having a normal conversation that has nothing to do with you? Language is an important factor in a culture, and the more you know, the better! People who are fluent in at least 2 languages unique; as a matter of fact, only 43% of the world’s population are bilingual. Educating ourselves about other cultures widens the lens in which we see the world. This is why, being bilingual and/or bicultural, is a major aspect of one’s life.

There are many advantages of being bicultural, for example, studies have shown that bicultural people are more creative and enjoy ambitious success. In addition to that, bicultural people tend to have an evident advantage over mono-cultural individuals because they have a wider lens through which they see the world. In other words, they see the world from two different points of view. Bicultural people also tend to be more respectful towards other cultures, as in they don’t appropriate other cultures. In addition to that, bicultural people are more open-minded and more accepting of some topics. Let’s look at the current Lebanese generation; they are more open-minded than their parents and grandparents, and that is because they were exposed to Western culture through social media. That made them merge their traditional Lebanese culture with the Western culture in their everyday life, which affected their behavior and their way of thinking and treating others. They are also more open to different ideas since, their whole life, they are used to hearing opinions coming from different backgrounds. To wrap it up, being bicultural allows a person to see the world from a better and different perspective.

Culture started when language was created. When you acquire a certain language, it doesn’t solely involve memorizing and understanding its alphabet, numbers, or even grammatical rules, but it also includes learning this society’s customs and culture. To simplify things, a person cannot comprehend a language without being familiar with the culture, and vice versa. Being bilingual exposes a person to different perspectives and ideas. By learning the language, one would dive deeper into the culture and would be able to live better among the people of that culture. Traveling would be twice as enjoyable if someone was at least bilingual, it would be easier to communicate with others and makes you feel welcomed. In other words, instead of having to constantly use Google translate for everything, you could be your own translator and discover the area visited better. By doing that, one breaks the cultural and lingual barriers. Bilingual people tend to be more social, and other people think of them as more intelligent and more attractive. In general, people happen to be impressed and infatuated by bilingualism, for they think of it as an interesting aspect of someone’s life. In addition to that, being bilingual is a very strong advantage for better career opportunities; work-wise, it is better to be fluent in more than one language. This way, the odds of someone getting a job become higher. Communication is essential for anyone who desires to respect and comprehend other’s cultural backgrounds and beliefs.

To conclude, biculturalism and bilingualism help someone see the world from a different perspective, thus doubling the enjoyment of their life experiences. Less than half of the world’s population is bilingual, which means that less than half of the world’s population is bicultural. Learning a language is easier at a younger age, which is why parents should start implementing other languages in their children’s minds at a very young age.