Why bother learning Welsh if you speak English? Thoughts on linguistic arrogance.

When I tell people I was learning Welsh for two years and would love to continue learning, whether the person I’m speaking to is English or not, I’m usually met with the same reaction. “You were learning Welsh? What for? Why bother if you already speak English?”

To me, this is a bit like saying, “why would you bother getting to know someone, unless they have lots of friends already? How could they possibly be interesting and have great stories to tell?” 
The idea that only languages that are widely spoken are worth learning, is very common, but I find this to be quite simply a form of arrogance, or perhaps ignorance (and it’s a fine line between those two “pals” at times). The common assumption appears to be that a language spoken by fewer people couldn't possibly contain any mystery, magic, culture, history or ancient knowledge. Indeed, the opposite also prevails; a language spoken by many can somehow contain all knowledge, expressions, history and culture just because it's spoken and understood by the many, not the few.

 
Smaller languages are fascinating and every bit as worthwhile to learn as those spoken by the multitudes. Out of the eight languages I have actively tried to learn to date, three are spoken by fewer than ten million people. I had an advantage with Norwegian and Danish, but they are still different enough from Swedish to require an effort. 
One of the very best bonuses of speaking a smaller language, is people’s attitude towards you when you meet native speakers. The fact that you, as a foreigner, are making the effort to learn their language is so much more appreciated than you breezing in expecting everyone to speak English. And that is just one of many advantages and hidden gems that come from trying your tongue at a language not widely spoken. Each language holds so many keys and clues to a whole culture, it makes understanding a place and its people far easier. There’s also that smug feeling you get when you know something not that many others know, of course…

I admit I have a list of languages I want to pick up and several of those are also “smaller” in terms of native speakers. But is size really that important? How often do you actually want to talk to 10 of millions anyway? Conversation is often on a one-to-one basis, that’s where the magic of getting to know someone takes place. The same goes for reading – the words are between you and your book. Yes, English is extremely useful and that also goes for several of the other “mega-languages” out there, such as Spanish, but to me at least, speaking several “big languages”, doesn’t take away my desire to learn some smaller ones too. Luckily when it comes to language learning, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. I’d go as far as to say that any language is worth learning and each will have its own magic worth mastering.  So why did I bother studying Welsh? Well, why the hell not!? It's great and the word for beer sounds like a cat purring. And they have all those frisky, new vowels. If I hadn’t tried, I’d have been missing out on a whole world of fascinating sounds, words and excellent quirkiness. It's OK to do both big and small in the language equation in my book.