English: My greatest privilege, bar none.

What does "speaking a foreign language" really mean? I am not sure I know. Having notions of, conversant, fluent, fully bilingual, are all gradations on a scale.

I live in a non-English-speaking country, and speak both French and German. I use them often, and am grateful and proud that I can do so. But, as a native English speaker, I recognize that I am privileged, for English has become today's lingua franca the world over.

It is the most potent tool I use, bar none. In my back pocket, ready and available in a moment, it can be whipped out and used to my advantage almost anywhere in the world. .

I once took the wrong bus in China, and ended up in a village in Sichuan 60 miles from my home. Hundreds of helpful locals who were quite fascinated by my presence in their village gathered around to help solve my problem. To be honest, I'm not sure how they pointed me in the right direction...but I got home. It was the only time in my life where trusty English did not help.

In any case, this is an interesting read.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multilingual_presidents_of_the_United_States

© Sarah Knightwriter

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