This question was overheard (by me) today on the bus en route home.
"Why do I want to learn a foreign language?"
I almost turned my head and give this man a talking. Why ... would you be so stupid to ask that question? Out loud. In public. Wow. Really? Really? Anyway, I digress. After I hold myself back from not lecturing this man to death (by embarrassment), I found the answer to the question. Why?
Because by learning a foreign language, you learn the culture also.
It's always goes hand-in-hand. Language is communication, and I guess a verbal translation of ... lots of non verbal thing such as culture. I remember when I (tried) to learn French, this book taught me a lot of local cultures. Like, when you say hello to someone you know, do a pair of air kiss, one for each cheek. Or you can just ask "ca va?" and when they answer "ca va", you know they're not asking you back the question but telling you that they're okay. Or you say "Bonjour" for a face-to-face greeting, but you say "halo?" (read 'alo) when you answer the phone. There are many other things I didn't get to study, but you get the picture. Heck, if he asked that question I would answer because I want to learn other people culture. I'm curious like that. Must run in the family.
It's just feels kinda retarded that somebody could even ask that question. Really? How narrow can you be? And this coming from somebody who is smart enough to get into grad school ... in the U.S. ... who probably have to learn English as a second language ... and still stupid enough to ask stupid question. Please, next time keep that thought to yourself. People doesn't need to know that you're slightly retarded.