What are the pros and cons for a multilingual society - Research Paper Example

While it is not easy to define a multilingual individual due to ambiguousness of multilingualism, a multilingual society has certain pros as well as cons. However, with the status of the modern world, it is always better to be a multilingual than a monolingual because the benefits are overwhelming and far-reaching. One of the commonly accepted advantages behind multilingualism is convenience. This is because as people travel around the world, it becomes easy to interact with individuals from different countries speaking different languages.

This becomes convenient in eliminating certain practical barriers. This also ensures that different societies can mix with each other without language barriers (Kendall, 2012). A country that has a multilingual society has more advantages with respect to trade as interaction becomes easier. This is because one of the biggest barriers to trade is communication in terms of language barriers. Education also benefits from a multilingual society. Individuals who are exposed to multiple languages get the chance to learn many languages implying that they become more educated.

Children growing up in a multilingual society learn different languages easily and develop better thinking in terms of diversity of word order and grammar. While this makes children academically stronger, it also makes them socially better as it is easier to communicate with members of different communities just as they would communicate with their own native counterparts. This is an advantage as compared to children growing up in monolingual societies. Therefore developing a sense of diversity helps individuals in developing both personal and social wellbeing (Kendall, 2012).

An individual who was brought up in a multilingual society has other advantages with respect to business. In the modern world, as companies are expanding their operations globally, they are constantly looking for individuals who can speak