>>1140395
>All cultures value happiness, money, success, family, and good looks - really, the things which makes it essential for us to survive and reproduce.
What is interesting is to see all the rituals and considerations that apply to these things, because they change a lot from one culture to the other.

> I don't see how learning a new language can open your eyes to a new culture.
Languages shape the way people think and see the world. However, coming to this point would require a very high level of proficiency, so it's years of practice and immersion for a meager result.

Basically the problem lies within your question itself. There are better reasons to learn a language and better way of approaching a foreign culture.

>>1140440
>Languages shape the way people think and see the world
I don't see how. All languages fundamentally describe the world we are in and it's not like an English paragraph will describe a painting VERY differently from a French paragraph.
>better reasons to learn a language
I'm talking about a not so useful language such as a language that is rarely spoken by locals in your area and I don't think there is a good reason for that.

>>1140451
It's more or less subcounscious. For exemple :
In English, when you are agreeing with someone, you can say "you are right".
In French, we literally say "you have reason."

When you comes to the root of the words, to their true meaning, it is a huge difference. Another exemple, the fact that English creates a different between sheep and mutton, while many languages don't.
Not to mention all the words that can't be translated.

>All languages fundamentally describe the world we are in
I agree, but langages are vivid thing, they evolve and change all the time. A language is the reflection of a people's history, culture(s) and society. So in the end, even if we all see the same things, we dont have the same way of looking at it.

>I'm talking about a not so useful language such as a language that is rarely spoken by locals in your area and I don't think there is a good reason for that.
Motivation is good enough a reason. Some people find language learning a fun or interesting exercice, it doesn't necessarily have to be the answer to a specific need.

>>1140395

That your language is your language to begin with.

I was born in a small village. I was still a child when we were raided by soldiers. Foreign soldiers. Torn from my elders, I was made to speak their language. With each new post, my masters changed, along with the words they made me speak. Words are... peculiar. With each change, I changed too. My thoughts, personality, how I saw right and wrong... War changed me - and not only my visage. Words can kill.