speaking in foreign tongues, page-4

there is another advantage in learning another language: the ability then to learn about that country's culture, history, etc, by reading about them in that language which is quite different to reading about another country in the English language. Sometimes translation into another language can miss some finer points.

For example, it is much better to read and appreciate a poem in its original form than the translated version. I wouldn't want to read Shakspeare in Chinese.