When you learn a second language, or even analyze your own mother tongue, sometimes it’s hard to say whether something is language, or whether it is culture. For example, we always say how are you, but often it is just a way to begin a conversation. In Japanese, most of the time it’s strange to say this, and we tend to talk about the weather to get the ball rolling. Is this language? Or is it culture?

To me, language and culture are the same thing. Language is how you express your culture. But culture is also how you express your language.

Cultural exchange is one of the best ways to develop innovative ideas. If we all learned how to better express ourselves and our culture, we could better work together and help each other to form new ideas that advance the human race. That is why I am all for second language learning in any context.