Hi everybody!

I've traveled a lot.

This is not to brag, but I was so lucky I had my own business and I had to travel a lot from very young age. I've met so many people in my life. One common theme that I found throughout my travels is that people greatly appreciate those who spend time trying to learn their language. This is why, I've always dedicated a couple of months before any of my travels to learn as much of the language and culture of the country I would be visiting, regardless of how difficult this may be. This is why I feel so lucky now that I've accumulated a sizable vocabulary library that takes me easily through any basic dialog with local people in many countries. I don't shy out from making mistakes, but the amount of joy and appreciation that I get in response from people makes my efforts seem so negligible.

As you accumulate such a big library of words, your brain starts to make strange links among the different sounds and their meanings. You start to hear the finer tones in each language and you could even differentiate between dialects if you've listened carefully.

One of the most interesting characteristics of of human languages that I can point out is the uneven usage of certain letters and vowels in some languages more than others and the stress on some letters, intonations, and sounds more than others. Examples of this include:

1. The letter "Q" seems light in the Western side of the world, but so heavy and saturated in the Far Eastern countries. Compare how this letter sounds in the US and how it sounds in the Philippines.

2. The letter "R" is almost silent in and barely hinted in the US of A, but it's so stressed and pronounced in Russia.

3. The letter "S" is mild in the West, becomes a "Th" sound in the East (and some Spanish speaking nations). 

We can actually draw the a map that shows how different letters change from East to West and from North to South, and if we do this, we arrive at a "Letter sounds' stress distribution Map". This map has lines that mostly intersect in the Middle East. There, you'd find that most of these letters are neutral in nature, that is, they are not so light and not so stressed. This may be one of the reasons that makes people in the Middle East better at perfecting pronunciation of many languages, in comparison to the rest of the world.

I don't mean to say that this is an ultimate rule, but it is rather the general rule. Again, there are people with great linguistic abilities from all countries in the world, who are able to adjust their tongues to new languages. Middle Easterners have a better shot at that because of their intermediate position on this "Letter sounds' stress distribution Map". I have no intention of giving major claims on this, but I've noticed that in my own account and with many people I know. I am able to adjust how I place my tongue to pronounce the same letter in many different languages, because: 1. I'm able to hear the spoken tone in every language clearly, and 2. because I can adjust the placement of my tongue to match the sound I hear.

Conclusion

Speaking a new language clearly and correctly goes beyond grammar and vocabulary. The spoken word is the actual medium of communication in a person to person dialogue. If you like to travel and want to maximize your joy and excitement when visiting a new place, invest as much time before the journey trying to learn a new language. The more languages you learn, the more colorful your live will be.

Have a great time guys.