I live in the United States and I have noticed an interesting phenomenon. Picture this: two people will be applying for one job. While their expertise and experience may be pretty much equivalent, one of them may speak English with an accent because he or she comes from another country, while the other speaks with no accent, being from the United States. Usually (with the other skills being equal) the job will go to the person without the accent.

Think about it. The accented person applying for that job will not only bring the same skills as the local hire but will also have a completely different point of view to draw examples from. Speaking a different language gives them access to a different mindset, in addition to the local one. In this case, speaking with an accent should be an advantage, but it is rarely so.

Now, do you remember when Mark Zuckerberg spoke to a crowd at the Tsing-hua x-lab Session in Beijing back in 2014? News outlets were stunned because he was speaking “fluent” Chinese.

The fact is, while not trying to diminish speaking Chinese in public as a second language, Zuckerberg’s Chinese was nowhere near fluent, yet he received nothing but praise. In the meantime, the foreigner applying for the job in the US might have been fluent, but just speaking with an accent.

So why are some people praised for speaking two languages, even if one is very limited, while others are penalized for speaking two languages fluently (just retaining a bit of an accent in the second one)?

The main reason I’m mentioning this is because I’ve seen it in action and I’ve been the beneficiary of this double standard. For example, in Taiwan a businessman once asked me if I spoke Chinese, to which I replied “a little bit” (yi dian dian) — I spoke literally three words and his comment was that my Chinese was so good and he started introducing me to others as someone who spoke Chinese. I doubt this would ever happen with someone traveling or immigrating to an English speaking country saying three words in English.

So what point am I making? Basically what I’m getting at is that there is a dichotomy, with one side taking advantage of the fact that they speak another language, while half, or a majority, of bilingual people feeling almost like their extra language is a disadvantage that they should be able to shed, rather than an advantage to be used to maximum effect.

If you speak more than one language, that is the equivalent of having an extra degree, despite what people might think or say. The main issue is being able to use that knowledge. That’s where freelance translation comes in.

As I’ve mentioned before, the translation industry is growing and growing. So, if you speak more than one language, you are well on your way to joining this industry and taking advantage of this fact. Have you been trying to cover up the fact that you speak another language? Have you been pretending like you are monolingual in English? Well, guess what, you actually have an entire industry at your fingertips: it’s the translation industry.

The freelance translation industry is the epitome of what is possible. In this industry, you can set up an account online and get started without ever having to work for a company in a physical location. So even if there are no openings in your area or no big companies offering jobs in your language combination anywhere close by, you can always find opportunities online. And working online you can truly let your skills be in control, rather than any type of prejudice.

The fact is, Mark Zuckerberg would not be able to make it as a Chinese translator (don’t worry too much about him, he’s doing fine). But maybe you could! Just because he gets praised for his language abilities and you don’t, this is definitely not a reason to give up on languages.

Freelance Translators are the people bringing the world together. In this age of so many worldwide issues, isn’t it worth it to be part of this movement? While using your language, you can earn a living, as well as share ideas, thoughts, and opinions with entire populations that didn’t have access to them before.