International Mother Language Day 

At Groupon, with our global reach of team mates across 14 countries and more contributors worldwide, we thrive on embracing the beauty and challenges of language diversity. 🌐 

We celebrate the richness of all the languages close to our hearts, bridging gaps and fostering a culture of understanding and building a more connected and multilingual Groupon community!🗣️💬 

And because we are curious, we organised an internal survey for our Grouponers
and here are some interesting survey results:

• Spain is our most linguistically diverse country with 11 different first and second languages spoken there, this is followed by the US, India and Poland (8 languages each) and the UK and Ireland with 6 languages each.

• A whopping 46.5% of all respondents are fluent in 2 languages, 28.7% speak 3 and 15.5% feel only confident in their first language

• 4 survey participants do not consider themselves fluent in English - something to be mindful of as we’re all chattering away in English all day!

• The rarest first languages named were Basque, Kannada, Nepali, Serbian, Catalan, Tagalog, Valenciano with only 1 or 2 speakers each

• 2 participants stated that they had started to learn American Sign Language at some point - kudos to you for consciously being inclusive!

We decided to showcase our language diversity by highlighting our teammates linguistic prowess across the business, and encouraging further learning with a raffle of exclusive subscriptions to Mondly and Rosetta Stone 📚 

Read about our most multilingual Grouponers below!

I started learning French in school - as my third language - and I often take it up to dust off my meagre skills in the language.

Spanish and Japanese are more recent additions - the former just to indulge in my love for languages and the latter was mainly because I have been wanting to visit Japan for the longest time - to try out the vast varieties of Kitkats that they have there. And it felt like knowing a bit of Japanese would help.

Has speaking so many languages helped you in your work at Groupon? 

I think knowing different languages makes it easy to collaborate with people. I haven't had the chance to use my multilingual skills here yet, but I'm excited to see if they might come to use in the future.

What does being multilingual mean to you?

I feel that being multilingual gives me more viewpoints - especially as it lets me into the world of literature and art in those languages as well. Also, knowing multiple languages helps me make friends and find communities wherever I go. Being multilingual can help you understand human emotions across different cultures, and give you a deeper understanding and appreciation of languages. Furthermore, the entire process of learning a new language, when you become an adult is quite humbling.

Do you have any tips for others who want to learn new languages?

I don't have many tips, but I can tell you what I do when I try to learn a new language. If it has a different script (like Japanese), you learn the alphabet first. This helps with pronunciation from the get-go and might help you with the language as you learn it. Whether you are using an app like Duolingo, or learning from YouTube, always have a language notebook/Google sheet (although I prefer the former) and you take down any words that are new to you. And you revise now and then. Have a strict learning schedule - even if it is 30 minutes a day, you do it every day. Another tip: Flash cards with the Leitner system. I also, when I find it extremely difficult to remember certain words - write it on a sticky note and put it on the object it denotes. For instance- sticking the word for cupboard on your cupboard - which hopefully helps your brain connect the two every time you notice it.

What is your next language goal?

I am looking to reach an intermediate level in French, Japanese and Spanish by the end of the year. The next new language I am looking forward to learning is German and Mandarin. However, I will be putting a bigger gap between Japanese and Mandarin because learning a new language and a new script is quite time-consuming.

Has speaking so many languages helped you in your work at Groupon? 

Actually, being multilingual is the reason why I got my job at Groupon, as I'm the Content Administrator for France and do a lot of my work in French!

What does being multilingual mean to you?

Being multilingual is definitely one of my proudest achievements. I feel that each language you know opens up a new world for you, and can allow you to develop a deeper understanding of other cultures.

Do you have any tips for others who want to learn new languages?

I would recommend studying a little bit (even just 5 minutes) every day, and making language learning fun by listening to podcasts or watching movies in your target language.

What is your next language goal?

I would love to be totally fluent in German some day, but it's a difficult task!