Beginning this month,
we will celebrate the accomplishments of bilingual & multilingual black men
every 2nd Monday of the month (a Man Crush Monday of sorts). While our
focus is giving visibility to black bilingual and multilingual women (who usually
don’t get any visibility), let’s just take a moment to admire what they’ve
set out to accomplish as well.
With that said, I’d
like to introduce you to Blair, a CEO of a supplement company and a VP of a
real estate company who speaks French, Spanish and Mandarin in addition to his
native English. He also is a member of Mensa International! Read on to find out
about the opportunities he created for
himself to learn those three languages.
BGLL: Tell us about yourself. Who are you and what do
you do?
Blair: My name is Blair Lee. I’m originally from Pennsylvania (born and
raised), currently live in Miami, I am African American, and my native language
is English. I am CEO of a supplement company and VP of a Real Estate company. I
am a member of Mensa International, meaning my IQ is on top 1% of the
world.
In my spare time, I love running. I have run over 100 races and
I try to do a half marathon or Marathon every month. I like to fly and have
studied for a private pilot license. I love computers and do graphic
design, computer programming and website design as a hobby. I work out and
lift constantly. I try to go to the gym every day. I also have a black
belt in Taekwondo. I was a state champion in Karate and Taekwondo.
BGLL: Which other languages do you know?
Blair: I speak 4 languages fluently English, French, Spanish and
Mandarin. Living in Miami, I speak both English and Spanish a lot. Before
moving here, I was a VP of a company doing export from South China, so I spoke
Chinese Mandarin to the over 300 Chinese employees under me.
For French I studied 2 years in Paris and this helped me learn a
great deal about not only the language but the culture.
BGLL: How did you learn French, Spanish and Mandarin?
Blair: I took a French class in high school and I hated languages. I am
a mathematical, logical individual that likes to do things that I view are practical
and logical. So, sitting in a room learning a language to speak to "French
People" that I have never once in my life crossed paths with in my small
town, was totally illogical to me. I fought against learning any language.
Years later, after I had built a successful marketing company, I wanted a
vacation and didn’t know where to go. My travel agent at the time suggested
that since I have never traveled outside the USA before, that I try somewhere
in Europe. I found myself in Paris the following week and, yes, now that there
were 40 million people around me that spoke this impractical language, I fell
in love with it. I continued to frequently fly back over the next year until
finally moving there. I achieved the DELF I and DELF II and DALF language
certification of fluency from the French Ministry.
I knew that French was the most beautiful language to me, but my
logical and practical mind reminded that if I was to have success in
international business I needed to speak the 2nd most widely spoken language in
the Americas. So, a few years after rebuilding my companies, I made sure I
could move and study in Barcelona for some time until I mastered the language.
I took and passed the DELE certification at the University of Barcelona.
I found Mandarin by far the hardest. I moved to China in 2008
thinking that I will quickly learn this language. I became very good at
learning languages and I knew all the secrets to learning. I arrogantly told
myself that I would master Mandarin in 6 months. Well I wasn't aware beforehand
that in the Roman languages we have about 26 letters in the alphabet but in
Chinese language there are 3000 letters. OMG. On top of that, the words are
differentiated by the tone you use. This was totally new to me. I had to learn
to recognize tone in conversation. In my first 6 months, I received my HSK
language certification from the Chinese government. But I was far from being
fluent. It took me a few more years to master reading, writing, hand
calligraphy, and even more difficult - the conversational idioms. These are 4-word
expressions that many use in conversation to get a wise point across.
BGLL: Which language is your favorite and why?
Blair: As far as language - I love French. It is by far the most
beautiful language that the ears can ever hear. The rules of the language are
even set similar to rules of music. I could listen to French all day, every
day.
Culturally, I must say that I am the biggest fan in the world of
the Chinese culture. Modesty and respect are very important to them. It is so
impressive and a great feeling to interact with Chinese people.
BGLL: What tips you can offer those who are trying to
learn the languages you know?
Blair: Learn by listening. I used Pimsleur always as a base to
learn a language. Why? because it is common that we will pronounce words using
our native accent and this will hurt us in the long run. Learn as a 2-year-old
child and listen to the words then repeat. This will ensure later that you don’t
have an accent and sound more native. A 2-year-old doesn’t grab a journal to
rewrite words: he learns them by listening and repeating. Immersion - this is so important. If you want to learn a language
make a friend or get a tutor that is native. it will make it fun. We are social
creatures and we need social interactions to learn properly, a book just
isn’t enough.
BGLL: How can we keep up with you on social media?
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