We’re all bilingual. Most people, for example, are called on to use different languages for different audiences. We all have both public and private languages. For example, when you are going to a business meeting, you have to adjust your language to allow your audiences to listen to you more effectively. You need to choose words that are more than

My Italian words aren’t just the everyday words that I’ve used all my life; they’re a distinct set of memories that I formed with my own hands and brain. In learning that language, I created a new mind and a new personality for myself. That is the dearest gift of language learning—you get to meet a new you.