This is gonna be just me rambling about languages. I will be talking about a lot of things, so I don't really have a particular title for this. And no, this isn't much of an information-and-facts-packed myTake as well. In fact, most of what I will say is just common sense.
Different groups of people, and the diversity among them fascinates me so much. The various kinds of food, clothes, festivals, customs, values... and out of all these the different languages feels like the most amazing thing to me. Seeing others speak a different language and feeling weird despite knowing that I do it as well, that's one funny thought. If I were to present a speech on languages right now, I am damn sure that I would get emotional at one point. That's how much I love my own language and respect every other language that evolved to exist in the present day. I know, that's extra.
It's a no-brainer that the #1 way to connect with a group of people is by learning their language. Even if you know a little bit of their language, you will easily see yourself being able to be socially attached with them, whether it's for business purposes or a romantic affair. This is why I wish to learn a lot of languages in the world. Currently I know three, and a few more only a tiny, tiny bit.
I speak Bengali. English is my second language. I also learn Mandarin and can carry conversations fairly well. Used to take French classes in school but I learned so little it actually doesn't count. Hindi is a bit similar to Bengali, plus it's by the influence of Bollywood that I know some Hindi. Last December I traveled to India and when anyone spoke to me in Hindi/Urdu, I understood what they said but could not respond properly. I don't know Arabic except the alphabet and pronunciation because as a Muslim I have to recite the Qur'an. TMI: I started a Spanish course on Duolingo yesterday and wish to start Russian next. 😂
I don't know if I'm doing a good job in life, I don't know how my future career or love life is gonna be, but I know that I will have a thing for languages forever and I'll keep learning new ones till death.
I *dare not* underestimate the power of language. English did not become such a common language to learn only because it is pleasant to everyone's ears. One of the ways to measure the fame of a book is by counting the number of languages that the book has been translated to. And also entertainment; just look at Hollywood, Bollywood, K-pop and Anime as examples. Aren't these making their languages more popular worldwide? Especially Japanese. Like literally everyone uses the word 'kawaii' today. So many highly educated and qualified people are unemployed because of the language barrier, while many others have their entire life set because of good language skills.
Sensible statement: you shouldn't be rude to someone especially when you're supposed to be professional. 😅
Sadly, it is also a thing that encourages separation and discrimination among people. From school children bullying to ethnic discrimination by those in power, it has caused people harm in past. And there has even been an event of a group of people protesting against the government so that they can have their language as a state language, where people had to shed their blood. Bengali has one bloody history from 1952, and even today the ones who got shot in the protest are remembered as 'language martyrs'. Every February we have one book fair for the entire month near the location that the protest took place. It sells all books in Bengali, and it is like a sacred place for Bengali bookworms like me.
When I learned about the history of the language movement in school, and by reading a book at home I learned even more about it, it kind of shocked me. Sacrificing one's life to his language! That's what made me start loving languages so much. And when I was sent to a Chinese class, I was so thrilled that I am learning a language that one-fifth of the entire world population speaks! It made me progress very fast within the first year despite Chinese being such a tough language. I'm currently slipping off a bit due to lack of practice, hopefully I'll get back on track soon.
I once took part in this really cool Chinese language competition where there were winners from all countries and we all gathered in one place to compete against one another. I was there as a representative of Bangladesh. We were 400 people from all across the world and I made about 100 friends in two weeks. Best two weeks of my life! I was 14. My love for languages increased a lot more that day, especially because of how I could connect with so many people!
There is one phrase in Chinese saying "Learn Chinese, double your world" well it did mine! Also, my dad deals with a lot of Chinese businessmen and agents so sometimes he takes me with him to restaurants, for the sake of a good impression. Not bad cause it improves my conversation skills as well.
I will try writing some myTakes on languages this month. Cause forget Valentine's Day, the month calls for some language appreciation to me!
Write it down in the opinions, what language you speak and also how you say 'language' in your language, would be fun! In Bengali we say 'bhasha'. :D
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