We choose our friends. But what if the choice is limited by the inability of communication? What if we miss the chance of getting to know the most wonderful people just because we don’t have a common language or…even worse… are too afraid to use the one we know?! Tragic. I speak my mother tongue with my family and some friends but most heartwarming and delighted conversations have always been held in a foreign language.
So choose your friends carefully, but do not let the language be a barrier!
I came across an article. It was about how language makes us change our behavior or even remember the thing differently (How Language Seems To Shape One’s View Of The World). I start to think about it and yes, indeed, I could find the connection. I’m way more affective when using English. Little words like dear, love, darling are constantly in my lips whereas in Finnish it would never occur to me call my friends “kulta”. There´s indeed a link between language and personality like Francois Grosjean Ph.D. stated in Psychology Today.
Another thing comes with the fluency of the language. One cannot really debate and justify his/her viewpoint if the vocabulary is limited. “Why not? – because!”
Chinese, Spanish, English. That is the top 3. First due to an incomprehensible amount of speakers, second for colonialism and third thanks to globalization. Languages spread thanks to speakers. Speakers are born, they travel, interact with each other and with or without any intention, share their language with others. Languages live as long as they are used.
This reminds me of the importance of maintaining the acquired language skill. If one already has made the effort and learned a new language, it would be a shame to lose that. Updating language skills can be fun and made with almost no effort. Read magazines, watch videos, meet new people. Anything but forget the language!
Start your day with a good morning in your mother tongue, chat a while with your international friends in language you share, write the shopping list in language you learned years ago to fresh your memory and keep the vocabulary active, watch a chapter of your favorite series in language you would like to learn and wish good night in one of the languages in danger to extinguish.
Oaidnaleapmái! (See you later in North Sami)
AnotherOther 