Language is such a beautiful thing. Today I would like to share my findings on learning a new language. The excitement and drive I have to learn is so rewarding that I thought to share my findings on the subject matter.
Firstly, I am new here on Hive and I am trying to find communities where I can add value and learn.
I currently live in Cape Town, South Africa. We have 11 official languages here and I can communicate well in 9 of them.
I belong to the Southern Se-Sotho tribe, and so naturally my mother tongue is Se-Sotho. I chose to study in Afrikaans and English as my primary mode of education.
I developed a new confidence in learning more languages, through the very first language (Afrikaans) that I intentionally sought out to learn, perfect and master. After I had achieved my goal to master the language, I came to the below conclusions:
- Learning a new language goes far beyond the textbook rules like, grammar and punctuation.
- Through the language, one learns a lot about the culture and basic values of the said people/tribes.
- I have come to develop new respect and appreciation as I get a deeper understanding of the people/tribes and their way of living.
- I have found a new zest to know more and to learn more.
- Mostly I have come to the realization that there are so many commonalities, that loving everyone alike becomes second nature.
When it came to writing skills in the said language, I was blown away even more. I could write a post each day giving examples of what I learned from the said tribes - Just from understanding certain writing principles.
Oh well, let me just give one example for the purpose of emphasis on the little that gives great reference to the above statement. I will continue using the Afrikaans language as reference.
In English we would write a title at the beginning of a sentence with a capital letter, right?
Mrs. Hive had a super hiving day!
With the Afrikaans people, the title is in small letters and a full stop is essential just before you add the last name. It would read as follows: 'translated'
mrs. Hive had a super hiving day.
The Afrikaans people take great pride in their last name, therefore everything that comes prior to the name, needs to stay small and emphasis placed on the last name, hence the full stop after the title and caps on the last name. I was hooked from that moment.
So till date, my goal is to learn a new language every year. With the understanding and great joy I get from having insights on how different, unique and the same we are in or respective rights.
Looking forward to meet like minded individuals here as we learn and grow together.
Learned German and currently toiling with French, lol so many rules. Still trying to distinguish between all the male and female words - beer being female still doesn't register too well.
So if you still need reasons to learn a new language, know that it is never a waste and you will gain a deeper appreciation and understanding towards different cultures.