By:Rajendran
Language proficiency is a skill many develop to blend in with their surroundings, expand their exposure in the field of expertise, and gaining knowledge. However, we must agree that it is not a mission easily accomplished. Those who seek a little spice in their life would prefer to fly to other nations, learning their culture, and waking up to a new horizon but all that does not come without a struggle. To be specific, Tamilians who venture out into the vast Indian country, a motherland to hundreds of dialects and languages are no strangers to this issue. Living in their own country and still struggling to get through their everyday lives due to lack of proper communication is common and tragic. Here are a few challenges faced by individuals who make a living among their foreign peers and colleagues who are not familiar with our mother language, Tamil.
Here are some of the potential challenges faced by individuals who live in a place where their mother language is not spoken. The essential key to connect is communication. However, without properly learning the language; it is difficult to engage or understand the true intention of our friends. This can often lead to misunderstanding among our colleagues. There are high chances that we might end up making acquaintance with people who don’t have the best intentions for us.
When we have to think and acknowledge the perspective of others, we expect the same but the struggle is real when the opposite party have a hard time understanding our way of saying things. For example we go to a grocery store where vegetables, fruits and meat are easily identified. Unless you’re a very good cook you can’t be sure what spice to use and asking for help can sometimes lead to wrong ingredients and spoil your meal. This is just from one angle but such simple activities require communication which we fail to acquire and they never saw the need to learn another language to despite it is now common that we reside there.
“We understand the beauty of our mother tongue when we are abroad”
As stated above are a couple of issues we Tamilians face in our birth country. Learning a new language does not mean we have to abandon our own mother tongue and also it is even okay to teach your language to them if they wish. In addition to this, it also seems impossible to master the language without facing these obstacles. If we decide to pay attention to the mocking and avoid the struggle of communication, then the language will not be mastered. We should always remember that it’s okay to make mistakes but always remember to learn from them. After overcoming our challenges it will be accomplished.
“Whoever doesn’t know foreign language does not know about his mother tongue either”
According to some recent research, about 90% of the population who were far from home undergoing a problem just related to language, and yes learning other languages isn’t any worse until you forget yours. Remember many people console and give their shoulders when we are low but only by lying in our mother’s lap we feel completely healed and that is how our mother language too. This earth has a million numbers of languages. But never lose the very common link language called a ‘Smile’.