SEC - S10W2 | My Languages.

Growing up in a country with multiple ethnic groups and languages provides a necessity to learn at least 2 to 3 languages to fit in most places. If not you will look like an outsider or what we refer to as JJC(Johnny Just Come/ someone who is new to a place and is very naive about the area.

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I am from Abia State in Nigeria, a country with over 50 languages but majorly Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa languages. I am part of the Igbo tribe found in the Eastern part of Nigeria. We have at least a minimum of 10 dialects from the different eastern cities and villages. This means, even if you are an Igbo, you can’t fully understand all the Igbo dialects spoken within the 5 major eastern states (Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi) in Nigeria. I can speak 2 Igbo dialects (English, Ohafia, and Akwa dialect).

I speak ohafia fluently because it is where I am from, so learning it was very easy for me.

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Learning my dialect was easy because it was my mother’s tongue. from observing my parents and people that speak it around me, it becomes easy to learn. Learning another language via constantly studying it.

During the little period that I studied Mandarin, one thing that stood out for me was the power of consistency. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, if you can commit at least 30 mins to 1 hour to learning a foreign language, you will become a pro before you know it.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I had registered to learn Chinese at the Confusious Learning Center, because I love it. We had started the course up to level 2 but went on a break during the lockdown. When school resumed, we were not able to resume because of the inconsistency and lack of teachers since all the Loashis(teachers) had gone back to China.

From the curriculum we had in school then, it takes 2 years to become one can master the 6 levels of the Chinese Language. The first and second take 3 months each, while levels 3 to 5 take six months each.

I will still love to resume and pick up from where I stopped during my Chinese Language classes.

Learning a new language is complex since it is not a language that you are used to.
Identifying the tones and pronunciation. Every tone and mark means something in every language, which I find hard to master when learning a new language. When I was learning Mandarin, the first stage was to master all the tones and intonation marks of all the vowels and consonance, because a word might mean 5 different things. I made numerous mistakes

Learning a new language creates more opportunities for you. Having access to more than two languages gives you access to more opportunities than one who only speaks one language.

It gives you access to new networks and connections. To meet new people and get access to certain things that other non-speakers wouldn’t have.

Communicating fluently with someone in their native language shows that you respect and love their culture, and makes them feel comfortable around you. A stranger has a high chance of opening up to you if you can speak their language than someone who cannot.

I invite @lhorgic, @davidmarkgeorge and @lirvic to participate in this contest.