LANGUAGE SHOULD NEVER BE A BARRIER

INTRO:

Have you ever been to place and had a feeling of discomfort because you are unaccustomed to the language spoken there? Many of us dread traveling to certain places because we believe there will be a communiction barrier. This is what we want to look at today.

Language is a system of conventional spoken, manual or written symbols by means of which human beings as members of a social group or participants in its culture express themselves (Britannica.com). ‘Language barrier’ is a figurative expression that refers linguistic barriers to communication, That is the difficulties in communication encountered by people speaking different language or dialect.

I must stress that when you travel to any place it is paramount to respect the culture and lifestyle of the people there. One thing is certain, if you ever want to enjoy any place you visit, marginilization should be out of the picture.

As travelers, it is also necessary to familiarize ourselves with the language of the place you are visiting or learn few phrases of the language spoken at the place you are traveling to. There are few benefits in doing this. These include the following;

1.This will go a long way to make you comfortable in the new place.

2. The people living there will also open their hearts and homes to you.

3. It is easier to get direction

4. In case of emergency, it will come in handy.

So let’s learn a few word’s from some of the most spoken languages in the world.

ARABIC LANGUAGE

Kings (Jeddah) fountain

Arabic and the different dialects associated with it are spoken by a little over 400 million people in the world. Apart from the member states of the arab league, Arabic is spoken by other nations such as Cyprus, Iran, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Turkey as a national language. Arabic is the fifth most widely spoken language in the world.

Hello – Marhaba

Yes – Na’am

You are welcome – Afwan

Please – Min faDlik (to women) Min faDlek (to men)

Thank you – Shukran

N0 – La

How are you? – Kaif Halak? (to a man) / Kaif halik? (to a woman)

FRENCH LANGUAGE

Eiffel Tower in Paris

This is the sixth most spoken language in the world. It is also the fourth most widely spoken language in Europe in countries such as Belgium, France, Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland. In Africa, it is spoken by 50% of the countries in Sub-Sahara and North Africa. These include Algeria, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Togo, Senegal, Reunion and Seychelles. French is spoken in provinces like Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick in Canada.

How are you? – Ça va?

Welcome –Bienvenue

Very good – Très bien

Good bye – Au revoir

Thank you – Merci

I come from Ghana – Je vein de Ghana

Hello / Good morning – Bonjour

My name is – Je m’appelle Ewuraesi

Yes – Oui

No – No

GERMAN LANGUAGE

Cologne Cathederal in Germany

German (Deutsch) is mainly spoken in central Europe. It is the first language of almost a hundred million people worldwide and most widely spoken language in the EU. After English, it is the most spoken language in the EU. The language is spoken Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg among others.

Hello – Hallo

How are you? – Wie geht’s (vee gits)

Yes- Ja

No – Nein(Nine)

Good morning – Guten Morgen (Goot’n maw-g’n)

You are welcome / Please- Bitte (Bit-tuh)

Good day/Good afternoon- Guten Tag (Goot’n tag)

Good night- Gute Nacht (Goot’n nakht)

Thank you- Danke (Dan-keh)

ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Grand canal in Venice

This is the official language of italy, Switzerland, Croatia and Slovenia. It i the third widely spoken language in the EU.

Hello – Salve(Sahl-vay)/ Ciao

How are you? – Come va(Ko-may va)

Please- Per favore(Pehr-fah-voh-reh)

Pleasure to meet you- Piacere(Pee-a-chay-ray)

Thank you – Grazie

My name is Ewuraesi- Me chiamo (Mee Kee-amo)

MANDARIN CHINESE LANGUAGE

The Great Wall of China

The Mandarin is a group of related varieties of Chinese language spoken across most northern and southwestern China. It is the number one widely spoken language in the world now, with over a billion speakers. The language is rapidly becoming a global language. It is one of the six official languages of the UN.
How are you – Nîhaoma (Nee hao mah)

I am fine – Wo hen hao

Thank you – Xiexie(Sshyeah shyeah)

Good morning – Zăo shanghao ((Zhow)

Good afternoon – Xiawu hao

Good evening – Wan shang hao

Good night – Wan an

Excuse me – Qîngwén

Please – Qîng

PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE

Iguazu falls Brazil/Argentina

The Portuguese language is the sole official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola and Sao Tome and Principe. Colonization spread the Portuguese Creole to parts of the world like India, Sri Lanka, Indonisia, Malaysia and the Caribbeans.

Hello / Good morning – Bom dia

Good Bye – Tchau

Adeus – Good bye(formal)

Please – Por favor

How are you? – Como está

I am fine – Tudo bem

See you later – Até mais

You are welcome – De nada / Por nada

SPANISH LANGUAGE

Acapulco Beach in mexico

Spanish also called Castilian language, originated from the Castile region in Spain and it spoken by hundreds of millions of people in Latin America and Spain.

Hi – Holla

How are you? – Cómo estás

See you soon- Hasta Pronto

Bye – Chao

Thank you- Gracias

You are welcome – De nada

Pardon me / Sorry – Perdón

Please – Por favor

My name is Ewuraesi – Mi nombre es

Yes – Sí

JAPANESE LANGUAGE

Tokyo Imperial Palace

Japanese an East Asian language is spoken by about 128 million people primarily in Japan.

Goodbye – Sayonara

See you- Mata ne

Good evening – Konbanwa

Nice to meet you – Hajime mashite

Good morning – Ohayoo gozaimasu

How are you? – Ogenki desuka

Thank you – Arigato

Well since I come from Ghana, I can’t end this without adding a language from Ghana.

AKAN LANGUAGE (TWI DIALECT)

Royal Senchi Resort

Twi is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in the southern and central Ghana. About eighteen millions Ghanaians speak it as either a first or second language. It is also spoken in the southern eastern parts of Cote d’Iviore.

Welcome – Akwaaba

How are you? – 3te s3n/ Wo ho te s3n

3y3 – I am fine

Thank you- Medaase

What’s your name? – Wo din de S3n?

Where are you? – Wo w) hene?

Water – Nsuo

CONCLUSION

One’s inability to speak a particular language should not prevent one from exploring. In actuality, the more you travel, the easier it is to break such barriers. Other things you can do to make things easier any time you are on a trip is to listen and observe what happens in your surroundings, employ the use of visual cues, sketching what you need also helps and finally if it possible get a foreign language dictionary.

Do comment with the phrases you picked up along the way. And don’t forget to like or share. Chao!!