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What if I told you that learning a new language can actually save someone’s life and change it forever?
I once read a Czech proverb that says: “You live a new life for every language you speak, if you know only one language you live only once”. I could not agree more. We, the Lebanese people are truly so lucky due to the multilingualism present between the majority of the Lebanese who are bilingual or trilingual. It really isn’t uncommon for them to juggle between the languages and suddenly do a mix of Arabic, English and French. Don’t we all know the famous Lebanese greeting “Hi, kifak, ça va?” This is but an illustration of Lebanon’s uniqueness.
From my own experience and as I am known for someone who’s passion is languages, I discovered its huge importance. I learned Turkish thanks to series as well as I took courses at a Turkish center. My level at Turkish improved as I was able to hold long conversations. There was an Iraqi family at a restaurant who couldn’t speak Turkish so they were speaking in Arabic but the waiter couldn’t understand their language. I stood and went straight to their table and started translating in Turkish what the Iraqi family wanted. Everything went well and I knew that I saved this whole situation, and that’s when I realized that I was following the right path, the path of translation.
As to saving lives, yes! Learning a new language can save one’s life as well as it has the ability to offer them a new chance. I actually am a French teacher at the French cultural center of Beirut. I had the privilege to give French courses to asylum seekers who were Syrian refugees. They were given the opportunity to travel to France but they wanted to learn the French basics, all from scratch. I remember I asked them why they wanted to learn that language and one of them answered: “I am aware of the importance of languages. I don’t want to stick to my native language. What I want is to speak French fluently to be able to have friends, to communicate with them using their native language so they don’t make fun of me. I want to be seen, I want to be heard and I am convinced that a new language is enough to change my life.”
If I can invent a quote it would be “Languages are a magic wand that can change your lives forever”. Learning a foreign language may be a new adventure that can lead to a multitude of possibilities and opportunities. So don’t waste that!