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Saturday, June 23, 2018

Multilingualism

Want to be more rational? Multilingualism might be the answer

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/speak-another-language-more-rational/

The point that the author tries to make, perhaps, could be among the many tools of perception available knowledge of multiple languages may probably take one out of the ghettos of single language based cultural milieu and its concomittant range of frames of reference.

Language by extension carries at least a tinge of culture along with it and that impacts reasoning as well as perception or at least supplies multiple frames of references to perceive.

For example:- very orthodox Tamil ( only Tamil) speaking innocent, nice and sometimes naive village folks cannot even accept or tolerate leave alone adopt easily to or assimilate the shopping mall strutting foreign lingo speaking folks.

They squirm in complexity whether justified or not.

I am not making judgements on whether either one is right or wrong.

But the reality is so stark and no one can deny that.

If one were to explain the role and revenue of mall culture to such innocent culturally monolingually groomed person it would be difficult to even understand.

Whereas, if the dynamics of life of innocence of village bred  monolingual folks were explained to the mall strutting folks they may understand it and react according to their attitudinal levels either sympathetically or arrogantly or merely accepting the inevitable state of life as it is.

Any additional knowledge as well as knowledge of more number of languages, more cultures, more sciences, more technologies, more scriptures and along with that more in depth study as well, all of these may at least throw up greater number of options which may enable better reasoning rather then a fixation to lesser  ambit of knowledge or lesser number of sciences or languages.

A person who has the ability to learn different genres of music definitely appreciates every music better.

A person who tastes different types of cuisine definitely is in a better position to judge about tastes of food.

Nothing is superior but the more the merrier and variety is not only the spice of life but sign qua non of happy living.

Monotony is so boring in any sphere of human pursuit.

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