By Jennifer Tran
As a child, I grew up in a household full of different languages. Back then, I knew how to speak my grandmother and father’s dialect of Chinese, Teochew, by picking the language up from the conversations around me. I learned Cantonese from my mother when we would go over numbers, body parts, and colors. Moreover, I also began to understand Vietnamese as my parents took me to grocery stores and other food shops where Vietnamese was primarily spoken.
Today, however, I have lost much of the multilingualism that was such a part of my early life. In fact, I only speak English fluently, understand some Chinese and Vietnamese, and studied French for six years. In a way, I wish that I had not lost my ability to speak more than one language. I think of the what ifs: What if I had not wanted to fit in as much as I did with the rest of my English-only speaking classmates? What if my parents had raised the issue? What if I had not felt so self conscious about my accent while relearning how to speak? Language is a part of me and I hope to gain back this aspect of my roots.
To me, bilingualism and even multilingualism are ways that a leader can reach out and connect to the people that he or she leads. In a global economy and world, I think that knowing more than language prepares a leader for the diverse perspectives and cultures that he or she can encounter. Whether the individuals are potential business clients, patients, or regular consumers, knowing another language is an invaluable skill that can provide a rewarding experience.
I understand your dilemma with the language of your heritage. I grew up listening to my parents speak Teochew. My parents said that I used to be able to speak Teochew when I was younger. Now, I can only understand my parents when they speak Teochew. The English language has become my dominant language. Currently, with the help of my parents, I'm trying to relearn how to speak the lanuage. Have you checked www.gaginang.org ? It's an interesting site on Teochew.
ReplyDelete