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Showing posts from January, 2024

(169): Local languages: Panacea for social interaction and more?

  By Muhsin Ibrahim   Language  is   one  of the most amazing things in the world. We often overlook  its  influence  in our lives  because  it is  mundane . W e all use a language ,  verbally   or non-verbally ,  daily. We acquire language , i.e.,  we   grow up speaki ng  effortlessly. Thus, we don't care much about its profound  impact and influence   on how we interact with others, think about and view the world .   We had international conferences on Africa in  Cologne, Germany and San Francisco, United States.  This short piece is about something other than  the many academic papers  presented; it is about  how hearing someone speaking our language  or a local language   we are familiar with  in a foreign country attracts our attention.   In both Cologne and San Francisco, I observed a pattern. People speaking the same language form a circle. It does not matter if you are an ethnic speake r  of the language  or just a speaker .  People quickly click, for i t is easy to use a l