(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