In order to communicate *truly* with a person, can you really have discourse through a computer screen using google translate? Is that really how language works nowadays? In the words of Nelson Mandela, ❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞

 

In a world where conflict is relentless and terrorism is unremitting, diplomacy and relations are paramount. In order to create a global community, is it really fair or plausible to assume that everyone will speak English? One cannot assume that all the world revolves around our western language and culture, That is a misunderstanding which only catalyses further conflict. Hence I call all linguists to unite! Don't shy away from learning new languages, investigating other cultures and identifying as global citizens. While Brexit seems to have brought prejudice and discriminatory nationalism into modern behaviour, such xenophobic acts can be combatted by offering a metaphorical embrace (or a real one if that's what you're into!) to our European and international neighbours.

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The only way to understand the world, and ourselves, truly, is to understand the languages that surround us. As argued by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, ❝Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.❞ The only way to reach enlightenment and resolution of conflict is to transcend the borders that confine us. Therefore, linguists, continue to learn!

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