Living as an expat
Hello Mynglers,
Last week I asked your opinion on what language to learn next! Thank you for all your votes and comments! Reading Clara’s comment again about her expatriate experiences really got me thinking about my life as an expatriate -being a Greek living in the Netherlands.
Learning a language for an expat is always a complicated task. According to the expatriate portal Just Landed, by 2010 there will be more than 200 million people living abroad. For all these people, learning a new language is a way to improve the quality of their life as understanding and speaking the language creates the feeling of active participation and contribution to the society.
But language is not just something we use to communicate. It is our culture and heritage and people, especially when abroad, try to preserve it and cultivate it. This creates a dilemma for most expatriates and particularly for those who have moved with their partners or families. Many fail to learn the new local language as they feel the need to preserve their own language. They often seek and pursue friendships with fellow expatriates who hail from their home country, in order to have the opportunity to converse in their native language and to preserve their culture and lifestyle. The result is that they will eventually not manage to be fully accepted by their new social environment , always considered outsiders and foreigners. The long term psychological effects on them can be devastating.
Also, while many companies provide language training for their employees the problem still exists with their families. When choosing a school for their children, many expats opt for an international school. Recently I was reading a newspaper article that described how the lack of international schools in Denmark is causing problems for international companies. International education is recognised as very crucial in attracting and retaining foreign employees. At the same time a local school education has the advantage of not separating the children from the locals.
As an expat myself I have always wondered on these issues and will have to eventually face them as well! So how about all you expat Mynglers out there? Have you encountered similar problems with languages and how did you manage them? It would be really nice to help the Myngle community or even give tips. You can also share your stories in our forum!
Panos
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August 7th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Yes, you are right. One’s native language is a part of the culture, heritage and the people.
For an expat, learning a new local language sometimes depends on his outlook of what he is. He may learn the language because he sees himself as a part of the community/society where he is in and assesses himself as a productive and contributory new comer. He is an expat with his culture and heritage still flowing in his blood yet he tries to merge himself to a new one. He sees himself ” No more, no less” than his new brothers. Language used as a means of communication is one of the basic unifying factors else where since the communicants share the same level of harmony and beats to define one word “understanding”. And when ‘understanding’ is attained, then the person feels secured and has a feeling of psychological equality.
The flip side of this expat has a different perspective. He is embracing himself closely with the country where he comes from, maybe has superiority complex, or maybe no need to learn the language as he is there for a short time, and the
like. My other expat friend has these. And mind you, almost everyday he would complain to me about not being understood whenever he would ask or buy or inquire for things. He often would utter these words: “They are as STU— as blablabla, why are they so thick that they couldn’t understand simple English, their brain is only 30% and grgrrrrrr!!!!…and you know, I would smile at him and tell him, “Well, well. When you are in Rome, do as what the Romans do.” He would stare at me with rolling eyes.
There are points that I would like to share regarding this:
1. Learning a new local language doesn’t decrease one’s culture nor taints one’s heritage. Rather, it broadens one’s knowledge about other culture, people…..that there are lots of things to know “OUTSIDE YOU”.
2. Knowing a new language narrows culture and language disparity and as a result a CLOSER NORTH – SOUTH and WEST – EAST.
3. Being a linguistic is an honor….SELF – FULFILLMENT.
4. For survival.
Panos, thanks for your very good post. This is a very interesting one. I hope I have shared something.
Have a nice weekend.
Klara
August 11th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Hello Klara,
Thank you for sharing your story. I agree with all 4 points you make.
For me learning a local language -in this case Dutch- is not out of need to survive. Actually I met people who live in the Netherlands for years and never learned a single word. For me the motivation to learn Dutch is the opportunity to be fully integrated in the society and the personal feeling of fullfilment that comes with it!
“He often would utter these words: “They are as STU— as blablabla, why are they so thick that they couldn’t understand simple English, their brain is only 30% and grgrrrrrr!!!!”
That was so funny! I met many tourists in Greece who would say the same thing. I always thought they were very rude. Complaining when they didn’t even make the slightest effort to speak the local language. I think expecting everyone to speak english shows ignorance. And plus, learning the local language is also something that shows acceptance and respect for the different culture!
August 12th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I have lived as an expat in the Gulf (Bahrain and Saudi) for almost 25 years. I am ashamed to say that I have not learnt Arabic in these many years.mostly because I am not able to make gutteral sounds!!!!)
But seriously because I never really needed to. It sure would have been an advantage but then thanks to the universal language ENGLISH we were never at a disadvantage! It is true that expats tend to cling to their own kind but that is true even with the locals where we are living. They want to preserve their own culture so say keep a polite distance from the expats.
But we have to accept the fact that this is true in our own countries. People from the South feel like aliens in North and so on. I suppose this is just human nature,’to preserve our identity’.
Lets put language in proper perspective. It is a communication tool and should be treated as such. My Arabic speaking friends and I have great conversations with we filling blanks for each other and have a wonderful time together. Ultimately that’s what is important. Understanding each other.
I love my expat life and will always cherist it.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Hello Natasha! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I don’t know about Arabic gutteral sounds but the Dutch ones have given me a sore throat. Took me some time to get used to it ; )
You are right. English as the universal language makes things easier and more difficult at the same time! Sometimes I think we are spoiled with english and its broad use.
August 13th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I would like to make just one more observation Panos.
It is about the attitude of people.
Some expats may not be able to speak the local language for one reason or the other, but their respect for the tradition and culture of their host country, will always be recognised.
On the other hand there are those that come across as ‘arrogant about their own sufficieny and superiority’. These are the ones who bring bad name to the EXPAT community.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:23 am
You know Natasha I encountered this as well. Well not as much the arrogance about their superiority but more of a negative stance towards everything that doesn’t resemble their native ways.
Ofcourse in all countries one can find good and…not so good qualities! It’s up to us to get the most out of our expat experience. It’s up to us to recognise and accept all these “foreign” cultures and keep with us what we consider valuable and worthy. It is all about the set of mind and attitude we show.
It’s one thing to be proud of your heritage and culture and another to be blind to all others and not recognise your own weaknesses.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Being abroad (Spain) and without an expat community to turn to has kind of mandated me to learn the language. Many times when I hear Spanish spoken around me, I feel like I’m in a room with no light. I feel really limited, almost paralyzed because I don’t understand anything. Fortunately, as I live here longer, I understand more and am not as completely shut off from the world as I was.
The first two months of my time in Spain where the hardest because I couldn’t express myself and I couldn’t understand. I could not imagine feeling that way for the rest of my time here. The feeling of utter isolation would drive me to try and learn the language of the country in which I’m staying.