World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Every year on May 21st, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is observed to recognize the diversity and uniqueness of cultures across the globe and to emphasize the critical role of intercultural dialogue in promoting peace and sustainable development.

At ACH, we value and celebrate individual differences as a great asset. Our offices are home to employees from various nationalities, and we truly believe that this diversity helps us to gain a better understanding of our clients and tenants. Moreover, the multitude of nationalities within our organisation brings with them a range of languages that play a crucial role in shaping our cultural identity. Our culture, our understanding of life, and our words are shaped by our language. There are more than 20 different languages among ACH employees, and we are proud of this diversity!

To celebrate this week, we had interviews with our bilingual employees.

What’s your mother language and in which language do you think you express yourself better?

-Spanish. I find it easier in Spanish when I am explaining my feelings or speaking about informal stuff; however, I can express myself better in English if it's work-related. -Ari

-Afrikaans. Afrikaans, especially when it comes to humour. -Werner

-Arabic. I can express myself better in my language which is Arabic. -Nesrin

-My mother language is French. I now think in English, but I still express myself better in French. I don’t need to think about my grammar, I speak quickly, and it is easier to describe details. -Camilla

-Turkish. It takes time to be fluent in a language and I still express myself better in Turkish. In English, sometimes still I think in Turkish first and I translate my sentences into English. -Sena

 

Is there a word or expression in your mother language that you wish had existed in English?

 -There are lots of words and expressions! I would say "ni fu ni fa", is one expression I would wish we had in English. It means that is not important, that you don't mind what will happen, or is indifferent. -Ari 

-Lekker, You could translate the word as enjoyable, tasty, pleasing, but none of these words truly capture the full meaning of the word lekker. -Werner

حشرى    زي الخيار فى السلطه, Nosy as a cucumber in a salad, This is for people who are so nosy. -Nesrin

-In French, we add a lot of small words in sentences, like “voila”, “en fait”, “donc”… It is often not grammatically correct, and teachers fight against this .They are language tics. I am now used to not having them in English, but at the beginning, I felt like things were missing in my sentences. -Camilla

-I definitely miss saying ‘Kolay gelsin.’ Roughly translated, the phrase is “let/may it come easy to you.” We use this expression in many different situations. We may tell a friend at work or someone we see on the street and even do not know they but if someone is busy, it is good to say this! -Sena

What are the benefits of speaking more than one language?

-I am able to understand people from the Netherlands, as the Afrikaans and Dutch languages are very similar. -Werner

- It is beneficial to travel for sure, speaking two languages gives you a lot of freedom to travel to more countries and feel safer during your time there. It is also useful to meet people and learn from other cultures. It is obviously useful for career and academic reasons. I did my master's degree in Spanish but we had to read and research a lot of articles and books in English. -Ari

-The benefits are: communicate with others, understand what’s going around you and find a job because we all need to earn money. Language is the best way to communicate with others and with everything even the sign language. -Nesrin

-Speaking different languages is a good gymnastic for the brain. It also helps to understand different cultures: the tone used, how to greet or thank people, some expressions… In my team, people are from Spain, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Nigeria and India. We like comparing expressions or why it could be polite or impolite. But speaking different languages helps me to empathise with the people we support. I understand the difficulty to express ourselves in the way we really want to, even with a good level of English. The translator’s apps are very useful but not perfect, so if I see the person doesn’t find the word they want, I support them to express the feeling, or we find the word together. It is also important to explain that British people express themselves in a less direct way than it could be in their languages, it is part of the culture.  -Camilla

- Being able to speak multiple languages provides great freedom. You can visit or even live in a different country! It allows you to have more opportunities in life. You can communicate with more people. For example, English is spoken by a total of 1.8 billion people around the world! So, if you know English, it gives you lots of opportunities. -Sena

 

For more information about World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development you can visit the UN website.