Multilingualism has a big effect on culture and social relationships. It can lead to a culture clash or it can lead to creating better social relationships. I remember watching many movies that related to multilingualism. In a lot of them, there is always a culture clash between people that speak different languages and come from different cultures. A specific movie that comes to my mind is My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I remember watching it with my mom and relating to it. At the time, my family and I had recently moved from Albania to America. When I watched the culture clash between the families of the bride with that of the groom, I thought about multilingualism and myself. Although I have seen culture clashes and may have experienced some myself, I think multilingualism can definitely enhance social relationships in a lot of cases. Being able to speak multiple languages can help a person connect with others that speak the same language. Multilingual people might find it easier to adapt to other cultures. In the movie, the parents had a hard time connecting with other people from a different culture, while the daughter who had access to both worlds, the Greek and the American, felt comfortable in both environments. The same thing happens to me personally. I like being in Albanian and American environments. Also knowing multiple languages has helped me adapt to other cultures and create stronger relationships with my friends that come from different backgrounds.
4 Comments
Margaux N.
4/4/2015 03:45:15 am
I understand how you feel. Same goes for me and my family. On one hand, I am able to bond with my American family and talk about cultural aspects that my Dutch family would not understand (and same goes visa versa). I definitely owe the knowledge that I have of the cultures to learning the languages. Do you have trouble sometimes with having to explain cultural differences to each of the groups? For example explaining an Albanian tradition/cultural custom to an American friend and not being able to fully translate it because it does not make as much sense in the other language?
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Doris Cikopana
4/6/2015 11:36:51 am
It is definitely challenging at times to explain cultural differences between each group. Once, I mentioned a tradition that we follow after we blow the birthday candles to my roommate and she seemed confused and surprised. The language is another obstacle, because it is nearly impossible sometimes to translate exactly from one language to the other.
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Selwyn Hernandez
4/6/2015 06:25:36 am
I see this kind of culture clash between my family and my dad's friends from work. Our Guatemalan heritage is a bit different to the heritage of his American coworkers. I remember telling me that he invited them to a party once at ournhouse, but they hesitated because they knew nothing about our customs. But I am curious about something though. Is the clashing of cultures a good or bad thing, and does it depend on the relationships of the people or the histroy of these heritages or something else?
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Doris Cikopana
4/6/2015 11:39:17 am
I think it is a personal opinion, but I think that the clash is not necessarily bad and it just shows different views of looking at the world or different ways of living. I think it depends on both the history of these heritages and the relationships of the people.
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