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Why you should learn a language before you travel overseas.

25/5/2021

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English is spoken as a first language by approximately three hundred fifty million people out of a global population of close to seven billion. Many English speakers seem to believe that wherever you go on holiday you can get by speaking English, so there’s no point in learning any other languages. If people don’t understand you all you have to do is speak slowly and turn up the volume. You can more or less get away with this, as long as you stick to popular tourist resorts and hotels where you can usually find someone who speaks English.  However, Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “The limits of my language are the limits of my universe”. Who wouldn't want to be exposed to an unlimited universe? 
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However, if you want prepare for when we the international borders are reopened and to venture beyond such places, do more than just take photos and post them on social media, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc., knowing the local language is necessary and will make your travel experiences so much better. A basic ability in a foreign language will help you:
  1. To enable you to safely navigate around your destination.
  2. To immerse yourself in the culture more fully.
  3. Enable you to meet people with very diverse life experiences and outlooks.
  4. It will also ensure you can order food and drink, find your way around, buy tickets etc.
  5. If you have a more advanced knowledge of the language, you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and will add a new dimension to your holiday, you may even establish lifelong friendships.
  6. Learning a foreign language can revolutionize your travel experience.
Bon voyage!!

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It's all in the tones!

12/5/2021

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At Chinese New Year, you will often hear the phrase "nián nián yŏu yú", meaning "may you have abundance every year". You will also see it written in Chinese calligraphy on scrolls which hang on walls and by doorways, accompanied by a picture of a golden carp. What is the connection? The word for "fish" is pronounced in the same way as the word for abundance: Both are yú. SO, if you were to hear someone say "nián nián yŏu yú", it could mean "May you have fish every year!!
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For another example, wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ, means I want to ask you - Simple enough. But, if you were to say wǒ xiǎng wěn nǐ, it would mean I want to kiss you! The only difference is the tone over the e in wen! That could be a bit scary LOL.

Altogether there are over 50,000 characters in Mandarin Chinese, however, a modern dictionary will only list about 20,000, and you only need to know approximately 2000 to be able to read a newspaper.

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千里之行,始于足下     Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià

A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Laozi, Daoist philosopher (6th Century BC) 
One to bear in mind as you take your first steps in the Chinese language! Contact VLLC if you would like to take the Chinese language journey with us.


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Indonesia: a place for business and leisure when you speak their language.

5/5/2021

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Growing up, I had a friend whose father worked for an oil company in Jakarta. I knew little about the city or the country of Indonesia, I was at school and still in my early teens, but one thing I grasped very clearly was that to get ahead in Indonesia, being able to speak Indonesian was the key to everything. My friend spoke some Indonesian, I loved it when she did,  but even the little she had, opened the wonderful country up to her and to this day she still has friends there because of being able to communicate.
Indonesia is an archipelago, and for the business or leisure traveller alike, is an amazing place to visit. Over the years the country has had its ups and downs, but it still maintains a strong economy and a vibrant tourist industry. In modern-day Indonesia, a growing number of people speak English, but like many Asian countries, a great deal of respect is found when someone of non-Indonesian origin speaks Indonesian. 
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With language, Indonesia, like any other country and its language, opens up in a manner that only those who have made an effort to learn a language will understand.  Business opportunities increase, business transactions become more successful as the vital human connection, the so-called “click” comes through language. Being able to speak Indonesian allows a person to get down to the nitty-gritty of a project, contract or simple job. Like any language, there are innuendos and humour, and when speaking the language, these translate into confidence when doing business. 
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Language, in a strange way, can open our eyes to the way that Indonesians do business, and shows us many of the challenges that non Indonesian speaking business people may face. When you have the language, these challenges are either overcome, or simply disappear. Language, and being able to converse, is one of the most powerful business tools, far better than Google Translate that often loses the intrinsic meaning of the conversation. 
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While Indonesia is a superb country to do business with and language makes a big difference to the way business is done, the country is also a wonderfully diverse place to visit. By speaking Indonesian, even a business trip can soon become a lot more pleasurable as the real country, and its people open up. However, for the leisure traveller speaking Indonesian is one of the most amazing pieces of luggage you can carry. 
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​Indonesia is a stunning country to visit, and speaking Indonesian allows a person to get under the skin of one of the most diverse and beautiful cultures on earth.  Going beyond Bali, language opens up other amazing, less touristy places in one of the most naturally beautiful countries in the world. Language allows a person to converse with locals and often allows lesser known parts of the country to be discovered that can leave you breathless. 
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Just a quick Google of Indonesia will soon show a person just what Indonesia has to offer beyond nice beaches. Learning to speak Indonesian will take a person beyond the beaches and tourist hot spots, as well as the places and sights others cannot get to, and they soon become very accessible. 
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    Travelling is an exciting opportunity which can be enhanced by learning the language before you go. This blog contains some interesting articles about language and travel.

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