The Power of Language

If you are multilingual like me, you must have been asked "What language do you think in?" or "How do you separate those languages in your head?"

Speaking different languages gives me various perspectives on one situation and makes me more open-minded. Languages have become a part of my identity and taught me something about myself and others whether that's my mother tongue Punjabi or languages I learnt whilst growing up like English, Dutch and Hindi. It's scientifically proven that knowing more than one language improves your memory, makes you more adaptable, improves multi-tasking, problem solving and much more.

From my experience the language I "think" in depends on the situation. When I'm angry with my kids (yes that does happen), I seem to speak in Punjabi and think in Punjabi too. If I'm upset with my eldest and I am speaking English, he knows mum's not too mad but if I'm speaking Punjabi, that's a whole different story.

Day to day my "thinking" language tends to switch between the 4 key languages I speak fluently. My mum speaks the same amount of languages as myself however, most times I tend to speak to her in Punjabi as it connects us emotionally. It resonates more with her and brings both of us comfort.

Same goes for business, when I speak to my Dutch clients I think and speak in Dutch. This helps me connect with them and be more audience centric. Some prospects/clients prefer to speak in English although we might have another language in common. That might be because English is widely spoken within their company, so they feel more connected to you when having a business conversation. English connects you with such different countries, communities and cultures. It has become the 3rd most spoken language in the world.

What I love the most about being multilingual is when in one day, I get to speak all 4 of these key languages. Connecting with people, their beliefs, understanding their needs really resonating with them and making great business and non-business relationships. That's the power of language to me.

Are you multilingual or currently learning a new language? What does being multilingual mean to you?