charms singing away to 'Ai eu se te pego'(Portuguese)..a soon to be 'future' classic in its own right .
I can sing to it word for word..meaning in tow.
However, I cannot speak Portuguese to save my life.
Language connects people.
A few weeks ago, Mr. O and I were having a
bonding session at the Eko. Laughing the night away like the
happy-go-lucky duo we are! Guy seated from across the counter offered
to buy us a bottle of champagne. We walked over to say thank you.
Discovered he was French. Mr. O can speak French better than he can
swallow 'egusi' and gbam! Instant connection.
Yours truly was, for 4.5minutes, left hanging only managing to catch
smutterings of the conversation.
People connect better when they speak as one, literally. English is
great but it just won't cut the mustard anymore.
.
Knowing a second language provides cognitive benefits, such as better
brain function and decreased risk of Alzheimer’s not forgetting to
mention that it gives you a competitive edge in various markets.
So, what languages do we need to be conversant with to give us an edge
in the professional world?
I sought to find out and came across this list. Its
comprehensiveness or lack thereof all depends, methinks, on your
global location.
In Africa, the most notable
languages according to me are Swahili in the East, Arabic to the
North, Portuguese to the South and French in West/Central Africa.
Depending on how you intend to position yourself, knowledge of any of
these four(or all of them) languages will give you great advantage, do
some good to your networking capacity and probably your bank account.
The list:
- In the ranking the 10th language is Italian.
Italian language is very useful in some professional fields.In the USA with Italian knowledge you can get higher payment (+4%)
Hundreds of the world's largest companies have their headquarters in
Italy, but the government agencies, international relations, science is
also useful.
- The 9th language is American Sign Language
It's useful for learning and interpretation but a series of companies in
search of attention to look for people who know sign language and they
can fulfill Americans Disabilities Act requirements.
- The 8th language is Russian
it consists mainly of a large number of native speakers (170 million)
and 120 million who speak as a second language. Also 4% higher salaries
available who speak Russian.
- The 7th language is German
Also 4% higher salaries available.In Europe the most of people speak
this language and behind this is the largest economics power.In USA 700
000 people are employed in German companies.
- The 6th language is Spanish
Every second American learning Spanish as a foreign language.Also 1,7% higher salaries available in USA.
- The 5th language is Swahili
It's useful in politics and the FBI's most wanted language.
In East Africa its very useful language, education, business, the military, and of course the FBI ...
- The 4th language is Arabic
Which is extremely popular in recent years, increased by 157% enrollment
courses.However less people can learn succesfully.Many scholarships
available, or can be learned for free.In every business can be useful,
especially in Africa and the Middle East speaking.The Arabic language is
the most difficult language in the list , although only in the ninth
place.
They don't mark the vowels so it's very difficult.There are a lot of
dialect but everybody understand The Modern Standard Arabic.
- The 3rd language is French
You can earn more money 2,7%, but can be used all over the world, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean islands.
- The 2nd language is Japanese
Especially in the technology industry and in business. Japan is the second largest economy in the world.
The Japanese appears on the list of most difficult language, even in fourth place.
The difficulty is that there are three "alphabet" t need to learn, but
the grammar is not too complicated, and there are few exceptions. In the
most difficult of agglutinative (agglutinative) structures acquisition,
strong language and etiquette are difficulties.
- The 1st language is Chinese
World economy country.Many people learn but few succeed.Up to 4% increase in pay is also available.
China leads the list of the most difficult languages, There are two
place occupied the Mandarin and the Cantonese.Both of the versions,
highlight the differences between dialects.The mandarins at least 2500
"spoken and written punctuation" to learn the Cantonese's extensive
everyday vocabulary case of difficulty!
What's your take on language and the business world? What languages
are you well versed in and how have they helped you get ahead? Do you speak any of the 10 listed? :-)
Let me know!
Xoxo
Kazini Daily