17 Feb 2019

 The ability to communicate in multiple languages has been said to be highly important, particularly as communities of the world are becoming more and more integrated. 

Officiating at the World Hindi Day on February 16,  Assistant Minister of Local and Rural Development Ms Botlogile Tshireletso observed that multilingualism was key in that it eased adaptation.

Further, she noted that it provided additional job security and advancement opportunities in today’s uncertain economic times.

Ms Tshireletso thus appealed for an environment that promoted the learning of multiple languages, saying acquisition of different languages at an early age laid the foundation for more solid communication skills later on in life.

Also, she pointed out that learning a second language could be beneficial to a person’s brain as studies had shown that being multilingual could help improve one’s multi-tasking skill, improve memory as well as help improve listening and hearing skills.

Regarding Hindi, the assistant minister observed that it was an astonishing fact that the language was the fourth most spoken in the world, and that in India it was the first language to nearly 425 million people and a second language to an estimated 120 million people.

She thus implored those looking to do business in South East Asia to learn Hindi as it was a crucial language used when doing business.

She said learning Hindi was crucial, more so that India was a booming economy that had positioned itself to be a force to reckon with over the next few decades.

High Commissioner of India to Botswana Dr Rajesh Ranjan said Hindi was one the 22 official languages in India.

He explained that the first World Hindi Day was celebrated in India for the first time in 2006, one of the objectives being to spread the glory of Hindi language.

Dr Ranjan said the government of India was committed to uplifting the status of Hindi within India and on international platforms.

He nonetheless decried the stigma that people who knew other languages to the exclusion of English had to endure. 

He said to mark the Indian government’s commitment, the country’s prime minister often used Hindi when delivering official speeches while on official visits to other countries.

He said the main aim of his government was for people to love the language that they speak.  ENDS