AFL1501 Portfolio Assignment 2021.

AFL1501 Portfolio Assignment 2021. Language is a cognitive process that human beings are able to carry out. It is a continuous process as a person never stops learning and replicating communication structures used for social interaction, thus we can say that language is a tool or even a behaviour used to communicate. It is believed that language is a thought as it shapes our thoughts and expresses them, verbalization forms part of this language process. It is said that every language is determined through cultural aspects which includes patterns that impact the way people think and communicate with one another. The environment and culture that one grows up within deciphers the language structures they use to communicate. In South Africa the language diversity depicts the different and unique cultures that our country consists of. South Africa is known well for its ethnic diversity as it is filled with different races and cultures that all coexist peacefully amongst one another. Language and culture go hand in hand in South Africa which often results in miscommunication if a person is unaware of the cultural structures of the context of language. Language diversity in South Africa helps us to learn more about different cultures and peoples ideas and attitudes. It acts as a tool to develop the diversity in our country as it allows us to communicate more efficiently with one another. I am a South African born Indian, which means that my mother tongue is English as it is the language we are all taught in and I have generations of family who all speak English which makes it the language we all communicate in at home. I also know hindi as my elder relatives (grandparents) speak in it at times and I have learned it from them and I also pick up on the language by watching Hindi movies. I still speak a bit of hindi from now and then to my grandparents and my mother’s friends who have come from India to work in South Africa. I feel that it really comes in handy and I find it really easy to understand what Hindi people are trying to say when they do not know how to speak English. During my upbringing I have learned many languages as I was surrounded by different cultures almost every day. I attended an Afrikaans boarding school, where I became fluent in Afrikaans to communicate with the Afrikaans students I studied with and it was also a compulsory subject in every school and still is compulsory in current schooling. I also learned to speak a bit of Spanish from one of my past relationships. I was very intrigued by the language and decided to learn it to communicate with m ex boyfriend and his family. I would learn basic sentences from him and also research the language through the internet and books. I mostly use English in my everyday life but I do use Afrikaans from time to time as my brothers girlfriend is Afrikaans and I enjoy conversing with her in Afrikaans. I hardly ever use Spanish but I am glad that I will be able to when the opportunity arises. I do agree that the languages I use and know reflect who I am. It shows that I am a very diverse person which is a result of the cultural diversity and social history which depicts who I am and where I come from. It also shows my interests such as learning new languages I believe that our language depicts who we are as it reflects our culture, religion, upbringing, knowledge and even our personality. I think language diversity is highly beneficial in a diverse country as it allows children and adults to become more educated in terms of the variety of languages and it also allows us to communicate with foreigners and different cultures. This helps contribute to the eradication of the lingering racism in South Africa. I relate to the quote “when we use language, we reflect who we are” and in the context of being a South African, being multilingual or bilingual is definitely common among us all as we are known as the “ Rainbow Nation” after are diverse in colour,culture and language. I can definitely say that I look forward to learning more languages in the future.