As I was contemplating on my next blog topic, I chanced upon this very interesting quote by Haruki Murakami - “Learning another language is like becoming another person.” My immediate reaction was how true! Being an Indian, languages were always an intrinsic part of my life. Because of my dad’s work we moved quite a lot during my childhood. I studied in eight different schools by the time I was in my grade twelve and by default, I learnt five languages.

Strangely as a child, I learnt a language without thinking too much about the process. Children are usually less judgemental and more accepting and that perhaps is the key to learn any language. The next time I learnt a new language in my life, was in my early 30s and due to circumstances I chose to learn one of the most difficult languages and one of the least spoken one in the world - ‘Finnish.’ A language in which tuli, tuuli & tulli mean different things (fire, wind & customs). You misplace the letters and its a recipe for disaster!

Surprisingly, this turned out to be my best learning process ever. I enrolled myself in a school named Onnenkieli, which relied on the ‘suggestopedia’ method of teaching foreign languages. Simply put, we learnt the language like kids do - sing, dance, listen, talk, make mistakes and learn. The method felt as if it was tailor-made for me and within 6 months I was able to strike a reasonable conversation in Finnish. I still have a long way to go, but I can manage well at work and in social situations. The best part was that the state paid me to learn their language. Perks of living in Finland!

Coming back to the quote, the real test of learning this language was when I went to work and decided to speak nothing but Finnish. I must confess that it was one of the most difficult things to do. I always carried a dictionary with me, wrote down the word that was new to me and very hesitantly always asked them to repeat and explain the meaning to me. I was a very annoying colleague, but there was no other way to learn. Many times I would lock myself up in the washroom and cry, just because I know I could contribute more to the conversation and even make a meaningful conversation had the language been English and not sound so DUMB! This is when I felt as if I was a different person when I talk Finnish. But luckily that was just a phase and with time I could express better!

Lot of people ask me what is the best way to learn a new language. Few things that helped me were:

Choose a method that suits you the best. Some learn better in groups, some through a course or an online tutorial and some are born polyglots!
Practice, practice and practice. My best teachers were old people, who had all the time in the world, were patient and needed company. Through this symbiotic relationship, I learnt a lot from them. Shops and supermarkets are also a good place to practice.
I watched some TV shows and news to understand the trending topics and this helped me to join in their conversations easily. Reading books also helps!
I was not afraid to make mistakes. Once I told my teacher - ‘tapan mieheni..’ as opposed to ‘tapaan mieheni..’. First one meant ‘I will kill my husband’ and the second one meant ‘I met my husband’. The look on my teachers face after listening to this was worth a watch:)
I learnt it the hard way that it is OK to admit if you do not understand and ask people to translate it for you. I realised that people always liked to explain. Just ask for HELP!
Motivation, interest and the need to learn are ultimately the most important things needed to achieve your goal.

I believe that learning a new language has definitely brought me closer to the Finnish community and their culture. I now know a language that has contributed the word ‘sauna’ to the world, it is a language that though not poetic to the ears has 2020 in mind as it is gender neutral with no gendered words or pronouns. In Finnish ‘hän’ could mean he or she! Cheers to that! It taught me the concept of ‘sisu’a very endearing word, which wikipedia roughly translates as a strength of will. ‘Sisu is not momentary courage but rather the ability to sustain that courage!’

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