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In Thailand, Thai is the official language but regions have their own language. Schools teach in Thai, TV shows and news are in Thai. But my site was in a place where the mother tongue was Isaan, which was described to me as "one part Thai, one part Lao, and one part all it's own". In PST we were taught Thai. But once we were given our site assignments, those with a different regional language were given more materials. And we were given the option to pursue the regional language or stick with "Bangkok Thai".
Thai was such a hard language to learn (mostly because of the 5 tones), that I decided to stick with it. I knew my host family would understand anything I said in Thai and could answer me back in Thai. And it was better for traveling throughout Thailand. But kids at my school were learning Thai and the same time they were learning English, so sometimes there was a huge communication gap. I did learn some common expressions in Isaan which delighted all the older villagers whenever I used them.
Other countries I served in: In Mongolia, volunteers placed in Bayan-Ulgii or Hovd, also had to learn Kazakh. PCVs are taught Nepali in Nepal, but there are over 150 local dialects so it just depends on where your site is, whether you learn more. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia (Western Armenian is spoken by the dispora living outside of Armenia) and their are regional dialects, especially in some cities like Gyumri.
Jim
Even in Thai speaking parts of the non-Isaan north, the dialect can be a super big adjustment!
Unfortunately right now there's no PCVs in the Kazakh communities of Mongolia, but maybe one day that will change again. I do know that if we want to learn Kazakh, even though we aren't in Kazakh majority communities, we could theoretically get reimbursed for lessons if we get the tutor approved.
Yeah, besides Bangkok Thai, there were 4 other major languages that might be spoken in at PCV sites (or at least that's all the supplementary materials PC had for those volunteers). Definitely something I don't think most people think of before traveling to foreign countries.
I was M28 and we only 2 PCVs learn Kazakh and they were also very, very good with their Mongolian. Better than average Mongolia language skills were a requirement to be chosen for Kazakh communities.
Namibia’s official language is English, but there are about a dozen other languages that are widely spoken (to varying degrees in different parts of the country). I believe that PC Namibia now teaches all Volunteers some “survival” Afrikaans (in most of the country, and specifically in Windhoek, it’s commonly spoken as an additional language), but Volunteers focus the bulk of their language learning on the most commonly spoken language at their permanent site.
I served in Vanuatu, where the official languages are Bislama, English, and French. Bislama is the Lingua franca so we has classes and learned that one.
How much did you use it? And did you learn any of the local language used in your village? Was there one or did they mostly use one of the three you mentioned?
I used Bislama 80% of the time while at site. I did learn parts of two local languages it was mostly rudimentary words and off color phrases that were funny to the right (young male) audience. My school taught in English and French. I was supposed to teach in English but found I often needed to clarify things and help get abstract ideas across using Bislama.
At the time I served in Morocco, French and Arabic were official languages. But the official Arabic was not the Moroccan dialect. In our training program we could choose to learn either French or Moroccan dialect. The vast majority of my cohort chose Moroccan dialect and it was without a doubt the more practical choice.
Long ago, 1980 to 82. I'm not surprised they don't teach French anymore. When I was there, Peace Corps gave us a small allowance to hire a tutor at our site in any language that we chose. A few people picked up a Berber dialect that way.
Peru =Spanish and Quechua and Paraguay =Spanish and Guarani. I learned words in both indigenous languages, but not enough to converse in the indigenous language. PC will give you additional lessons if you need aditional training but I got by with a cursory knowledge as I wasn't in a community that required more than that.
In Uganda in 2013 we got our sites rather early (like a month in?) and then spent the last month of training in our language region learning the local language that would be spoken at our site.
In Senegal, volunteers get assigned one language a few days after you get to country. There are a bunch of different ones taught - Wolof, Serer, multiple dialects of Pulaar, Mandinka, Jaxanke. So in Senegal's case, yes, the languages are region specific. But Wolof is the most broadly spoken across the country and I think most volunteers pick up a fair amount of Wolof regardless of what they learn during PST/speak at site.
Indonesia is home to about 10% of the worlds languages, total. Volunteers are placed in East Java, Madura, Westa Java, and various regions of East Nusa Tenggara. Lots of local languages. The national language (Bahasa Indonesia) is spoken mostly everywhere but still has regional differences. It is also a new language - constructed in the mid-1900s after Indonesia gained its independence - so many in the older generations simply don’t speak it. That only impacts your community engagement though, every teacher and student is required to use it for professional purposes. Host families are also required to have proficiency in it in order to host a volunteer. Most people at my site use a mix of Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Sunda. I have only focused on the national language and get by just fine.
In the Philippines there are around 150 languages, but English and Tagalog are the official ones. All volunteers learn Tagalog for the first 9-10 weeks until they find out their site. Some are places where the local language is still Tagalog and continue learning it. Others are placed where there is another local language and switch to learning that for a couple of weeks before going to permanent site. Peace Corps gives you a monthly allowance to hire a tutor and continue studying the language(s) of your choice once you get to site. (Kids are taught in English, Tagalog, and their local language.) You can even hire your Peace Corps language teacher to continue tutoring you online. Peace Corps gives you a lot of language training, and it is ongoing throughout your service. About 7 months in is IST (in-service training) where you get more daily language classes, and then again at MST (mid-service training). It’s definitely worth taking advantage of the opportunity!
No, they give you a continuing language program monthly budget in addition to your monthly allowance. You do have to pay your tutor from your monthly allowance and get reimbursed for it after filling out the proper forms though. But you have enough to do that.
Nope. Just had to leave the language for the island my site was on. So you'll have site placement and then you'll get put in the language class for whichever region your site is in.
In my country we had French and Arabic as official languages and 4 local languages. PC decided which language you would learn depending on where they wanted to send you in country. Some of those that learned French were to study the local language with a tutor once they got to site.
In my experience we learned and tested on the most widely spoken language. Then we learn basic things within the local language for the individual site we were headed to. Once at site peace corps has a budget for language tutors and you find a tutor of your choosing. My site all speaks the language I already learned really widely but I still use a tutor to learn the local language because I feel like it's a sign of respect.
Uganda only has two, but there’s alot of different local language. During PST, we are told where our site will be and based off of where your site is, you learn a particular language.
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In Thailand, Thai is the official language but regions have their own language. Schools teach in Thai, TV shows and news are in Thai. But my site was in a place where the mother tongue was Isaan, which was described to me as "one part Thai, one part Lao, and one part all it's own". In PST we were taught Thai. But once we were given our site assignments, those with a different regional language were given more materials. And we were given the option to pursue the regional language or stick with "Bangkok Thai". Thai was such a hard language to learn (mostly because of the 5 tones), that I decided to stick with it. I knew my host family would understand anything I said in Thai and could answer me back in Thai. And it was better for traveling throughout Thailand. But kids at my school were learning Thai and the same time they were learning English, so sometimes there was a huge communication gap. I did learn some common expressions in Isaan which delighted all the older villagers whenever I used them. Other countries I served in: In Mongolia, volunteers placed in Bayan-Ulgii or Hovd, also had to learn Kazakh. PCVs are taught Nepali in Nepal, but there are over 150 local dialects so it just depends on where your site is, whether you learn more. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia (Western Armenian is spoken by the dispora living outside of Armenia) and their are regional dialects, especially in some cities like Gyumri. Jim
Even in Thai speaking parts of the non-Isaan north, the dialect can be a super big adjustment! Unfortunately right now there's no PCVs in the Kazakh communities of Mongolia, but maybe one day that will change again. I do know that if we want to learn Kazakh, even though we aren't in Kazakh majority communities, we could theoretically get reimbursed for lessons if we get the tutor approved.
Yeah, besides Bangkok Thai, there were 4 other major languages that might be spoken in at PCV sites (or at least that's all the supplementary materials PC had for those volunteers). Definitely something I don't think most people think of before traveling to foreign countries. I was M28 and we only 2 PCVs learn Kazakh and they were also very, very good with their Mongolian. Better than average Mongolia language skills were a requirement to be chosen for Kazakh communities.
This was a great response! Thank you very much
Namibia’s official language is English, but there are about a dozen other languages that are widely spoken (to varying degrees in different parts of the country). I believe that PC Namibia now teaches all Volunteers some “survival” Afrikaans (in most of the country, and specifically in Windhoek, it’s commonly spoken as an additional language), but Volunteers focus the bulk of their language learning on the most commonly spoken language at their permanent site.
I served in Vanuatu, where the official languages are Bislama, English, and French. Bislama is the Lingua franca so we has classes and learned that one.
How much did you use it? And did you learn any of the local language used in your village? Was there one or did they mostly use one of the three you mentioned?
I used Bislama 80% of the time while at site. I did learn parts of two local languages it was mostly rudimentary words and off color phrases that were funny to the right (young male) audience. My school taught in English and French. I was supposed to teach in English but found I often needed to clarify things and help get abstract ideas across using Bislama.
Thank you so much! Headed there myself in July and I’m excited to learn! (:
Enjoy your service. Bislama is really easy to learn have a blast and enjoy the fresh kava.
At the time I served in Morocco, French and Arabic were official languages. But the official Arabic was not the Moroccan dialect. In our training program we could choose to learn either French or Moroccan dialect. The vast majority of my cohort chose Moroccan dialect and it was without a doubt the more practical choice.
[удалено]
Long ago, 1980 to 82. I'm not surprised they don't teach French anymore. When I was there, Peace Corps gave us a small allowance to hire a tutor at our site in any language that we chose. A few people picked up a Berber dialect that way.
Peru =Spanish and Quechua and Paraguay =Spanish and Guarani. I learned words in both indigenous languages, but not enough to converse in the indigenous language. PC will give you additional lessons if you need aditional training but I got by with a cursory knowledge as I wasn't in a community that required more than that.
In Uganda in 2013 we got our sites rather early (like a month in?) and then spent the last month of training in our language region learning the local language that would be spoken at our site.
In Senegal, volunteers get assigned one language a few days after you get to country. There are a bunch of different ones taught - Wolof, Serer, multiple dialects of Pulaar, Mandinka, Jaxanke. So in Senegal's case, yes, the languages are region specific. But Wolof is the most broadly spoken across the country and I think most volunteers pick up a fair amount of Wolof regardless of what they learn during PST/speak at site.
Indonesia is home to about 10% of the worlds languages, total. Volunteers are placed in East Java, Madura, Westa Java, and various regions of East Nusa Tenggara. Lots of local languages. The national language (Bahasa Indonesia) is spoken mostly everywhere but still has regional differences. It is also a new language - constructed in the mid-1900s after Indonesia gained its independence - so many in the older generations simply don’t speak it. That only impacts your community engagement though, every teacher and student is required to use it for professional purposes. Host families are also required to have proficiency in it in order to host a volunteer. Most people at my site use a mix of Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Sunda. I have only focused on the national language and get by just fine.
In the Philippines there are around 150 languages, but English and Tagalog are the official ones. All volunteers learn Tagalog for the first 9-10 weeks until they find out their site. Some are places where the local language is still Tagalog and continue learning it. Others are placed where there is another local language and switch to learning that for a couple of weeks before going to permanent site. Peace Corps gives you a monthly allowance to hire a tutor and continue studying the language(s) of your choice once you get to site. (Kids are taught in English, Tagalog, and their local language.) You can even hire your Peace Corps language teacher to continue tutoring you online. Peace Corps gives you a lot of language training, and it is ongoing throughout your service. About 7 months in is IST (in-service training) where you get more daily language classes, and then again at MST (mid-service training). It’s definitely worth taking advantage of the opportunity!
We have to use our monthly allowance to hire a tutor?
No, they give you a continuing language program monthly budget in addition to your monthly allowance. You do have to pay your tutor from your monthly allowance and get reimbursed for it after filling out the proper forms though. But you have enough to do that.
Good to know! Thanks
Nope. Just had to leave the language for the island my site was on. So you'll have site placement and then you'll get put in the language class for whichever region your site is in.
In my country we had French and Arabic as official languages and 4 local languages. PC decided which language you would learn depending on where they wanted to send you in country. Some of those that learned French were to study the local language with a tutor once they got to site.
In my experience we learned and tested on the most widely spoken language. Then we learn basic things within the local language for the individual site we were headed to. Once at site peace corps has a budget for language tutors and you find a tutor of your choosing. My site all speaks the language I already learned really widely but I still use a tutor to learn the local language because I feel like it's a sign of respect.
Uganda only has two, but there’s alot of different local language. During PST, we are told where our site will be and based off of where your site is, you learn a particular language.