Is it necessary to learn a country's language to know about its culture?

Hey Biswa, You're absolutely correct in this concern that it's really important to learn the regional language of a country for knowing it's culture. Because we can't know it only by learning the national language. If we want to know the culture of a country, we've to communicate with the common people and so, learning the local/regional language is essential. A regional language represents the native habits, folklore and customs. Thus we should learn regional languages as many as possible to get a complete idea of their culture by coexisting with the local people. May Allah bless you.

If the country has a huge written history then yes it is necessary! or if it has a only a oral history and you Have to listen to the history told to you in their language.These are the two instances where knowing the language is key. I would also add if you plan to visit the country. to go to a country and Not Know how to say Hello, Please, thank you, Goodbye in the native tough seems rude to me. I am soo lucky. The culture I love to study is English. But being American , my English differs a little . But with the help of my best friend , who is English, I am learning Their version of English.

If you will stay in a country then you must know their culture and partly their language to be able to assimilate with them. But if you would stay with them for a short while then I think you really do not need to know everything in them.

It will be important to learn foreign language that is if you are living or going to stay longer in that certain country. For me, I am eager to learn about my husbands' language. In fact, I haven't taken it seriously yet. They have different languages per region just like in my country, per region speaks of local dialects. I am trying my best to learn Hindi first, then I will like to learn their local dialects like Bengali and Konkani. It does have an advantage when you know how to speak their language because some folks can't understand English specially if your in a market place and you wanted to buy stuffs. I can speak a bit of Hindi, but I cannot converse or state a complete sentence, it is still crooked , I am still learning. I only learn through friends and hubby cannot teach me much hmmpp... always sleeping after work. Anyway, I wish I can enroll to a school where they would teach me basic.

well, what I would like to suggest is that you have to study both, the language and the culture of that country there are a lot of references to search also in the internet as well, yes it is necessary to learn a bit about a country's language but only the basics I mean how you greet or say good morning stuff like that and you also study the culture of that country, for example how they welcome visitors from other countries and what you must do and not do in that country.

It's not necessary but it helps you learn faster

Hey biswa! I have wished many times that I could have learned another contries language! But, since I never did I still think that by being here on mylot that I was able to learn many things about the different people from different parts of the world just by interacting with them! Some may know just a little English, but, they know enough to get their points across and that makes me feel so great! I am so happy that this site reaches all around the world! I am very thankful for all the many people that I have been able to meet in the many different countries and learn somthing about their cultures! The more I learn the happier it makes me! I love the fact that I have so many friends around the globe that I can interact with on a daily basis! It doesn't matter to me if their English isn't perfect! It just matters that they are here and that we all can be friends! Thanks to mylot for giving us all this incredible opportunity!

I have a lifelong love affair with language. For that reason I have tried to learn a couple of languages besides my own (Spanish). But except for some people who learn different languages very easily, the rest of us must accept that there are limitations. So I think it is better to learn another language to be able to grasp a country´s culture but it is not mandatory. Needless to say, there are people who know the language but can´t understand even their own culture. There are other gifts that are more relevant in those cases. I think the most important is to be capable of viewing with respect something that who cannot understand. What I mean is that anyone who knows that he is not the only one who is the ownwer of the universal truth is much more capable of learning than one who feel he has nothing else to learn, whatever his language skills.

hello dear, If we just want to know some basic information regarding cultures and traditions from other countries,we can search the net for it. But,if we wish to feel the reality of each culture and tradition,we must live with them(the country people) So,i think,learning their mother language is a must,esp if we want to write some article or make a documentary issue with a particular country. Learning and knowing other countries cultures is not the same with feeling the real life from that place. We can obtain almost all information from the net,or researching. But,we can never achieve the real story of how people deal with their traditions. How they manage to live and make their cultures and traditions pass through generations to generations. Have a good day always

No matter how knowledgeable you are about a certain country, if you don't speak the language you will always have the feeling of being an outsider. One of the ways to fully grasp another culture is through its language. No wonder, priests make it a point to study the language and speak it as thir own where they are destined to preach so they can fully immerse themselves to the culture of that place. In so doing, people will not feel alienated in their presence.

To learn the language's country is not absolutely neccessary, but if you're interested in a country in particular, you'll end up wanting to learn the language too, as that's a way to get nearer to understand that countries custom's and culture

hello! Maybe it is, because the language is a part of the culture- just like English, there is British English and american English, and they are quiet different in some phrases or cases :) the language also shows us how people really recognize their own culture, how they accept it!

When you are wishing to travel to this certain country to learn it's culture in person, i think you will be better off if you learn their "basic" language first. Simple daily sentences will surely be handy while staying there and learning, observing, and asking questions. It is not a joke when you are in a foreign land with a foreign language you are not well versed of. Believe me, i had been in that situation. But the basic knowledge will do good in case you'll stay only for some weeks. Good luck!

You may be interested in the culture of many different countries, but it's impossible to learn all the languages in the world.So you can choose one or two particular languages,and make your best to learn them,in this way,it's really easy to approach their cultures and their people.

learn and learning a language is important to know a culture and I think it is a good first step