by Brigette Mashile
My biggest strength in running a business in South Africa is that I am multilingual. I can comprehend Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, isiSwati, Xitsonga, Tshivenda, isiXhosa, isiZulu, English and Afrikaans. I am struggling with isiNdebele, and lately Shona; the reason for Shona is merely the fact that we have over 700 000 Zimbabweans living in SA, and a portion of them are definitely Shona. If they are Ndebele, I can comprehend it too as it sounds (to me) close to isiZulu.
I started familiarizing myself with learning other languages at age 10, when I set foot in the first multiracial school in Mpumalanga, Nelspruit. It was a tough time for me because I had little knowledge in all the local languages in that town. I am from Bushbuckridge, I knew my home language Sepulana, Xitsonga and fresh little English. In Nelspruit, 1 hour 30 minutes from home, they spoke English, Afrikaans and isiSwati. This made a lot of socializing difficult; and positioned me for a lot of bullying. In 2 years’, time I have perfected all 3 languages, against my will, but to survive.
Today, I know one of the reasons I learned those languages was to make my business operations easier. I can at the very least greet each new client in their home language, it sounds tiny, but it has a great impact. My client list is not of any one section of this country, I make clothes for all corners, this of course means I get the opportunity to make some traditional wear as well. Traditional items are very personal to my fellow people, and we all prefer it to be done by someone familiar with that specific tradition.
I will speak of my own experience when someone converses in my home language, which is rare. It makes me feel seen, heard, possibly understood and the most beautiful African experience of being welcomed. This feeling makes anything that follows easier, everything flows easier. People smile when they hear you speak to them in their language, they glow and are open to hear you. I think it could also remind them of the humble ways of their people, remind them to be kind, fair and human first.
The language knowledge is also important when it comes to hiring help. In my business, working with a person who understands you is very important. A lot of briefs and instructions are verbal. One of the most challenging employees I have encountered was a Malawian man who spoke chiChewa, and I could not speak it. He was a machine at work, but the language barrier meant I had to let him go. So, I believe I should add chiChewa to my list as Malawians are known to be good at sewing. Employment includes finding a nanny for my daughter, almost all her nannies have been non-Sepulana speaking ladies. The seamstresses all spoke other languages, and luckily, I did too.
If I could statistically record this and prepare a report on it, we might find that a good part of my revenue has come from the fact that I can communicate with clients in a way they understand; or that I at least attempt to. I am proud of this fact and thank the 10-year-old me for deciding to be welcoming to learning new languages, even if it was only to survive then.
