Learning a Language and Culture Shock

I suppose many of you who are reading this article either have already moved to Portugal or are willing to make the big step in your lives and certainly agree that when we leave our home country and our “comfort zone”, we carry with us all our values, our beliefs which were acquired by sharing a certain social circle, through our families, our professional life and as we settle in the new land, most of the times, we suffer from what  the world famous anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1901-1973)  called as “culture shock”, as he described:  “the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country”.


A brand new life!

Different scenario, climate, cuisine, urban organization, bureaucracy, banking, different ways to deal with people, a new society, habits, rules and laws, health issues and, here it is:  a new language!   In the beginning some may think it is “okay” not to learn the language as “most of people are English speakers” and if in trouble, English can easily be understood and used as bridge between the newcomer and the locals.  But for those who want to make a step forward into the local culture and broaden their horizons, the acquisition of the local language is one of the ways to narrow our relationship with the country that hosts us temporarily or for the rest of our lives.  

And what does make a language so important?

A language is made up of all the cultural aspects of a nation, just like the gastronomy is, taking us to a time travel in history through its scents, colours and tastes.   A language is like an “abstract gastronomy”, being built and shaped by the local characteristics, habits and beliefs.   It can also be compared to the local music rhythms, the speech rhythms, the guttural “r”, the intonation of a language; everything jumbles in order to make up the soul of a people.

It’s healthy!

Besides that, as we open ourselves to a new language our brains remain active, making parallels, relating what we already know to the new knowledge.  Some like to play crosswords, others chess, how about adding the acquisition of a second language as a brain exercise to this list? And with plenty of benefits: it improves our memory skills, sponsors the opportunities of enlarging our social circle, improves our self esteem, brings back the youth as we feel ourselves in the learning process again which is crucial to keep us alive and healthy.  And psychologically speaking, when one tries to assimilate the local language, the symptoms of the culture shock tends to minimize as the learner improves his skills in the new language.

If we assume the learning of a new language as an opening process, the monolingualism is, as a consequence, restrictive and limitative. 

Am I too old?

As adults, we don’t suffer anymore from family pressure or school pressure, we have definitely more time to dedicate to the study, we have certainly more experience in life and our logical skills are far more trained that it is when we are beginning our lives.   Therefore, if you are considering moving to another country, begin to learn the local language.   There is no age limit for the incredible and divine learning process.  A language is the soul of a people and nothing compares to the chance of enjoying each and every aspect of the place we chose to live in.


 Kalervo Oberg (1901-1973) was a world-renowned anthropologist. Oberg was dedicated to fieldwork, serving as a civil servant and a teacher. He traveled the world and wrote about these experiences so others could enjoy them as well.

Articled written by Cristiane Jacobs, published in Portugal Magazine, in 2008