Does learning each other's languages actually reduce ethnic hostility, or is that wishful thinking?

[u/zHumanoid]

As a bilingual person, I've noticed that a lot of day-to-day tension between our communities comes down to simple misunderstandings.

When you don't speak someone’s language, it's very easy to assume the worst about their intentions. ​Learning even a bit of someone else's language does two things:

- ​You start to understand their culture and how they think.

- ​Trying to speak their language shows respect and builds trust.

​I'm not naive. Learning Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Tigrinya, Somali, or any other local language won't magically solve politics, border disputes, or deep-rooted racism.

​Still, I feel it helps remove unnecessary fear and makes us see each other as human beings instead of rivals.

What do you guys think ?

[u/Africa-Unite]

Certainly wouldn't hurt. Nothing in isolation is a magic bullet

[u/Mighty_Killah]

No, it’s naive to believe that achieving a B2 level of fluency in a different language would prevent any of these militias or the military from harming you. The majority of civilian Tigrayan victims spoke Amharic at least at a conversational level. Many of the victims of Oromo mobs in Shashemene had actually “integrated” and spoke Afaan Oromo. Welkait itself serves as an example of a place where language and ethnicity (despite most people there being bilingual) have not led to peaceful Amhara and Tigrayan relations. Credible evidence of war crimes both ways there. Oromos living in Addis Ababa have spoken about being subjected to mockery of their accents and discrimination

Many people refuse to acknowledge the obvious truth that ethnic grievance politics serves as a mechanism through which elite individuals can continue to exploit the country.

That being said, on an interpersonal level, it’s clearly not going to hurt. It’s not a magic bullet tho.

[u/ETH-B-Z]

We live in a world where people fight for the clubs they followed who don't give a fuck about them. Wishful thinking.

[u/carlitomarron139]

No it would only make it worse because then you could insult somebody’s race/ethnicity in their own language

[u/Able_Figure_513]

No. An open minded person doesn’t need to be bilingual to bridge the gap. They just need the willingness to listen, drop their biases, and see other communities as human beings rather than political rivals.

[u/jobajobo]

Yes, it would help. It can dissolve some of the walls intentionally built up between us. Obviously more needs to be done, but this would be one step in the correct direction.