Can Life Experience Outweigh Expertise? Seeking Advice on Sharing Stories in Hindi

Hello friends, I am Jitendra Singh, a freelance journalist. Sometimes, I also work with strings. I am quite weak in English, but I have a lot of experience in my life. Being a journalist, I have gained a wealth of experience that I really want to share. In my opinion, experience holds more significance than expertise. I wonder if the words "experience" and "expert" are opposites. Can anyone clarify this for me?

If I were to share my experiences in Hindi on this site, would people appreciate it? Or should I consider withdrawing from this platform? Please, friends, shed some light on this for me.

Language should not be a barrier to freedom of expression. Moreover, Hindi holds more respect in our eyes than a foreign language. As you mentioned that you want to share your wide experiences, I sincerely pray that you do so and enlighten us, whether it is Hindi or English; we truly do not mind.

Being brave and learning to make people listen to what you have to say is the primary motto of any journalist. Only cowards run away, and I'm sure you aren't one.

We are eagerly awaiting your post.

Dear srmaman,

I completely understand your situation. Again, I regret to inform you that this is an international HR forum; hence, any other language apart from English is not allowed. However, as the reason for you to start this thread is in regards to English, I request you to pass on a private message/mail to members who respond to this thread.

There is a solution for any situation happening in your life. Again, if there is no solution to the issue, then there is no point in worrying.

All the very best!

Dear Rahul,

You shouldn't leave this site only because of language as a barrier. You can share your experiences and help many people. In this site, we are not only here for ourselves but for other people as well. Many interactions can help you learn English if you have the will.

Dear friend, think thrice before leaving and please take full advantage of this great site. Have patience; many people here are similar to you.

Regards,
Puja

As Mahesh has pointed out, this is an international forum. A message in any language other than English will be deleted. However, if you attach a document in Hindi with a warning that the attachment is not in English, it would be okay. Or as Mahesh has suggested, send private messages in other languages to those who are interested.

Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Dear Mahesh,

You are right, but websites are a medium of expression. Anybody who wants to express their thoughts in another language can do so, but they should take care of the dignity of the sites. When anybody posts anything on the site, it depends on the viewers whether they want to take interest in it or not.

Umesh

Hi,

Sharing of expression requires only a language that decodes the message of the sender in exactly the same way as it was encoded. And if you can communicate in Hindi so well, then what's the problem in that?

Actually, I don't understand this thing in India - why so much importance has been given to English. Previously, I was also thinking in the same way: I can't speak very fluent English so I can't do anything. But two months back, I came to Malaysia; over here, I realized it's not about English; it's about how much respect you give to your language and how confident you are. People here speak Malay, Chinese, Tamil, but they never feel they should understand English. Yes, this is an international language and good if you know it as it makes communication very easy, but it should not be that important to lower someone's morale or motivation.

So, keep writing in any language. If people understand it, they will reply; if not, then they won't. The same goes for English.

Hello Jitendra Singh,

Everyone has some strengths and also a few limitations (I would hesitate to use the word "weaknesses").

Like Simhan suggested, you could make a beginning by sharing your experiences as attachments. I think this could be another experience for you—slowly, but surely, you can pick up your English. Like the old saying goes: practice makes the man perfect. When you begin to interact with others in English, I am sure you will soon master it, like you mastered Hindi.

Regarding your comment, "experience is more significant than an expert"—I think you are right. There's a saying: One who speaks from experience shares, one who speaks as an expert shows off. So just stick to your experiences, and I am sure all of us on this wonderful forum will benefit.

Like Riyaz mentioned, language is just one form of expression.

While it is important that the receiver understands what is being said (else what's the use of even the most beautiful thoughts being expressed?), I am sure the members of this forum are tolerant enough of any genuine mistakes made during the effort to improve their knowledge—be it HR or language. That is the whole purpose of this really good forum/site.

In this context, I do not agree with Seema that it is only Indians who have what she termed as "importance." She seems to be mistaken about the basic reason why English is given importance—it is not to replace the home language but to reach out/spread out our limits of interaction in this globalization era. I am not sure if she is aware of this fact: most Asian countries—Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, etc.—are recruiting ESL teachers by the thousands every year (in fact, the demand for 2010 in a small country like South Korea was 2,500 ESL teachers)—for only one reason: what I mentioned above. So the reason for learning English depends on what priorities we have.

To summarize, Jitendra—YOU SHOULD BEGIN TO POST YOUR THOUGHTS and in parallel try to build up your own command of English. Let this be another refreshing and new experience for you too—which is bi-directional.

Look forward to seeing your posts soon :-)

Regards,

TS