,
5 tweets,
1 min read
Read on Twitter
A question that comes up a lot for me is “why do these people need to use that language? Why can’t they just be like everyone else and speak English/Finnish/Spanish/Italian/etc?”
Firstly, I rarely get that question from someone who speaks more than one language and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten it from a minority language speaker. It generally comes from a position of privilege, from a person who has never been othered because of their language
Secondly my focus is courts and fair trial. Sure, maybe you speak both Finnish and Swedish really well. Maybe you even work in a job everyday and speak Finnish. But at home, in your comfort zone, you speak Swedish
Courts can be really scary, if you don’t know. If you’re being sued or accused of a crime or even giving evidence, it can be super daunting. It’s crucial that you can tell totally understand what’s going on and be able to express yourself with maximum clarity.
Words matter in legal situations. There’s a big difference between “I took the laptop” and “I borrowed the laptop”
So in court, you should be able to express yourself in the language that you feel most comfortable in and the language that you can best manoeuvre.
So in court, you should be able to express yourself in the language that you feel most comfortable in and the language that you can best manoeuvre.
