Competence in three languages is not unusual in this world. However, if you have command of more than three languages, you are exceptional. Preema Roshini, an Indian nurse practicing at SQU Hospital, is a such a kind of exceptional person.

Hailing from the South Indian state of Karnataka, Preema can read, write and speak, Konkani, Kannada, Hindi and English.

Additionally, she can speak Tulu, Marathi, Malayalam, Gujarati and as she is currently working in Oman, she is learning Arabic too.

“Thanks to multilingual traits of the region, I could gain proficiency in reading, writing and speaking of Hindi and English during her school years itself,” Preema said.

In India, English is widely used, especially in the university and in government. The fact is that great majority of the population is very familiar with English.

“After completing higher secondary education, I moved to Mangalore city in the neighboring Dakshin Kannada district to pursue nursing degree programme. As Mangalore is near the border of Kerala state, people from this state come here for their routine business activities and studies. I found that 90% of my classmates are from different parts of Kerala whose mother tongue is Malayalam, another Dravidian language. In the course of time, I started communicating in Malayalam with her batch mates and gradually acquired proficiency in spoken Malayalam,” she added.

Later on Preema moved to Maharashtra, another Indian state, to pursue nursing career.  Marathi, and Indo Aryan language is the official language and co-official language in the Maharashtra and Goa states of Western India.

During the five year long stay in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Preema got the opportunity to improve her command of Marathi language.

Her mother tongue Konkani, and Marathi languages are two different languages that share a large vocabulary and grammar rules and a set of unique sounds.

“Therefore, it was easier to learn Marathi language when she lived in Maharashtra! During this period, she also acquired minimum proficiency in the spoken component of Guajarati, another Indo Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat.

After moving to Oman in December 2017, Preema got the exposure to one more international language: Arabic.

As her job involves constant interaction with the citizens whose mother tongue is Arabic, she hopes to acquire proficiency in the lingua franca of the Arab world.

Preema believes that a nurse who can communicate with patients in their native tongue is much more likely to have success at ensuring them better care.