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The biblical story of the Tower of Babel is about people trying to build something great together, until languages got in the way.
Sometimes at work, I think about that story when I hear all the different accents in meetings here in the US or on video calls. English, of course, is our primary language of communication. Still, for many of us, it isn’t our first language, and sometimes it can feel uncomfortable to speak up because we might sound a bit incoherent. We notice our accents and wonder if others notice too, making us sound less confident. We may dread that moment when someone looks at one of us and says, “What?”
As a native Polish speaker, I was never too concerned about having an accent or even mispronouncing or misusing a word when speaking English. I’ve always carried it almost like a badge of honor — a reminder that I bring more than one world with me into a conversation. And I’ve learned that accents are like doors. If we’re too shy to walk through them, we miss what’s on the other side.
I discovered this again when I found out, almost by accident, that one of my coworkers at Aras, Tatyana Karpacheva, is fluent in Chuvash. I’d never even heard of it before, and suddenly, I was introduced to a whole culture, history, and way of seeing the world. It was like stumbling across a hidden treasure I never would have discovered without engaging in a conversation.
That moment stays with me because our PLM projects are so complex, ambitious, and global in a high-tech company like Aras that they benefit from this diversity and inclusion. Therefore, the different languages we speak and the different perspectives we bring are not obstacles; they are opportunities.
Unlike the Tower of Babel, in high-tech, our distinctiveness of natural languages doesn’t scatter us. It helps make that complex system we are working on that much better. Aras is no different: Many languages, one platform. And we are very proud of it.
Are you willing to share the native language(s) you may use with family and friends? It would be wonderful to start a conversation where you, our readers, share your stories. We’d love to hear from you!
