Why language is more important than ethnicity or nationality

[Tooting Carmen]

Especially as an interpreter and translator I am saying this. Put simply: you cannot escape what your native language is, but just because you come from a particular place or belong to a particular group, it does not mean in the slightest that you are going to hold a rigid set of values or behave in a specific way. Without language, there can be no communication or understanding. By contrast, the values and behaviours of individuals vary at least as much if not more than groups do.

[Tooting Carmen]

What do I mean by this? For example, if I am told that somebody is Brazilian, it most likely means that "this person speaks Portuguese and requires help with communication". What it most certainly does not necessarily mean, however, is that "this person loves football, dances Samba, has a loud voice and is a devout Catholic". Similarly, were an Arabic interpreter told someone is Egyptian, it most likely means that "this person speaks Arabic and requires help with communication". It does not necessarily mean that "this person smokes Shisha and is a devout Muslim who believes that women are inferior, gay people are sinful and non-believers are going to Hell".