The number of Odia speakers that have migrated to several countries around the world is significant, making it a language that is spoken by 45 million speakers worldwide. It is very important for Eastern countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, essentially spread by the former traders of Odisha, called Sadhaba, in the countries of the West such as the USA, Canada, Australia and England who used the language and displayed its beautiful culture during their olden days of business travel. The language also extends to countries in Malaysia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Fiji, and the Middle East.
Let’s now see if it’s worth taking a crash course in Odiya class.
To figure out if it’s worth it to enrol on a crash course, it is important to truly understand what the crash course is and how it differs from a normal professional course in the same language. Crash courses are specifically designed courses that are meant to only teach you how to get by in any situation wherein you might be required to use or answer in the language. In simpler words crash courses simply teach you answers to the most commonly asked questions in the language. They will teach you the most basic phrases, proverbs, slang and other simple words that will simply help you to survive in any place that speaks the language.
On the other hand, a professional Odiya course is much different. The professional course requires its students to 1st build a strong foundation with well-versed basics, advance to the rules of the language, expand their vocabulary, focus on their speaking skills and writing skills and finally achieve proficiency in the entire language by practising extensively. Professional courses require extreme effort and time and are generally utilised if one wants to achieve proficiency in the said language.
So now the question arises, when should one take crash courses and is it worth it? It’s a pretty simple answer to a question and it is super circumstantial. If you happen to travel to a place that speaks Oriya extensively, then I suggest that you focus on the time that you have. If you do not seem to have a lot of time to master the entire language, then you can enrol into a crash course. But if you seem to have enough time to master at least 2 to 3 skills of the language, then you can enrol into a professional to achieve fluency in the said skills.
Finally,
Odia is Odisha’s official language and Jharkhand’s second official language. A large population of at least 10M people in Chhattisgarh speaks the language as well. Other regions of India, including West Bengal districts of East Singhbhum, Midnapore, West Singhbhum Simdega,Seraikla Kharsawan County, Khunti County of Ranchi, Gumla, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram County and Vishakhapatnam County in Andhra Pradesh, also have significant populations speaking Odia.