Monday, October 5, 2009

Existing in a Foreign Language

Algerian author and filmmaker Abdelwahab Hammoudi (http://www.youtube.com/user/dirwahab)says that learning a language can be a powerful tool for more understanding and less violence in the world. I totally agree.
Languages are ways of existence. Speaking a language is a way of "being" in the world, and learning a second, third language is a way of experiencing other ways of existing in the same world. Like when in Portuguese we use "to have" to talk about age and in English it is "to be". So, in Portuguese I´d say : I have 38 years . As if I could own time...
I´m Brazilian, so my first language is Portuguese. I´ve never learned Spanish formally. I can read and understand it perfectly, but if I want to communicate with someone who´s a native speaker of Spanish, I speak Portuñol (or Portunhol), which is a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish spoken in places close to the Uruguayan and Argentinian borders. And I can´t write it at all. French is an acquired language, a family thing, but not much formal study there, too. Just the basics for communication.
I started studying English as a kid, 9, 10 years old. And that was a totally new world to me. I love music, so I could sing and understand the lyrics, and pronouncing the words was fun. English is not a Romance, or Neolatin, language like Portuguese, French and Spanish, so there were not many analogies that could be made. I was literally stepping in someone else´s shoes, and loving it. I still do.
Would my life have been different had I not learned foreign languages? No doubt about it. I wouldn´t be writing this, in the first place. I wouldn´t be able to read the interesting things people write in their blogs, I wouldn´t be able to see their points and reflect on their perspectives, I would have to depend on translations when I travel, or when I read certain authors, just to think of some examples.
It´s never too late to start. Japanese, here I come!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lu, I think, without knowing the local language, we are limited in what we can understand about another culture. At least this has been my experience.

Ellen

Unknown said...

El, my view is that the language is the bridge to that other culture. But, you know, speaking a common language (English, for example) can take us further than no language at all. Also, there are people who speak the language but don´t get the culture...
I think it´s probably a combination of abilities that´ll allow us that sort of "existence" : the language, putting yourself in other people´s shoes - trying to understand their point of view, and curiosity (you got them all, btw :-).

Anonymous said...

True what you wrote about those who speak the language but don't get the culture. Sometimes they just don't try.

I've noticed, at least in the developing world, that too many expats don't take the time to immerse themselves in the local culture. They hang out with other expats and miss out on so much of what's great about the experience.

Ellen