I want to be a polyglot. My first language is English but I have been fluent in Spanish since I was about 13. I took two years of French in college and last year, during the pandemic, a friend of mine put together a study group to co-learn/teach ourselves isiZulu. Recently, I started practicing French again and this time, I am going to study it until I’m as fluent in French as I am in Spanish. I think it’s safe to say that I have a love for words and I want to know as many words as possible…. in as many languages as possible. If you ask me, words are the most special part of being human.
As a child, I always hated the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me.” I felt like that was just so untrue, especially because it was said in response to hurtful words. I understand the sentiment behind it and I guess it’s good to encourage children to think that words can only hurt them if they allow them to. But I think this idea unfairly puts the responsibility on those being told hurtful things to not let those words hurt his or her feelings. Also, I think it inherently diminishes the power of words. We also say, “actions speak louder than words.” But it’s words that allows us to experience community. It is what we use to connect with others and to know where we belong. Trevor Noah talks about this in his book, Born a Crime. He says language “defines who you are to people.” Another notable South African, Nelson Mandela, once said, “if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” I love the simultaneous simplicity and profundity of this statement. It reminds me of the way Spanish speakers light up when I unexpectedly speak to them in their language. Languages matter because words matter because people use words to communicate with one another. What’s even more interesting to me is that the way in which people use words is very telling. I once read a book called The Secret Life of Pronouns and I was amazed at the reported findings of researcher Dr. James W. Pennebaker. Apparently, you can predict the compatibility of two people based off of how they use pronouns. To me, this is remarkable when I consider that pronouns don’t even appear to be something that we have a choice about how we use. I would have thought that the use of pronouns was 100% dictated by the rules and mechanics of the language. But as it turns out, how we pronouns is as unique as our fingerprints. Amazing, right?! How people use words as a whole is unique, which aligns with a belief I’ve held for a long time. Maybe it’s because I love to talk or maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but I have always thought of words as a way to get insider knowledge about a person. I remember being impressed by my language arts teachers in grade school, who were able to call out plagiarism, especially when it came in the form of one student passing off another student’s work as his or her own. Of course, as I grew up, I realized it was because my teachers had become familiar with the writing styles of their students. Even in my own personal life, there have been times when I would think to myself or say to others, “that doesn’t sound like SoAndSo.” People definitely have a distinct way of using words. I’ll even take it a bit further. You might laugh, but I think we all have catch phrases. One day in undergrad, a group of us were hanging out in the Black Student Organizations (BSO) office. We got to talking about catch phrases. You know, being 80s babies and all, we could totally appreciate how the characters on The Simpsons had their catch phrases, so we went around the room identifying the catch phrases of each other. It was hilarious to see how when one person suggested the catch phrase of another person, everybody would shake their heads and laugh in agreement. Then, there was a long pause when the question came up, “what’s Tanya’s catch phrase?” Everyone was thinking hard and then my friend Kenjie exclaimed in a high-pitched impersonation of me, “I know right” and the entire room burst into laughter!!!. Apparently, that’s my catch phrase. At least, it was in 2005. I say all of that to say, words matter. How we use words matter. Words represent how we engage with each other, the world around us, and even ourselves. In the Christian creation story, God created all that is with the Word. “Let there be…. And there was.” It’s also said in Proverbs 18:21, “the tongue has the power of life and death.” We also know, “the pen is mightier than the sword”. My ultimate goal? To use words, as many words as I can (in as many languages as I can learn) to speak life into others, to connect with the people around me, and to create the life I dream to live. Words are my favorite thing about being human. So it’s only fitting that I want to be a polyglot.
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10/19/2022 02:39:04 pm
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