The Language of My Life: From Family Stories to Global Adventures

Anne Bonfert’s June challenge in The Globetrotters, a digital publication on Medium, inspired me to consider what languages teach us about the world. Language in itself is an interesting concept. What does language convey? Its essence is the communication of thoughts or emotion. That’s where the flood gates open.

Language is not just words.

My early introduction to languages

The power of language has always fascinated me. My mom’s mom was a first generation English-American. She had a hard childhood and was raised in an Italian orphanage in Issaquah, Washington, where she picked up some Italian phrases, which were passed through the generations. Whenever my sisters and I were up to mischief, Mum would rattle off with a stern look, “Brutta cattiva vergogna” (Nasty, bad, shameful).

Sometimes what’s in a word matters. Our mother would never call us nasty, bad, or shameful. She thought she was saying, “You naughty rascals”, While her pronunciation may have been incorrect, the message her language conveyed was quite clear to us — we were indeed naughty little rascals!

When dad came back from his “tour” in Vietnam in 1968, he taught us one expression, “Didi mau”, Vietnamese for, “go quickly” or “move fast”. All these decades later, my sisters and I still use this expression when it’s time to get up and go. In our family it’s more than just a simple phrase. It’s both a command to make haste and a tribute to our dad.

When dad returned from Vietnam, he told us we were moving to RAF Mildenhall in England. This would be his last assignment before retiring from the Air Force. We lived off base becoming ensconced in the local environment. However, we were bussed to the American schools on base so our education would be in keeping with the American school system. I wasn’t pleased. I wanted to go to a British school.

The British kids at the local horseriding farm became our best friends, and loved to good naturedly harass us that the ‘American’ we spoke wasn’t ‘proper English’. I was so impressed that my British friends were required to learn 1 or 2 foreign languages in their school. This inspired me to learn both French and German.

Jumping into the deep end as a beginning language learner!

My 8th grade German classes led me to the summer foreign exchange program in our school. A girl my age, Gabby, from Vienna, Austria came to our house for 3 weeks and I returned with her to stay with her family in Vienna for three weeks.

Gabby’s English was a little better than my German. I was the only one in my family who spoke any German, and she was the only one in her family who spoke any English. My first few days in Vienna were exciting; though periodically I became teary, usually at night, because I felt overwhelmed by not being able to properly communicate with her family.

Learning new languages, and particularly the trip to Vienna at a young age by myself, taught me that language barriers can be a formidable obstacle. It also taught me to appreciate and respect people of other countries, particularly immigrants, immersed in a new culture and language.

When I travel. I always study the language as much as I can, to get a better feel for the country and hopefully be able to converse a wee bit with the locals. My grandson is a great example of this. Last year he travelled to Japan for the first time. He studied writing and conversational Japanese for months before he went.

There were several times when he went into coffee shops, small stores, or restaurants, and was ignored. As soon as he started talking or ordering in Japanese, the clerk’s face lit up with appreciation and excitement to interact with him. They interpreted his beginning Japanese as respect for their country.

Language isn’t just words!

Language is a gateway to its people and culture. When you learn a new language, you can’t help but be drawn into the world it represents and start to see life through new eyes.

The complexities of language reach far beyond words. Nature itself conveys a powerful message to those who listen.

My first husband was Native American. Living in this culture for years filled me with a unique sense of respect for the land and its importance to all of life. Their generational stories teach how we can learn from nature and how man and nature must have a symbiotic relationship to survive. Nature is a living language.

One universal language that I am passionate about

One last aspect of language to explore is that of the soul.

One recent example of this occurred when my sister and I traversed England and Scotland by train. We spent weeks planning our trip to the smallest detail. On the train from York to Edinburgh we chatted, taking in the passing scenery.

Nearing the Scottish border, a jovial group of men boarded at the Berwick-upon-Tweed station. The first four sat at the booth across the aisle from us, with the fifth gentleman sliding in beside my sister so he could still chat with his friends. They had just come from the pub, celebrating their rugby team. Although they lost, it was a great game.

Steve will never know the impact he had on our well-planned Scottish trip.

As the three of us chatted, his eyes danced with passion. He said if we really wanted to experience the true Scotland, there were specific places we had to go. As he described each of them, his Scottish pride swelled. He made a fist and hit his chest, “Scotland” and “Braveheart”, on several occasions.

For 40 minutes Steve mesmerized us with his passion for his country and its history, captivating us with the language of his soul.

As we all exited the train in Edinburgh, we thanked Steve for his insights, not fully realizing the magnitude of this chance encounter. When we reached our hotel, we feverishly wrote all we could remember of the places we needed to see, and why. We didn’t have enough days to fit everything in. The missed destinations are reserved for another trip!

So much of the planned agenda was cast aside to incorporate Steve’s guidance, our angel travel guide. His top three destinations were Loch Lomond (gateway to the Highlands), Mary Kings Close in Edinburgh (a step back in time to 17th century Edinburgh life), and Stirling Castle (childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots and the seat of lavish royal life of the 1500s).

Language has the power to unite the globe

Language is the thread that stitches together life’s complexities, creating a bond between people and events. I greatly respect and admire immigrants who navigate these intricacies to blend their passions and dreams with the dynamics of their new life.

Language is life on so many levels.

Travel can be magic. If we open our hearts and souls to each other, language is the thread that binds us together.

. . .

The catalyst for this article was the June challenge in the digital publication, Globetrotters, by, Anne Bonfert :  June Monthly Challenge — Languages

Another impactful article by, James Parsons, about the importance of learning another language, told with respect and humour