2 posts tagged “language”
It's nonfiction, and the author chronicles her journey through three nations as she recovers from divorce and an unsatisfying life.
The book really struck a lot of familiar chords with me, not because I'm unsatisfied with where I am, exactly, but just because I could understand where she was coming from. I admire the fact that as she chronicles her spiritual development, there's an acknowledgment that there is more than one path to God, and that "Thou art God" (Stranger in a Strange Land) isn't all so far from the truth, in the end. I remember identifying with that statement when I read it in Heinlein, and this only reinforced my feelings, that the divine is everywhere and you don't necessarily have to be on the Bible-thumping, revival-tent-inhabiting path to be doing it "right." Try to tell my family that. Ha.
Anyway. I've always been kind of afraid of stepping out there, as Liz does, and I really admired that, as well. She simply goes out into the world and does exactly what she wants to do. Perhaps that's a bit self-indulgent; in fact it quite likely is. But I think it's a chance that most of us would take if we had the opportunity. If someone said: pick three countries and spend a year visiting each of them equally, and here's the financial backing to do it--wouldn't you?
Of course, upon proposing that to myself, I have to wonder where I would go. I have a history at being incredibly terrible at languages, but then again they say that immersion is the best way to fix that problem. Liz picked Italy because she wanted to learn the language. For similar reasons, I would choose Japan. Perhaps I could even turn those three years of college Japanese into something resembling fluency! Also, silly as it might seem, I'd like to see what the effect of Japanese food would be on my body. I could certainly stand to lose a few and would probably feel quite awkward among all the smaller folk. Combine that with my picky tastes and I might actually be getting somewhere in that department.
My second "country" would be somewhere in Europe, because I know a couple of folks in the region who I would dearly love to visit. Ideally, I would divide my time between several countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany, so...yeah. Those four months would be hectic, but awesome. And more than likely I'd probably put back on all the potential weight lost in Japan, given the insane amounts of stuff I would want to try. Oh, well.
Finally, I think I'd mosey on up to the UK and spend a blissful four months in Scotland and Wales, with the occasional side trip to England (theater!) and Ireland (why not?). There I would visit all the lovely historical sites and absorb the accents. I could probably just sit around and listen to people talk for the whole time and go home completely happy.
So, yeah. Not exactly the great spiritual journey that Liz took, but I think I'd go home feeling satisfied, at least, that I got to go and live in the world, if only for a year.
Where would you go?
Play any instrument or speak any language, which do you choose?
Question submitted by cruftbox.vox.com.
Hm. I'm absolutely crap at languages, so to have that gift would be kind of impressive. On the other hand, being able to pick up any instrument would be amazing--I could get that orchestra job I've always wanted.
However! This brings up a question. When it says "any instrument" and "any language," does it mean any one instrument/language or, simply, any instrument or language at all, with the implication of the mastery of many. Leave it to the English geek to point out the discrepancy in connotation that can be interpreted. Though I'm still not sure if, having the revised specifications, I could pick.
If the meaning is "any and all languages," the appeal of being a human Babel fish is strong--but given that even when I was doing well with my Japanese, I still was too shy to use it in front of others, I'm not sure I'd be able to speak up even when I understood. Not to mention the fact that I'm poor, so it's not like I'm doing a lot of international travel.
Music, on the other hand... if I could play any and all instruments, well, I'd be as happy as a clam. There are so many that I've deeply wished to be able to play...piano and cello in addition to my training with the flute (if you can call it that) at the very least. I honestly have always entertained the dream of being a member of an orchestra, and ultimately, the conductor. Mira's dream job. Plus, the whole music-major thing that I tried to do would go well if I already had proficiency in all the instruments they could hand me.
The crux of it is, though, if you want to approach it from a logical standpoint, that both are skills that can be learned--no superhuman powers here--but simply take years and years of dedication. It takes practice to learn how to use a new one well, although if you've already learned something similar it will prove to your advantage most of the time. And while I'd be perfectly happy spending the rest of my life playing music, I'm not sure I'd want to spend the rest of my life learning languages.
Still, though, I capitulate. Remember earlier when I talked about being able to see both sides of the story all too well? This is a perfect example. The only reason I'd have to need to know so many languages is if I traveled a lot--which I don't. Given aptitude in music, I'd do a lot of traveling, but then again, so many places speak English these days, at least as a second language. And then we have to consider if the question intended us to only gain ability in one language or one instrument (though I suspect it's not, otherwise it would have also asked which instrument/language). Then, would I even consider it worth it? Or would the question be easier?
Maybe it comes down to this: is it easier to have something that you can share with anyone around you, or something you would have to actively seek out the appropriate audience to make any use of? One could argue that both qualify for both statements, but to me, I think the musical ability would be one I'd use more than the language--even though I'd love to have both. I can't imagine that many linguistic forays, whereas I could put skill in music to good use immediately, and the work I could do with it would be, I think, more enjoyable to me than careers in translation or anything like that. Probably.
Leave it to Mira to complicate such a seemingly-simple question.
