Monday, March 10, 2008 Conquering the Language Barrier By Paul John Kiener
WHY is it that we sometimes find ourselves feeling something that we just can’t explain? Why is it that there are words in certain cultures that mean a specific thing that we can’t interpret in another language. Certainly, some thoughts are just difficult to put into words.
For many, it takes entire sentences or paragraphs to explain what one single word means. The differences in culture, when we tend to look at things differently, partly plays a role in this dilemma.
We use words that we feel may be understood differently in other countries because it could be unacceptable in their culture. And this could explain one’s inability to directly interpret words and phrases.
But we are all human. We all feel the same things. We won’t admit feeling certain emotions, perhaps because in the culture you currently find yourself in, such behavior or emotion is not acceptable. Or even normal. In the American culture, for example, men try hard to avoid crying.
This limits our ability to express our true feelings simply because we can’t come up with words we can use to directly describe these feelings.
Language limits. Here is a line from Depeche Mode’s song “Enjoy The Silence”: “Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm.” It says that people feel a certain way. Feelings are much broader than words can explain. In trying to explain how we feel, we often fail to express the message that we want to relay.
The solutions for this may be elusive, but I can say that the spoken language accounts for only a small percentage of what the receiver of the message understands. A larger part of the message is understood through body language, tone of voice and facial expression.
So, explore yourself. Find creative ways of relaying what you’re trying to say, through a comforting hand on the shoulder, a hug, or even just standing there, doing nothing. Who knows, by doing so, you have relayed to someone that you are there to listen to anything a person might want to tell you.
If we want to be able to express ourselves and understand each other better and not be restricted or limited by the words that we use, then we have to understand that the communication process is much deeper and goes beyond the use of words, and that everything that we do in the entire course of the conversation counts.
Have you ever been told to smile when you are one the phone because the other person can hear it? How can someone hear a smile over the phone? You don’t hear a smile, you see it. This only shows that communication doesn’t rely on our speaking skills alone, and that everything that we do and think is relayed in the process.
Mean what you say, and say it in the best way possible, because only then can we get closer to expressing ourselves fully and properly.
(The 25-year-old writer is a Cebuano based in the U.S.)
