Previously posted on the Young People For Blog.
Walking through the International Center and nearby language buildings makes me really think about how we communicate in our world. Sure there is a ton of technology that keeps us ever connected to the happenings of the day, whether we want to know or not. As I walk through the halls to my swahili classroom I hear japanese spoken in the corner between friends, there is a french conversation by the water fountain, arabic phrases are repeated in the room across the hall, and as I near the door there is a heated argument in korean taking place. It's best to wait in the hall until that is done. Some of my classmates appear and we start up an informal swahili conversation as two students speaking spanish pass by.
The language of life, is it only based on the spoken words between people? Do our actions hold a precedence that is to accompany our language? These and many other questions cross my mind as I listen and learn and wonder about language.
I cannot understand or speak a large number of languages to be able to communicate with the various people I encounter. Yet I learn and I attempt to understand and as I have learned sometimes all that is needed transcends the complications of verbal language. A smile goes a long way. Do we really need language?
Well yes it is helpful when you'd like to communicate effectively. In Europe students learn at least two languages to be able to compete economically and get a job. Most students speak three languages, usually of the countries they border. The African students I have met at university speak, it seems to be, a minimum of 6 languages. From local, to area, to region, to country, to colonial power - the languages to communicate in are vast. Why then do we in the US only learn one language? Some students opt to take more, but for the most part that is not a requirement. How can we expect students to become part of the connected world if they do not have avenues of communication.
I sit here typing on one language of which many people will read. But how many ways can I communicate? I am learning Swahili, French, Arabic, I have been taught Spanish, German, Latin, and friends have taught me greetings in Hindi, Serbian, Albanian, and Macedonian. Does that make me connected and confident to communicate in many ways? Yes and no. There is still a huge disjunct between what we personally pursue and what happens around us.
There has been a large push to make English the official language of the US, but I'd say that is a bad idea. Sure it is important to have one language to be unified and all that jazz, but it would be my opinion that allowing for other languages to be spoken and accepted would bring about a greater understanding of a diverse background of people choosing to live in the US.
There is no one language that can be used in life to communicate. To that same effect, clichely, actions speak louder than words. The true language of life beyond verbal communication is our actions. Actions speak, many times more than language and words. Actions speak, what do you have to say?