A "multi-lingual mind"

Once there was an e-mail group called Cumberlist.  Before, and shortly before it was dissolved into an internet forum,  someone pondered the significance of the multi-lingual culture in New Testament times and asked for people to share how exposure or familiarity with other languages affected our thought processes and perception.  I began a response, within the context of the e-mail environment, but the group was dissolved and nothing came of it.  At least nothing happened for a while, but as I was deleting e-mails and trying to track down the new forum that is three years old, I discovered it.

Here it is, mildly edited.

The other day I was typing out a statement and question and had a sibling looking over my shoulder while I typed.  As I was about to send it, She commented that what I had written did not sound like it came from someone whose first language was English.  I looked over what I had typed--it was grammatically correct but the phrasing was a bit backwards to "normal" American speech.

I often do that sort of thing, probably because I have at different times immersed myself in poetry, King James, older literature and things of that nature, and I have learned enough of one foreign language to communicate in a limited fashion (it was even put to the test this past summer, 2013), and regularly pick up tid-bits of whatever language I encounter.

Does all of that affect perception?  Of course.  Perception is molded by an individuals schema of knowledge, experience, biases.  As far as how things are described,well, the above example illustrates that if nothing else it affects the mechanics of how I describe things, but I also believe it affects the spirit in which I describe things.  Little things like the waves saying hello, las olas diciendo 'hola,' or realizing the connection in a Latin root of some word, or using "nice" in a way not common currently.  I do try to tailor my language a bit in order to be better understood, but at times I run into the difficulty of trying to say a particular thing and feeling as though my descriptions for clarification are only further muddying the water because while I am speaking English, it does not fit into the accustomed range of English.  So I try again.

Since I am a teacher I do try to encourage a broadening of my students vocabulary, both English and --other.  After all, nothing quite says "be quiet" in as lovely and direct a way as "fermez la bouche," and what 5th grade vocabulary would be complete without words like "quintessential" or "gnarled" or the unfortunate "ass-that-means-donkey" (courtesy of teaching Bible class with a King James translation)?  In all seriousness, though, it does seem that often the younger grades are the most receptive to new words, and the more unusual the more delightful they find them.  So, while they are in my class, I do not absolutely remove exact language, but instead use reasonably precise language and explain where needed.  I also require my students to use good grammar and ask them questions when they are being vague to try to help them learn to express themselves more clearly.  Much of the time, this process seems to make things more clear than they might otherwise be.  Other times, though, we still struggle with communication.

I do think it is very important to be able to mentally take yourself outside your own language box to try to understand unfamiliar communication.  Rather than, "what am I hearing?"  (answer might be, "bwgoaogogefgf. . .") asking, "what are they trying to say?"  (They seem upset, hungry? do they need food or tea?)  This is something everyone should learn to do, and while being bilingual might help, I think the philosophy of the individual may be almost more important in determining how well they are able to do this.