Maddenation
Chaos and Language
Note: Inspired by Joseph Epstein, I am keeping a writer’s journal. Every day two paragraphs (or more) of event-driven meditation. So sometimes I may post my thoughts here (the “Rage for Order” entry, for example) if they seem to include news and ideas to satisfy everyone. Onward:
Yesterday Pato was talking in English about Valeria, and pronounced her name very American-like (though he pronounces it Spanish-like when he’s speaking Spanish). He also began the sentence, then got stuck on a word that he knew in Spanish, so he said it in Spanish then continued the rest of his sentence in Spanish. (I remember now that Adi has sometimes remembered that “Grandma has a friend named Lucia Valeria” (she misremembers it, categorizing the last name “Valerio” in her “Valeria” file, which is a first name she knows).)
I think it’s amazing, or, if not so exceptional, still great that they speak two languages. Besides the practical advantages in the business world and all, I wonder how the two languages will influence their thinking. Of course, they’re also tied into the two cultures. Language is never just language, just as words are never just words. They’re full of meanings and connotations and nuances, and when you put them together to form sentences, and you spice them with vocal intonations or facial expressions or body gestures, or if you write them with subtle ironies or emphases or dissimilitudes, they you fast approach a chaotic system, unpredictable, uncontrollable, and yet somehow understandable. Which is the fascination of language.
Patrick • Observations • 06/21/03 • 1 comments
Comments
David • 06/26/03 • 12:39 PM:I agree man. Pato and Adi being able to speak two languages is amazingly cool. I’ll always remember Pato translating for us in the gas station food mart in Uruguay.
That’s one of the reasons I want to be like my older siblings (no offense Dan) and live in a spanish speaking country for some time. And maybe have Gina come to, that way, if things work out, we could have kiddos speaking like Pato and Adi. This reminds me, Pat, send me that Fulbright stuff when you can.
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