(1)
You and I have different native
languages.
You don't speak my mother tongue, I
don't speak your mother tongue, so we meet halfway and speak English, my second
and your second or third language.
We talk, we argue, we exchange ideas,
we joke, we cry, we laugh.
We seem to be able to communicate. And
I like you.
Then your phone rings, it's from
someone who shares your first language.
"Excuse me," and you start
talking in your mother tongue.
Suddenly, you become like a different
person.
Different language, different
intonation, different pitch.
I feel more natural flow and
confidence in your voice.
You sound more emotional, more chatty,
and more controlled.
"....OK!"
Then you hung up the phone, and you
get back to the person I know.
(2)
You and I have different native
languages.
You don't speak my first language, but
I speak your first language as a second language, so we speak English.
We talk, we argue, we exchange ideas,
we joke, we cry, we laugh.
We seem to be able to communicate. And
I like you.
Then your phone rings, it's from
someone who shares your first language.
"Sorry," and you start
talking.
Suddenly, you become like a different
person.
Your pace gets faster, you use
different range of vocabulary.
You switch from world standard English
to your vernacular English.
I feel more natural flow in your
voice.
You sound more emotional, more chatty,
and more relaxed.
"....OK!"
Then you hung up the phone, and you
get back to the person I know.
* * *
I know that the personalities are not
defined only by words. And I do understand that our message can go beyond
languages, and that strong words and texts cannot lose its meaning and power by
translations (when it's done sincerely).
But I can't help but wish... if only I
could understand you in your mother language. And, if only you could understand
me in my mother language.
All the nuances, puns, rhymes,
cultural and local and generational references and jokes. I wish we could
communicate with all these elements, as if we put the Babel fish in our ears,
or as if we ate Honyaku-Konnyaku.
Whenever I face the situation like (1)
and (2), I recognize there's this unfillable gap between us. I feel sad,
despair... and a drive in me.
