open dialogue with language teachers || 11/4/2022

Our discussions on physical and verbal cues were interesting to me. I learned the importance of eye contact when signing in ASL. If eye contact is dropped it’s as if you’re not listening to the person. On the other hand, it is disrespectful toward elders in Ghanian Gonja society. The speaker said they had trouble remembering to look people in the eyes in the US. They also described norms in their language and culture. Greetings are very long, going beyond simply “Hi, how are you.” They can last until you are effectively shouting back towards the person. Greetings are also consider under the caste system. A greeting to a landowner would be different than a greeting towards the ancestor of a king. In terms of language, single words can have up to five or more meanings based on their context. There are also no gendered pronouns. This is a trait Mandarin Chinese also shares. As a Chinese language student, I recognized several things in Prof. Gong’s presentation. I brought up how respect to elders seems to be important, and she said that only a little of this has survived in the modern language. I would have liked to discuss this further – how modern language developed, what was gained, what was lost etc. – if we had more time.

Language learning is important to me because of moments like these. We can compare and discuss but at the end of the day we come away with the feeling of a greater connection and a better understanding of our innate humanness. I just like finding connection and also learning something new – it gives me joy and inspires me to view the world with hope. And if lucky enough, you can travel to the places you learn about and have experiences that make a lasting impact on your life. I personally feel it makes you shed your ego and realize the true size and depth of the world which are far greater than your own daily frets and worries.