Linguaphilia

A million different ways to say the same thing

I took a seat at a table in the cafe of a local Barnes & Noble, pulled out a highlighter and my history of American media book and did absolutely nothing. I found myself distracted by a couple at the neighboring table while eavesdropping on their conversation. Although I couldn’t quite place the language they were speaking, I was fascinated by the rhythm of what was being said and how it bounced back and forth between the two.

I began playing this little game of trying to pinpoint with exact certainty what part of the world they were from. Needless to say, it served to be pointless because I didn’t have a clue. I’m sure that I am not the only one who finds themselves in this same circumstance. Do you ever wonder, while standing in line at the grocery store or in a crowded place filtering through all of the voices and various conversations being spoken, what language each and every phrase has its roots buried in?

Language has that type of effect on people, luring the mind’s curiosity to a point of wonder. But unless a sense of familiarity attaches itself to that particular culture, a litany of assumptions can digress into a black hole and never find their way out.

The reality is that language manifests into a kind of social fingerprint that delineates not just who people are, but where they come from. And although at times a lack of translation may dictate who communities associate themselves with, acting as a partition, that doesn’t mean such an obstruction can’t be manipulated until two people begin to relate.

I sat at that cafe table in Barnes & Noble for a good half hour lulled by the couple next me. That is, of course, until they realized I was staring at them, and all of the sudden we were staring at each other. But in those few seconds of awkwardness, we all said hello in a way the three of us clung to no longer feeling the discourse of separation, but rather bringing a single moment of understanding. That, is just the nature of language.

Angelo Scrofani

-Student Voices Editor