Thursday, August 23, 2007
Symbols and Polyglots
As I was spending idle minutes searching through the vast stores of knowledge on Google.com (I've been trying to avoid Wikipedia...), I came across a very fascinating person who reminded me of Hayakawa's writing: Ziad Fazah. Born in Liberia, Fazah has, in under 60 years, been able to master 58 languages. A true polyglot, Mr. Fazah made me contemplate the vast amounts of words, alphabets, and tones used in the myriad of world languages. For me, French and English are too much to handle! In Language in Thought and Action, we learn that words are symbols (like a map is to the region it covers), and therefore not the actual objects. As for Fazah, I am immensely interested to know whether he, and any other speakers of more than one language, relates the corresponding word in multiple languages to the same object they stand for. When I think about it, what I took away at first from reading Language applied only to English. Now I am starting to see that these rules that he lays out are true of any language that is both spoken and written. I'm curious as to what everyone thinks on these issues.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
It is stated in the book's preface that the work has been translated into at least eight languages: Chinese, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish! I thought Hayakawa's lessons were only intended for English-speakers, but I stand corrected. Because words are independent of the things they symbolize, it is possible to have multiple sounds "stand for" the same object. For example, in English when we say "school" Spanish speakers say "escuela" and French speakers say "école". These utternces sound different, but they all have the same extensional meaning.
Well - I should say they have similar extensional meaning. Recall that "a word can never mean the same thing twice." I have to disagree that "these rules he lays out are true of any language that is both spoken and written." I would say instead that the rules are mostly true. Certainly the rules that "the word is not the thing" and of "extensional meaning" and "a word can never mean the same thing twice" are all applicable. However, when translating a text from Spanish to English, (or any other language) a lot gets "lost in translation." The majority of words that comprise the Spanish language have translations in English, but there are some words that do not. Thus contexts must be re-structured and sentences / paragraphs / essays aren't in the same context that the author originally wrote.
Thanks for pointing out its translations! I should have guessed it would be translated. But on another note, I can agree with you that much of a language gets "lost in translation" when it is changed to another language. For example, there is a French verb, 'apprivoiser,' about which I can recall my French teacher last year saying that there was not a direct translation for. Instead, she had to use our culture how we use our native language to describe that foreign term. Of course, it will always be second-rate to the original, now matter how precisely it corresponds to French. I think that in addition to the ability to speak and write language, to be able to do this is multiple languages is a great feat of humankind. Therefore, to really discuss or write about a foreign work, such as a movie or book, we need to use the language it came from. I'm not saying we shouldn't use translations, but, once again, much is "lost in translation."
I find the relationship between various languages to be so complex and confounding. Not only are there words that cannot be directly translated in various languages, but variations in the meanings of words also occur when we think. When I think, the language that I ‘think in’ is English. But when a French speaker or a Spanish speaker thinks, they ‘think in’ their native language. I always remember my French teachers telling me that you haven’t mastered a foreign language until you can actually ‘think’ in that language and not merely translate the words into English in your mind.
What I find hard to understand is the use of various English words that have no meaning in other languages. For example, I traveled around Eastern Europe this summer and I spoke with a German girl (utilizing my German speaking friend as a translator). Many songs on the radio were American pop songs, and yet the girl spoke very limited English. I asked her if she could understand the words in the songs and she said that she could not really understand them. Yet the songs (because of the beat and melody) evoked the same feelings and produced the same dance moves.
I found that so fascinating. I purchased a CD in Germany, and it was a German band so all of the songs were in German as well. I really like the CD and the music, but sometimes it frustrates me that I have no idea what they are saying and I can’t sing along.
I know this was kind of unrelated but oh well. : )
Hey, it's Erin. I think that everyone has made some really interesting points. I can't believe that someone could master 58 languages. That's an extraordinary achievement. I have to agree with what Ian says; sometimes it seems hard enough just to try to speak two languages. (I tried to read a Spanish children's book yesterday but didn't get too far.)
Donna brings up an interesting point; the fact that you "think in" English, as opposed to French or Spanish. I have to agree that the ability to do that means that you have mastered the language. (Can you imagine how many ways Fazah would be able to express the same thought in his head?! I wonder which he thinks in most.)
What Donna also brought up about songs in different languages was really interesting. The fact that you don't really need to understand words in order to relate to and draw meaning from a song is cool. Instead of what's said being important, it's how it's said that matters. Relating it to Hayakawa, it's the affective connotation (how it's said) that becomes more important than the informative connotation (the definition).
Music almost seems like a language of it's own; people can always relate back to it. It amazes me that whenever I play something on the piano, someone else who doesn't know a word of English could read the music and play the song and identify with it. I guess I almost think of it as an international language.
I definitely agree that to have truly mastered a language a person should be able to think in that language, but to take it a step further, shouldn't a person be able to dream in that language, too? Dreaming is really the only thing we do unconscientiously. I remember reading about a study abroad program from a college brochure, and the student said he'd dreamt in Spanish after studying in Spain for two months. So far I've only dreamt in English (even though I've been studying Spanish for years).
Not to go off on a complete tangent, but I agree with Sarah that a language is only truly mastered when one dreams in it. Of course, dreaming is nothing we can control. My French teacher in middle school told my class that she had a dream in French for the first time a few years ago, and her friend from France (who lived nearby) sent her a bottle of wine when she learned this!
I find the topic that Donna brought up to be fascinating. We don't need to understand a language to get the gist of it- I think that's why, as children (before we learn to read), we can be drawn into candy stores or desire a new toy without comprehending a billboard or commercial. The secret appeal of such media is to use just pictures (or maybe a catchy song) to sway us to buy their product.
Hi, it's Jasmine.
I believe that Fazah is capable of thinking in all of the languages he knows, however, he probably thinks most often in one main language. Most of the time when we are thinking, our thoughts are coming and going so quickly that they could not be read out loud, even if there were such people as mind-readers. In this case, the thoughts are almost uncontrolled - remember, if you are told not to think of a cat, you will definitely think of a cat. Therefore, when Fazah has this type of "uncontrolled thought", he thinks in his mother tongue. In addition, I don't think that Fazah can completely block his native tongue when speaking in a different language. He may picture a thought in his mind and first associate it with a word in his native language, because that is what he does on impulse.
Sarah said, "Shouldn't a person be able to dream in that language, too?" I think the reason that the exchange student dreamed in Spanish was because he had been in a Spanish-speaking environment. He had been hearing only Spanish for two weeks, and often dreams reflect what is going on in one's life. This does not necessarily mean that he was completely fluent in Spanish. I think that most people only dream in the language they used most often when they were growing up. Some people who spend a lot of time in other countries, however, may start to dream in that country's language.
Post a Comment