For this first blog, I wanted to reflect on a situation I was currently in where I was visiting on vacation in South America in Costa Rica and the language barrier I encountered. The primary language spoken in Costa Rica is Spanish; secondary is English. I found that on our resort, most people spoke both languages- especially those that did the most interacting with tourists. Off of the resort; however, was an entirely different story. The people of this country were very friendly and inviting, but it was like a third language needed to be constructed in order for us to communicate. A lot of hand gestures and visual aids were needed to get the point across. It did seem like the native people were able to understand English better than any of us could understand Spanish.
Christopher Dawson, an English independent scholar, once said "The greatest obstacle to international understanding is the barrier of language." I completely agree with Dawson.The largest difference between the Spanish-speaking people of Costa Rica and our group of tourists was the language but the number one thing we had in common was how we tried to understand each other and how we came to a common ground in understanding each other.
Dawson, C. (2011). Quotation. Retrieved from brainyquote.com on Jan 24, 2011. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/christophe230776.html.
That is very true. I really like your piece and it really relates to reality of life. Understanding is one of those words that we were discussing in class, about how everything comes together. In order to be able to move forward in life one has to understand each other. Everyone may not get along but there has to be some type of understanding. This also goes to God terms and Devil terms. I think that this word is more of a devil term because although understanding is a way that someone should live, in reality not everyone is as understanding as they should be. So in a sense I feel like it is contradicting because it should be a way of living but it really isn't.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding and communicating are not necessarily the same thing. It seems as though you were able to communicate just fine without understanding the native language. (If I may go off point for a moment, it seems that planning a visit to a foreign country would include learning the language.) You were able to give mutually agreed upon meanings to the utterances and gestures you used to compensate for not knowing the language. This is how new languages develop. By paraphrasing an idea in english, the native spanish speaker was able to connect with the message you were conveying. The language barrier issue is one of great controversy but not one that humans can not overcome through necessity and creativity. The meanings of the words in our seperate languages are only there because we agree upon the meanings. You have given us a great example of this in your challenge to successfully communicate in the absence of understanding.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what kind of gestures Kara and the other participants used in order to construct understanding. While gestures can help bridge the gaps that exist through language, gestures can also vary culturally...
ReplyDelete