Bulldozing the Barrier

The concept of world languages is interesting. To think that there exists multiple systems of diverse speech fascinates me. What if we lived in a world that was nonlinguistic? What if there was only one language? Its hard to play this scenario out, seeming as the world lives in a state quite opposite. Would it be easier or harder, better or worse? The right answer, if there is one, is beyond me. I would like to think it would be worse. Language is a way to express yourself, your identity, your origins. It unifies individual cultures and builds walls between others. This wall is literally a language barrier. As cultures collide, our earthly home sqeezed together tighter now more than ever, those in society who do not bother to break the pressing barrier.

Thanks to the edcuation system, foreign language is required by most colleges. Unfortunately, world language is an elective on a high school level. I am fortuante to currently attend a school where language is highly esteemed. Beyond Spanish, the school also offeres French, German, Japanese and Chinese.

I remember the day I decided my language of study. For some reason, I was highly against taking Spanish. And for some other reason, I gravitated towards taking Chinese. It was surely a unique decision, seeing as all my friends elected to take the ever popular Spanish 1 course. For a moment, I was indecisive. My best friend's dad pawned off my undecided state; he told me he'd give me $100 if I took Chinese.

So I did, but not for that reason. I never got that $100, but the benefits since have proved my shaky decision to be the best. I soon found myself in love with the culture and language of China. Yes, the language itself is challenging. It consists in three forms: the written (characters), pinyin (pronounciation), and spoken language. There is no alphabet, just 50,000 different words to memorize. Sometimes I doubt my capabilities. How in the world will I ever be fluant in this crazy langauage? Is it even worth the effort? But then I am soon reminded that Mandarin Chinese is the first language of more people than any other language on earth. And if a billion+ can learn it, why can't I?

Over the past summer, I took a trip to China to test my skills. With only a few years under my belt, I was amazed by the amount of Chinese I spoke. The best part was, I had a blast with my attempts. Where ever I was, I made it a mission to seek out a Chinese native and talk with them. One time, I did this between flights at the airport. Another time we were waiting for our meal at a restaurant when I started in conversation for a whopping 10 minutes! I had no idea I had 10 minutes of Chinese in my little brain. But evidently I did, and it was unlike any experience I had ever had before.

While in China, I learned more and spoke more Chinese than my entire year of previous study. For example, I am much better at my numbers thanks to all the bartering I did while shopping. I think it gave me a great advantage to shop in the native language. My purchase prices were often far less than nonChinese speaking customers. Who ever said shopping wasn't educational?

Out of all the conversations, and there were many, my favorite took place in beauty. I was bamboo rafting down a river in the southern city of Yangshuo. The watercraft was quite primative: me, bamboo, a stick, and a Chinese river rafter. The excursion was an hour long. At first, their was silence. I sat, keeping to myself and my camera. But once the rafter discovered I could speak his language, he stopped rafting and started talking. He asked me lots of questions. My favorite was, "How much for your Nike shoes?" Not only did I have to translate, but I also ha to conver American dollars to Chinese yuan. Minutes later, I responded, "500 yuan!" He smiled and said, "tai guai le." Again I was reminded of our easy, high standard life. To us, Nike shoes is a norm. To him, a pair of prized gold.

These are the memories, off the tourist beaten path, that will forever remain dear to my heart. To take a chisel to the language barrier in a land half way around the world and 15 hours travel by plane was priceless. The countenance of the natives said what their heart couldn't. They were so appreciative that I, an American, had taken the time and effort to learn their language, come to their country, and speak to them in their native tongue. When I spoke in Chinese, it was like giving them a gift. Their eyes would light up and their lips would break into smile. That's when the pain of all the flashcards, worksheets, and speaking quizzes slipped from thought. I only dream of the day when I am fluant and the bulldozer of destruction has its way with the barrier. In due time, I pray this to be a shared dream, a global dream. Thus the only wall standing would be, of course, the Great one.