The Importance of Language

Prior to traveling, Mrs. Allred had taken the time to teach us all some basic French in the hopes that we would not be completely disoriented upon our arrival. While the purpose of the lessons was clear, the effectiveness of those lessons is up for debate, and in some cases, the lessons were completely useless.

I am a trilingual individual. I speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese well. I noticed many similarities in the structure and the vocabulary of French and these other three languages. Within a short amount of time, I felt like I could read and understand a large portion of anything I saw. However, when it came to speaking, the whole world was turned upside down. In order to speak, one needs a large vocabulary. My French was limited to little more than “le vecé” (bathroom) and “etudiant” (student). The phrase “Je suis etudiant” almost became a joke within our group because some of us could say little more than that. Case in point – one of the team names when we went curling was “etudiant.” When I went to Lyon with Lindsie, this became very apparent. It took us an hour to decipher the metro there and find the tourist desk. I had to use what little French I could, unable to understand anyone around me and with no help. It was very stressful and very difficult. Still, Lindsie and I managed. It was a great learning experience, and that day probably strengthened my confidence and my French vocabulary more than any other day.

When I went to Italy, however, all bets were off. I was hoping that because of my Spanish I would be able to understand a lot of the Italian that I would hear and that I would be able to communicate effectively with the Italians. Wrong. We got lost in Bergamo, Italy for about an hour. In an attempt to save ourselves, we stopped at a pizzeria and tried to talk to the employees there, asking them for directions to our hostel. They were very confused, and couldn’t understand a lick of any Spanish or Portuguese I threw at them. Only one lady spoke a bit of English, and it was through her that we were able to get the help we needed to find our hostel. I didn’t like feeling completely and totally unable to communicate, and I hope that the next time I visit Italy, I have someone beside me that can speak Italian.

In short, without the ability to communicate, and without language skills, mobility and the ability to ask for help are greatly diminished. I’m motivated to learn more languages now.