A World Of Words

Señora Dull was my third-grade Spanish teacher. My eight-year-old friends and I found this hilarious. Señora Dull was my first language teacher, and in addition to basic vocabulary, useful phrases, and rhymes which I still remember (Chicle puesto en el cesto no molesta a la maestra), she taught us the difference between a ‘stop D’ and a ‘fricative D’, a concept I didn’t hear of again until a linguistics course in graduate school.

I first understood the meaning of lost in translation when I read Pablo Neruda’s Poema 20 in college. 

Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.

Escribir, por ejemplo: “La noche está estrellada,
y tiritan, azules, los astros, a lo lejos”.

While the words can be translated, the sounds, the syntax, the sentiment are not the same in English. If you Google an English translation of the poem, you’ll find that none of the translations are identical. In addition to Neruda, I fell in love with Fuentes, Borges, and García Márquez. Reading their works in the original Spanish was like the gift of discerning secret spells or magical incantations. When you achieve fluency in another language, you gain the power to think in diverse ways. 

The works of these literary masters from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia cannot be fully articulated in English. You can get the gist, but not the full impact. Conversely, Hemingway could not have written in any language other than English. This is not to say that we shouldn’t read books in translation. We certainly should. It’s just to point out that even the artful work of the best translators cannot completely convey the nuances of the original.

Think of a simple book like The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, a childhood classic for English speakers. In the Spanish version the translators had to make a choice between rhyming and semantic accuracy (e.g., “gato” and “sombrero” don’t rhyme). The translation tells the same basic story of an “in-hatted” cat showing up on a rainy day to cause mayhem, but each sentence is not directly translated, and the rhyme scheme is completely different. 

In addition to my study of Spanish from third grade through a master’s degree, I took classes in French, Italian, and Portuguese. All of these are Romance languages, meaning they derived from Latin and not that they are helpful for seducing someone. Like distant cousins, these languages are similar in some ways but different enough to represent separate systems of thinking. I’ve learned many cool words like the Portuguese saudade which have no direct translation into English. The word is unique to the Brazilian or Portuguese temperament and indicates nostalgia, longing, melancholy. It’s impossible to fully understand a culture without knowing the language. I love the German word kummerspeck, which literally means ‘grief bacon.’ It describes the weight one gains from emotional overeating. 

It’s hard for the largely monolingual American population to understand the value of bilingualism. Have you ever had to put on the subtitles while watching Scottish or Irish actors? This provides a small insight into the differences in language. The last time I went to Ireland and the passport control officer asked why I was there, I responded with an enthusiastic “I’m here for the craic!” in my very American accent. He tried to hide his smile but couldn’t. I had said a secret password and that one phrase gave him to know that I had at least some understanding of his language and culture. Most Americans don’t even realize that Irish is a language and that English was imposed on the Irish people hundreds of years ago as part of their subjugation by the British. And yes, the language is called Irish, not Gaelic. Gaelic is a family of languages which includes Irish and Scottish Gaelic. (By the way, Craic is an Irish word pronounced like crack and means fun or a good time.)

As a writer, I am always aware of the tools of language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The way words sound, how words and sentences are structured, what words mean and how they are used in context. Knowing multiple languages gives me access to a multitude of linguistic universes and that provides insight into infinite settings, characters, and conflicts. If you plan to write about faraway places, in addition to studying history and culture, it’s essential to get a sense of the language. Watch a movie from the country you want to write about and listen to part of it without watching the subtitles. Download Duolingo or watch YouTube videos. In addition to the practical uses of learning another language, it’s great brain exercise. I don’t care how old you are: you’re not too old to learn another language.

Without a doubt, English is the modern lingua franca, the common tongue. I once assisted in translating from English to English in a Starbucks in Shanghai. A Russian couple was trying to order lattes, and the Chinese barista was not understanding their Russian-accented English. I was able to pronounce their order in a way that the barista could understand. Nonetheless, the handful of Mandarin and Russian words that I know also are invaluable. The dazzling number of words and languages is enough to make your head spin but as writers, words are our business. And the more words you know, the more worlds you can create. 

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Suzanne LaVenture is a world traveler, award-winning instructor, and a Fulbright Scholar. She created a program at Davidson-Davie Community College which won NAFSA’s Senator Paul Simon Award for comprehensive internationalization. Suzanne has published articles in Diversity Abroad’s Global Impact Exchange, New Directions for Community Colleges, and The Journal of International Students. She holds Spanish Language and Literature degrees from Wake Forest University (BA) and the University of Illinois (MA). She dabbles in other languages, including Arabic, French, Irish, and Elvish. She lives in Lewisville, NC with her husband Craig.

Prone to Wander

Prone to Wander is a poignant and humorous memoir that details the life of a woman yearning for adventure and meaning. From her sheltered upbringing as the Bible drill champion of her southern Baptist Church to her college semester abroad in Colombia, Suzie begins to learn to challenge her own beliefs through a life dedicated to travel. In her bold explorations around the globe in more than forty countries, Suzanne’s story delves into the complexities of love, faith, and the mysteries that connect us all. From the bustling streets of Bogotá to the depths of the Amazon rainforest, she experiences the transformational power of travel, love, and self-discovery. The author’s vivid storytelling and insightful reflections make this memoir a captivating read for anyone seeking inspiration and a deeper understanding of the human experience.

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