homage to language
If only we listen, a language always speaks several languages at once;
and runs with a single word in opposite directions.
Language is an arbitrary and funny thing. It's the source of all that we are today and yet it is a constant obstacle to what we could be. Curse and blessing at once.
There is no way for us language-nerds to describe to you commoners how it feels to be immersed in a foreign language. Yet, I will make an attempt...
The process of it is a beautiful evolution in your brain.
At first there is nothing. Nothing but strange words, randomly flying about in a disordinary fashion in the universe inside your head. You think there is no way they are ever going to make sense,
let alone fit together and create sentences, stances, songs!
Then one day you find yourself speaking one of them. It has obstinately gotten stuck somewhere inside your cells and found its way to your mouth. Struck by awe you try to retrace your steps.
-How do I know this word? - When did I learn it? - Why did I use it?
And here comes the most amazing part... You just Don't Know! The word was just there in the right place at the right time. Cause you have unconsciously collected, organized and categorized every single word that you've heard, seen and registered since you started learning the language. And at some point they just start overflooding your left brain lobe and spill out without your slightest effort.
I dont know what I can compare it to in order to make you understand..I guess you mathemathicians (Do I know any of those..?) might feel the same once you finally grasp the concept of a really tricky formula and start using it and the numbers seem to be jotted down on the page almost by themselves.
Language is a lot like math I guess. It is a system that must be broken down, organized and understood. But when you get it, the possibilities are endless and the things you conjure have no limit except for the sky.
and runs with a single word in opposite directions.
Language is an arbitrary and funny thing. It's the source of all that we are today and yet it is a constant obstacle to what we could be. Curse and blessing at once.
There is no way for us language-nerds to describe to you commoners how it feels to be immersed in a foreign language. Yet, I will make an attempt...
The process of it is a beautiful evolution in your brain.
At first there is nothing. Nothing but strange words, randomly flying about in a disordinary fashion in the universe inside your head. You think there is no way they are ever going to make sense,
let alone fit together and create sentences, stances, songs!
Then one day you find yourself speaking one of them. It has obstinately gotten stuck somewhere inside your cells and found its way to your mouth. Struck by awe you try to retrace your steps.
-How do I know this word? - When did I learn it? - Why did I use it?
And here comes the most amazing part... You just Don't Know! The word was just there in the right place at the right time. Cause you have unconsciously collected, organized and categorized every single word that you've heard, seen and registered since you started learning the language. And at some point they just start overflooding your left brain lobe and spill out without your slightest effort.
I dont know what I can compare it to in order to make you understand..I guess you mathemathicians (Do I know any of those..?) might feel the same once you finally grasp the concept of a really tricky formula and start using it and the numbers seem to be jotted down on the page almost by themselves.
Language is a lot like math I guess. It is a system that must be broken down, organized and understood. But when you get it, the possibilities are endless and the things you conjure have no limit except for the sky.
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