Any bilingual or multilingual speaker will understand language barriers. A monolingual person might have experienced difficulties in communicating too, either with a foreigner or with someone who didn't understand the vocabulary the person used. Language barriers exist everywhere, and sometimes they are just slight, even funny miscommunications, but other times, they put people in danger.
Two articles that I read (links below) were about such situations, and the kinds of barriers were actually different:
The first one had to do with a word in one language not existing in another language. Apparently in Spanish, there is no word for "wheezing," which is critical to diagnosing asthma. Hispanics in the U.S. who have asthma are often diagnosed incorrectly because in the process of translation, wheezing becomes asphixiation or even snoring.
I have expressed my frustration before of words that I know in Korean and can't express in English and vice versa. One day, I was talking to my high school English Literature teacher (he was American) about such words and phrases (because he speaks a little Korean too), and I told him that I couldn't find an English phrase that would convey the meaning of "jja-jeung-na," which roughly means "I'm irritated/annoyed." Korean people use "jja-jeung-na" a lot in daily life. It's an emotion that we feel often I guess. But when I speak in English, saying "I'm annoyed" sounds really weird. Anyway, when my teacher heard this, he agreed with me and said that he and his friends who live in Korea had thought that too, and had decided that the best translation was "urgh!" It isn't really a word in the English language, but I think it is the best translation possible. He also said that it's not that American people don't feel this emotion of "jja-jeung," they just don't have a word for it. I thought it was really funny how a word so frequently used in one language didn't exist in another, when actually both groups of people felt the same emotion that it expressed.
Another word that I couldn't find a good equivalent for is "in-yeon." I actually wrote about this in my college application essay. Here's an excerpt from my essay: "There’s a Korean word, inyeon, that I love. I haven’t been able to find an appropriate equivalent for it in English, but in a few words, 'people who met by fate' comes close." Although I tried to translate it for my essay, those five words cannot convey the deep meaning of the word "inyeon." It's a kind of precious but coincidental meeting of people that seems to happen for a reason in the whole order-of-the-universe kind of way. The reason I like this word is because I think it describes all the people I've met and the relationships, from very brief to best friends, I've formed with them. It's a word that can express the value I hold for all the people I've met and will meet. But I can't convey the meaning of this word without a whole paragraph like this to someone who speaks only English and not Korean.
That's why I think there shouldn't be one language that takes over the world. Despite the obvious convenience it would bring, we would also be losing so much.
The second article was a barrier due to the lack of knowledge of a foreign language. In this case, they focused on Spanish, because there are many people in America who speak only Spanish fluently, but I'm sure that the problem is the same for any foreign language. As I've mentioned in my previous posts, America is a very heterogeneous society, and there are many people who have very limited English skills. They usually can survive without having to ever learn English, but sometimes, knowing English could be crucial to the continuance of their lives, as shown in the article. In medical situations where you need specific information to proceed with treatment of the patient, communication is vital. So the article talks about how doctors try to learn Spanish and carry around little "cheat sheets" and how translators and body language are used. However, these things aren't good enough. There are limits to these "solutions."
Just think for a moment about how important language is to our lives.
A doctor might not be able to save someone's life even though she has all the technical skills she needs. A patient might have to die simply because he couldn't communicate the exact source of his pain.
Language is important to the very SURVIVAL OF OUR BEINGS.
So appreciate language. :)
related links:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/asthma-en-espanol-you-wheeze-and-snore-together/index.html?hp
http://www.wpde.com/news/viewarticle.asp?view=7062
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/ohpp/clasact/documents/CLASact/research3/13_David.pdf
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5 comments:
Hey, I know how you feel about words not being able to be translated. Especially in my language when the speaker is telling a joke, and I am laughing hysterically, but when I translate it for my English friend, it is not as funny, or funny at all, since all the expressions and sayings do not match up. But, as you said, it is very dangerous as in the case of "whizzing." Nice blog.
I have definitely had the same experience! Some words/phrases/expressions just don't work in other languages, and when I attempt to translate something from Spanish or Hebrew into English, it just sounds weird.
There are so many idioms/phrases for "people who met by fate" in Vietnamese, too! Do you think this could be a cultural influence? I mean, Koreans and Vietnamese are both people who believe in fate and the important role of fate in people's lives (whereas in America, YOU alone define our experiences and your life).
I also appreciate the difficulties in translating some words from one language to another. I used to dance hula, so I know a lot of Hawaiian songs and can understand the language and grace in the context of song. However, when the lyrics are translated to English there are certain word connotations that get lost in translation and the result is usually a bit awkward.
I've seen "in-yeon" translated as "Karma". As a native speaker of both Korean and English, I can second your sentiments about those untranslatable expressions. I find there are more of the Korean -> English variety myself.
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