The Problems with Learning a Non-Written Language

            In Farsi, “goodbye” is “choda hah-fes.” I hear this as one word: cho-dah-fes. Without a dictionary, I would not know this bit of information unless I were to stand really close to the person each time we were saying goodbye, so that I may hear the “hah” sound that is said so fast. Assuming hand gestures are universal, cupping my ear with my hand would indicate that I did not hear what was said, and perhaps the speaker would say the word at a slower pace. 

People speak at different speeds and tempos, and some articulate their words more clearly than others. What if the few people we chose to talk to happened to pronounce their words differently from their community members? Being around multiple speakers would help overcome the problem of pronunciation, and help reinforce our concept of the language.

Practice helps in learning pronounce certain sounds, like the ‘r’ sound in Farsi. When a speaker says a word or sound I can’t enunciate, I find it helps to repeat the word back to them in the form of a question. For example, the speaker says, “borro!” which means, “go!” If I want to learn to pronounce the word correctly, I would repeat the word back, “borro?” The speaker would hear that I am not pronouncing the word correctly, and then repeat the word back to me. This could go on back and forth until I’m close to saying the word correctly. This could be a good tactic in learning to say words properly. This could also be a good tactic in learning what the language means, as the speaker could also respond with the mime act of eating. I could also respond with the mime act of eating, just to double check that I understood the word correctly. This is assuming that the way people eat is universal, even in their mimics.

Another way to try and understand what is being said and how it is being said is to pay attention to the person’s facial expressions. The facial expression is an important clue on the person’s intent of speech – were they deep in thought about something? Were they yelling at someone? Were they praising someone and then hugging them? Did they say something and then smile? Or then frown? Did they laugh after? Did they cry after? Of course, this is assuming that the facial expressions are universal.

We need to be in the same situation multiple times to conclude what the conversations are about. Being aware of our surroundings and paying close attention to detail can help us better learn a language without a dictionary.