As an ESL teacher, I, of course, loved your article since the spaces and places where people come together to learn another language enable tolerance, growth, and a healthy tension as we recognize and question our biases. Although your experience describes the lives of the more economically privileged, learning and living in more than language is becoming more typical, even in the U.S. It's also undeniable that the more educated and privileged on the planet are moving to a less defined or binary way of identifying class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language identity/nationality, profession. If you can afford to get out of one-wayism, compassion and intelligence grow. I wish there were more dual language programs available to all U.S. children.
2
My friend from Senegal is the proud mother of five grown children and her family have been living in their family house in Brooklyn. On coming to America three decades ago, her husband and she arrived in Washington, and she tells the first year was hard, bringing up her young brood of five, while her husband was in the Diplomatic Corps.
The days were long, she has always been active and she hesitated to go out, until one day an American neighbor invited her to meet a circle of friends in the evening at a reading class, a first introduction to America she loves.
She continues past retirement in the international children's community to learn every class offered to the staff members to improve their skills, while I call her a 'Teacher of Life'. French, English, Spanish and native French Senegalese, she has just passed her Arabic class, a small one, where a British interpreter and she are now achieving some fluency.
A devout Muslim, a believer that all is in the hands of God, every Ramadan I plead with her to at least have some water, while she replies 'I know you worry about me, but I could not do otherwise'.
Her children now working, all college graduates on scholarship, try to help her pronounce the word 'War', but I doubt she will ever be able to pronounce this 'Country' in any of the languages she has learned.
The days were long, she has always been active and she hesitated to go out, until one day an American neighbor invited her to meet a circle of friends in the evening at a reading class, a first introduction to America she loves.
She continues past retirement in the international children's community to learn every class offered to the staff members to improve their skills, while I call her a 'Teacher of Life'. French, English, Spanish and native French Senegalese, she has just passed her Arabic class, a small one, where a British interpreter and she are now achieving some fluency.
A devout Muslim, a believer that all is in the hands of God, every Ramadan I plead with her to at least have some water, while she replies 'I know you worry about me, but I could not do otherwise'.
Her children now working, all college graduates on scholarship, try to help her pronounce the word 'War', but I doubt she will ever be able to pronounce this 'Country' in any of the languages she has learned.
I wax born in Peru, am a U.S. citizen and live in the US. I speak Spanish, English and French fluently and some Italian. When people ask where I'm from, I answer "I'm from Peru" that's where I was born. If they want to know more, then I explain. But why the doubt of how to answer the question?
6
A delightful and important series of observations -- our native language(s) are who we are -- our deepest identity in a way because language is so bound up with our enculturalization, our patterns of thinking and behaving. I've lived in Italy now for over 12 years, learning the language as I've gone along. In the lab of my project, Inglese Dinamico, I talk about English as the medium not the object of the sessions starting in preschool and up. So, the teacher's methodology rang a bell!
Learning multiple languages (easy so I heard after you are bilingual!), puts us in touch, when we are using it to really exchange ideas and information as here, with the pathway to awarenesss, even if we do not always understand and agree. My daughter, now living in Spanish Harlem, spent her formative years in Venice with me and had the same experience going to classes at Hunter College (CUNY) -- multilingualism with all of its perspectives, prejudices and beliefs abound. It has been an education almost as important as her course of study. Fluent in all aspects of Italian, she wants to return to live in Europe. She is primed and thinking about learning another language to pursue her graduate studies poses no threat or real concern.
The European experience has left us more open and I find that with my own students/interns, as we share more in English (and bilingually), we understand and can work more deeply and harmoniously together. What's the lesson here?
Learning multiple languages (easy so I heard after you are bilingual!), puts us in touch, when we are using it to really exchange ideas and information as here, with the pathway to awarenesss, even if we do not always understand and agree. My daughter, now living in Spanish Harlem, spent her formative years in Venice with me and had the same experience going to classes at Hunter College (CUNY) -- multilingualism with all of its perspectives, prejudices and beliefs abound. It has been an education almost as important as her course of study. Fluent in all aspects of Italian, she wants to return to live in Europe. She is primed and thinking about learning another language to pursue her graduate studies poses no threat or real concern.
The European experience has left us more open and I find that with my own students/interns, as we share more in English (and bilingually), we understand and can work more deeply and harmoniously together. What's the lesson here?
5
Perhaps the lesson shared by Anamaria Pazmiño is there is more to having knowledge of several languages, and while learning to have exchanges with inhabitants of all countries, it is the understanding of the expression in our eyes, which is the most important and universal one of all.
1
A small example of how Belgians choose to communicate with each other from different linguistic areas - in English - that way, neither is at a disadvantage.
8
I truly appreciated this article. What a rich legacy the author is giving their child.
7
‘‘ik kom uit [I do not know the dative declension in Dutch] ander planeet’’ -- "I am from another planet" -- is the best answer for people of mixed, unusual or bizarre origins. I always give it to save me an an additional explanation of my origins to the understandably curious, an explanation that requires almost a lecture on the migration of peoples in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the changes of the frontiers and names of states after the 1st and 2nd World Wars.
3
well, dutch isn't really easy. I would say 'ik kom van een andere planeet' 'litterally 'I come from another planet'), whereas 'uit' would be used for a specific country 'ik kom uit belgië', litterally 'I come out of Belgium'. I think it would be the same in German 'ich komme aus Belgien' and 'ich bin von ein anderen planet' (sorry my german grammar is really lousy).
1
Modern Dutch has no dative case, though Archaic Dutch did along with a genitive. Just the nominative and accusative cases have survived.
1
Lucky for you (and all of us) that there hasn't been a dative case in Dutch for centuries now! Instead, the more tricky part is, as usual, knowing which preposition to use. FYI: with cities/countries, it's generally "uit": "ik kom uit New York"; with planets, however, it's "van": "ik kom van Venus," or in your case "ik kom van een andere planeet"!
1
OK, so how do I say ""Ik kom uit New York"?
Fun article. If more of us learned the languages of other countries, we would have fewer misunderstandings between peoples.
By the way, in English, what do you call people who can speak three languages?
Tri-lingual.
How about those who can speak two languages"
Bi-lingual.
Only one language?
American!
It's one of the main reasons we Americans don't have a clue about the rest of the world.
Fun article. If more of us learned the languages of other countries, we would have fewer misunderstandings between peoples.
By the way, in English, what do you call people who can speak three languages?
Tri-lingual.
How about those who can speak two languages"
Bi-lingual.
Only one language?
American!
It's one of the main reasons we Americans don't have a clue about the rest of the world.
15
@mikeoshea, sweeping generalizations is another of our sterling traits.
19
One correction: American is a politically incorrect, imperialist term. It is being replaced by Usan (as in Texan, Cuban) or Usaean (as in Danaean, Achaean). Explained in a comment to
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/opinion/thomas-friedman-bonfire-of-the...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/opinion/thomas-friedman-bonfire-of-the...
How do you call someone who speaks one language? French, Spanish, British, Portuguese, etc. Truly the only countries in Europe where I have found actual multilingual residents are in the non-Latin countries. Someone may point out that all Catalans are bilingual --- with Spanish. I lived in BCN for about 10 years and even professionals (attorneys, doctors) barely spoke English beyond basic tourist level. I dated a French guy for 3 years and his professional friends, family etc all only spoke French. The only English my boyfriend knew was club English. These are educated people mind you.
So stop with the stereotyping of monolingual Americans. There is a reason why someone from the US doesn't speak another language. I know many who are multilingual though. However, in Europe there should be no excuse...you drive a few hours, fly one hour and you are in another country with a different language. I am amazed at the number of people who live in border areas who are monolingual. The Spanish/French border there isn't much overlap. I tried to use Catalan once over the border into France and had to switch to French. Americans can drive for days and still be in the US and only need to speak English...fly 6 hours and, yup, still in the US or Canada. The only options are fly to Quebec or Mexico or some Caribbean islands. Still not that easy.
So stop with the stereotyping of monolingual Americans. There is a reason why someone from the US doesn't speak another language. I know many who are multilingual though. However, in Europe there should be no excuse...you drive a few hours, fly one hour and you are in another country with a different language. I am amazed at the number of people who live in border areas who are monolingual. The Spanish/French border there isn't much overlap. I tried to use Catalan once over the border into France and had to switch to French. Americans can drive for days and still be in the US and only need to speak English...fly 6 hours and, yup, still in the US or Canada. The only options are fly to Quebec or Mexico or some Caribbean islands. Still not that easy.
4
"if I spoke French in my Flemish neighborhood, people often answered me in English" -- this is a common phenomenon in bilingual countries. Mrs. Martens and her family would have been better advised to move at the start into a French-speaking neighborhood
1
You should re-read the piece. Ms. Martens is the journalist retelling the story as it was told to her by a Colombian woman who had been living a long time in Paris and moved to Brussels to join her Italian husband. You have no way of knowing why they were (are) in a Dutch-soeaking area but there could be thousands and the entire piece, from a European perspective, makes total sense.
15
Super interesting! And imagine..."so I need to learn DUTCH." Just like that!
7
Anamaría, lovely story of your multilingual integration. I am curious how your child will finish the phrase too. I am a researcher of multilingual children (from NTU, Singapore). If you are interested in keeping a record of your child's multilingual journey, please get in touch (you can find me through google).
5
Delightful! As former ESL teacher I really enjoyed reading this article.
3
Good luck to you, Anamarìa,
I was born in Ankara, Turkey and lived in Istanbul, Rome and Brussels for a total of twelve years. In Belgium it was actually Tervuren, a small Flemish town outside of Brussels. Your child will be given the rare opportunity to be born and raised a child of the world, which if all were, we would have a much more peaceful earth. I write a blog for first time parents at papagreenbean.blogspot.com. Je suis Jean Vert. Bon Chance!
I was born in Ankara, Turkey and lived in Istanbul, Rome and Brussels for a total of twelve years. In Belgium it was actually Tervuren, a small Flemish town outside of Brussels. Your child will be given the rare opportunity to be born and raised a child of the world, which if all were, we would have a much more peaceful earth. I write a blog for first time parents at papagreenbean.blogspot.com. Je suis Jean Vert. Bon Chance!
12
Here's a young woman, bilingual (spanish, french) or perhaps trilingual (she may speak English and/or Italian as well, it's unclear) learning Dutch in a country where almost everyone already speaks English or French. A lot of time to waste, in my opinion, in support of linguistic nationalism.
Perhaps she understands that speaking other languages opens door to understanding, culturally, politically, et al. I think it is wonderful that her child will grow up with several languages and all that learning/speaking/understanding another language entails.
Um, clearly you don't know much about Belgium. First of all, almost everyone does not speak English. Many Walloons, especially older ones, do not. Flemings are more likely to speak English, and like the Dutch, speak English very well, but not as well as they think they do. And why would you expect the Flemings to jettison their native language in favor of French? Flanders is the economic engine of Belgium, and quite frankly many Flemings resent the disproportionate influence of the Walloons. In Belgium anyone who seeks employment of any consequence is expected to be at least trilingual, and the Flemings I know generally have impeccable French and Dutch and excellent English and German. In any case it is never a waste of time to learn a new language. There are few endeavors as rewarding.
And I'd be willing to bet that you are among those who complain about the widespread use of Spanish in the US and kvetch about immigrants who don't learn English to your satisfaction.
And I'd be willing to bet that you are among those who complain about the widespread use of Spanish in the US and kvetch about immigrants who don't learn English to your satisfaction.
1
how right you are. Once upon a time, in the 19th century, Belgiulm was dominated by a french-speaking bourgeoisie, and dutch was the language of the poor peasants form Flanders. It was said 'la Belgique sera latine ou ne sera pas' (Belgium will be 'latine' - a country that speaks a latin-derived language - or will not be). A century later the tables have turned, Flanders is more prosperous than the french-speaking parts of belgium, and the use of the languages has been fixed by law. One proposal in the 1930s was that all of belgium would become bilingual, but this was refused by the french-speaking walloons who did not want to learn dutch. In 1963 the offcial languages and their frontiers were fixed: Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, and Brussels is a bilingual region French + Dutch. And that is why Anamaria, if she wants to find a job in Brussels, needs to know Dutch. If she didn't want to learn dutch and find a job, she would have needed to go to wallonia (wich starts some 5 miles from the brussels frontiers, so that commute would not have been all that bad). Linguistic nationalism? Indeed, the Dutch speakers in Belgium have needed laws to defend their language against french linguistic nationalism.
Remember that during Ramadan, people fast during the day and then feast and celebrate or at least eat and drink at night. So, perhaps the Ramadan fasting is not quite the same stress during pregnancy as the term "fast" suggests in the European/US context.
5
A friend in New York, devoutly fasts during Ramadan, rising to say prayers in her household at 4:00 a.m. before going to work where she does not touch a drop of water during the day, and takes substance at 8:00 p.m. on her return to her household.
She admits it is more difficult at her age, her grand-daughter of 3 goes to day care, and she has a healthy grown family, all natural birth deliveries, except for her youngest, a hard working man now, born in Abu Dhabi where a nurse held her hand through the night, explaining that her life and her child's might be in danger without a C-Section.
My friend from French Africa never complains that fasting during Ramadan is stressful. At times I tell her of how Lent is celebrated by some Catholics, not nearly so demanding, and every year when Ramadan begins, I start to feel stressful about my friend's health, breathing a sign of relief when Eid begins around the world.
She admits it is more difficult at her age, her grand-daughter of 3 goes to day care, and she has a healthy grown family, all natural birth deliveries, except for her youngest, a hard working man now, born in Abu Dhabi where a nurse held her hand through the night, explaining that her life and her child's might be in danger without a C-Section.
My friend from French Africa never complains that fasting during Ramadan is stressful. At times I tell her of how Lent is celebrated by some Catholics, not nearly so demanding, and every year when Ramadan begins, I start to feel stressful about my friend's health, breathing a sign of relief when Eid begins around the world.
1
Fascinating...I love learning languages.
10
What an outstanding piece!
Great to see an example of European integration and multiculturalism from a positive side given current context.
Great to see an example of European integration and multiculturalism from a positive side given current context.
32
When I moved to Amsterdam, everyone asked "why are you studying Dutch? " It was out of respect and to honor my host country. Just as Ms. Pazmino should have done immediately when moving to Brussels. I speak Dutch when I go to Belgium. When I moved to Barcelona, I learned Catalan. Wherever I live I also try to learn the local dialect, such as when I lived in Vienna or Saarbrucken.
Living, not only learning, a language enriches one's world view but also demonstrates that you are on the path to accepting the norms and mores of your new host country. Multilingualism is great if everyone who moves into an area learns the host language. Too bad this is not the case with Latins in the US. I lived in Miami and was appalled that I HAD to speak Spanish in the grocery store or even a doctor's office.