Living in a Language Bubble

“Sausage” asked my customer in a very thick, but understandable, Italian accent. “Which kind?” I asked. He paused, obviously attempting to decipher my response. Then with a sudden realization he said, “Italiano, Piccante!” Italiano was easy enough to understand, and my abysmal knowledge of Spanish led me to assume that he was looking to purchase Spicy Italian Sausage. He held up three fingers to indicate how many he wanted. While paying he tried to ask me more questions in Italian, which flew over my head. Frustrating as the situation was, I was sympathetic. I knew that in one month when I moved to Budapest I would occasionally find myself in his shoes.

Having lived and worked in Toronto, Canada, a multicultural metropolis, helped me learn how to deal with language barriers in everyday life. When I moved to Hungary I was prepared that understanding other people would be an everyday challenge. I currently live with an elderly lady who speaks a staggering three words in English, so our communication generally involves her pointing at objects with a loud “Hello!” Although, there are often mishaps and mistakes in understanding what the other means I think we have established a good living relationship, I hope.

I learned to become comfortable with occasionally being hindered by a language barrier in communication. When I stumble on the pronunciation of various fruits and vegetables at the market, I will only really know if the vendor understood my order if they start weighing the product I tried to indicate. Speaking a language, and I am taking a Wittgensteinian approach to this subject, is much like playing a game. You learn some helpful rules, phrases, and you give it your best shot. Even amongst native English speakers the same processes are in play. However, due to our assumptions, we rarely worry ourselves over whether any statement we have uttered creates its intended meaning. Supposedly, we are playing the same game, and the other individual knows the rules. An example of a moment in which the tenuousness of language becomes apparent between native speakers would be in miscommunication over unfamiliar vocabulary or slang and colloquialisms.

Along with becoming comfortable with not knowing whether what you uttered made sense, one should also learn to avoid being embarrassed when miscommunication occurs. This will help you if you were hoping to become, even slightly, proficient in Hungarian. A mistake is only a mistake if you fail to learn. Regardless, being at ease with a lack of communication helps you cope with occasionally living in a language bubble.

Jacob Verhagen
Nationalism Studies
Canada