Languages I Love

I really enjoy languages. The more I learn, the more I love them.

It started with French. I choose French over Spanish in Middle School because I liked the way it sounded. It was my love for languages that kept me in French courses for nine years, despite ten-page writing assignments and the really, really long French novels that pretty much defined university level study. I've never been a big fan of homework, but I persevered--not to say "I have a BA in French" (because, really, what can I do with it?), but because I enjoyed discovering how novels in French communicate differently than novels in English; how individual words, when translated, take on whole new meanings; and that I am able to express myself in a totally different way in a foreign language.

My extended study of French and love for travel and heart for missions all came together at the end of my four years of college when I applied to serve as an overseas intern with Campus Crusade for Christ. I specifically applied to live and work in France and I was placed on a team headed to Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. One week before I was to leave, I got a phone call that informed me that we didn't have enough people for the team to France--but, they really needed more people in Rome, and would I please consider going to Italy instead. Yes, I know--Rome, Italy! For many people it would be a no brainer--they would much rather spend a year in Italy than in France. But, I was ready for France! I knew the language, I loved the culture, and that's where my heart had been pulled for years. I didn't speak Italian, I really didn't have a great interest to go to Italy, and, well, it was a big change!

In the end, I went to Italy. I initially spoke Italian (by speak I mean reading signs and things out of a language book) with a French accent. After a few weeks I enrolled in language classes (which is my favorite way to learn a new language--I do well with the structure). Once I learned how to pronounce Italian, the doors were opened and I soaked up my new language like a sponge. My many years of studying French really paid off as I dove into another Romance language. (I don't know much about Latin, but I do know that it's the root language for both French and Italian. For that reason, I am thankful for Latin; for making my language acquisition that much easier.) So, after two years living in Rome, I was able to have whole conversations in Italian! I had opportunities to talk about life and faith and the Bible with Italian students. I could share about my relationship with Jesus and communicate the Gospel in a beautiful language, so differently from my mother tongue. I loved it.

Then, I came to Cambodia. As I was preparing to come, language learning was not even on my list of things to do. My dad, in his preparation to visit, had purchased a book and listening CD to learn Cambodian. I took a look at it one evening, read part of the book, and listened to some lessons on CD. Yikes. It didn't sound or look like anything that I heard before! It was interesting, but I nothing to go off of. I closed the book and didn't think about Cambodian until I actually got off the plane.

When I first arrived in Phnom Penh, I picked up a few basic phrases from my roommate/host/coordinator-whose-job-I-was-taking-over. These few words kept from feeling like a complete tourist as I became oriented to this new place. Hello, thank you (which I don't think say correctly for at least a month), my name is...--the very basics. Once I started my actual language classes, the mystery that is the Cambodian language began to slowly make more sense. I can direct a moto or tuk tuk driver anywhere that I want to go. I can buy things at the market. I can barter at the market (very important). I can introduce myself and ask questions to get to know someone. Sometimes people even comment on how clear I speak Cambodian! Wow! Usually, though, people laugh when they hear their language stumbling out of the mouth of this barang (foreigner). But, I know they aren't really laughing at me--or are they? Either way, I love learning this crazy new language!

Unfortunately, my time for studying Cambodian is coming to an end. October will be my last month of classes. I begin my trip on December 1st, so I figured it would be okay to not take classes all the way until the end. So, last week I had to write on the calendar for the school that I was no longer continuing the classes. I asked my teacher, Sina, if I should write in English or Khmer (Cambodian). Dumb question--I can't actually write Khmer, I only know it in English letters written phonetically so I can pronounce it. But, she said 'Yes!', and began to write a phrase on the whiteboard in Khmer script. And then I copied it on my paper. Here is the result!

Language class that day felt a little bit like art class. I just tried to copy what she wrote--and it turned out pretty well! If I were going to be in Cambodia longer, I would probably want to learn how to read and write Khmer properly. Just learning the little bit that I have over the past six months has been a great experience. The classes alone have been a lot of fun. (Having a great teacher makes all the difference!) Even crazy, not-like-anything-else languages are a joy to learn. I can now add "basic knowledge of Cambodian language" to my language resume!

Now...I wonder which language will be next!