One Language Isn't Enough

Hi. Hope you are well and happy. These last days I've been thinking about words, music, visual stimuli, and above all that, I've been analyzing the relationship among them all. Language is all about communication and conveying emotions. There seems to be a war about what is more important. A musical note, a written word, a painted image. I've gone back and forth about all these things because as a writer words to me are precious but also are music and other manifestations of art. I think there should be no war. Each of these expressions of creativity is a language that improves our understanding of the universe, of our surroundings, of our human nature.

When I was in college, even though my major was Science, I took French, Italian, and Literature courses. Like now, I was then infatuated by words. I feel like I can touch words. Like they are precious objects that I can associate with a smell, a texture, an image, a flavor, or maybe I will say a flavour, like some new writer friends Nadia, Beverley, and Rhonda from other parts of the globe say. It is English as well, but it is different and it is also the same. Languages help us understand our surroundings better, understand ourselves better. After reading an article about Jhumpa Lahiri's new non fiction book that she wrote in Italian even when it is not her mother tongue language, my thoughts about this particular subject, one language isn't enough, were triggered once again.

Several days ago I went to see a theatrical representation of one of the books of my favorite author. 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold' by Gabriel García Márquez. I can barely make it out of a theater without crying, but this time I tried hard not to, because I wanted to savor the entire experience clearly. I was on a mission. As much as I love Gabo's words, and didn't think the theatrical play would be better than the book, this play enriched this book for me in such a way that I lived this story in an entirely different manner. It brought the experience to a whole new level. My appreciation of this story was nurtured by the theater. And it was all about communication and feeling emotions. This time, in the language of the theater.

I've also read a book titled 'The Soul of an Octopus' which teaches us about how these strange creatures are capable of having a particular personality, developed senses, and on top of it all they can let us see what they are feeling by changing color, or by their body language. This is truly fascinating to me as I firmly believe they just have another language. They are not inferior. They are different. To interact with octopuses, certainly, one language isn't enough.

The word love means so much, but also the word 'amor', 'amour', and 'amore'. I'm in love with all of those words. They enrich and heighten my experience of the feeling, because when I think them or I pronounce them, I feel different things. I hear music, I see the color red, the faces of my daughters, a sunrise at the beach with my love by my side. To express love, any language works.

Since I started this journey as a writer, after deciding I will share my writing with the world, I've met wonderful people that inspire me and keep teaching me that one language is only the beginning of our journey. I've met Nadia who has taught me some Australian slang, Nicole and Raquel, who read in several languages, like Italian, Spanish, French, and German. Spanish is my mother tongue, and even my fellow Spanish speakers teach me new ways of using my language, new ways of conveying emotions. To me, this is invaluable. I believe we need to stand in a base of tolerance and humbleness to learn from others. It doesn't matter if the language is music, literature, visual arts, octopus, theater, French, Italian, Spanish, English, Science. Just to name a few. I want to be able to understand them all. Because until humanity doesn't find total peace and harmony, until we live showing respect for other living things, we have clearly not understand ourselves. Until that moment, one language won't be enough!

I would love to know your thoughts about this. Please share them with me.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time,
Dolores Black