It is commonly known that the language we speak represents our horizons as a person. It defines us and teaches us about the world around us, while also helping us to communicate with each other in a mostly efficient way. There are no higher or underdeveloped languages; there are no languages that are ‘better’ than other languages. All languages are created equal, as pretty much everything else on this planet we call home. However, it’s humanity that comes up with discrimination against things it doesn't understand; which also leads to fear.
Since all languages are equal, all languages are perfect; of course they are only perfect for the people who speak them. A foreign language, when put in a different country than its origin, is pretty useless, because no one speaks that foreign language; so it kind of defeats the purpose, which is to communicate. Languages were created by humans so we could communicate with each other and express our needs, longings and feelings. There is no other use for language besides that.
Languages try to describe reality. Do they succeed in that endeavor?
No, they don’t.
No, they don’t.
If languages actually successfully described reality then there would only be one language. You see, ‘reality’ is nothing more than the things you see around you and the things you experience. Reality is something very subjective and, since language is created to aid humans, language is subjective as well. The languages describe what they see in the country in which they were created. For example, the Eskimos have about a 100 different words for ‘snow’, but the Greek language has only one (χιόνι /chi’oni/ ). Now, why might that be? Eskimos are surrounded by snow; snow is their view of reality and because they see and use it every day, they have found many words to describe it. Greece, on the other hand, is a southern and warm place with little to no snowfalls every winter. As such, there was no need to have a 100 different words for ‘snow’ so they only created as many as they needed in order to communicate amongst themselves the idea of that white, cold and watery thing that sometimes falls during the winter… especially on the mountains….χιόνι.
But the secret lies in the word ‘try’. Languages try to describe reality, and that is a good thing. Through the process of trying to describe reality in order to communicate, languages were created and even to this day new words are added to most vocabularies. For example, English has the greatest influx of foreign words, mainly because so many people from different countries speak it. As a result, the reality of a native English speaker has expanded dramatically over the years as words were added. This is the reason to learn a new language; to expand one’s horizons. Languages allow us to explore and view the world through a different lens, creating a better understanding and tolerance for foreign cultures and habits. Languages are a gateway to new worlds; through them, we learn how other people in other countries think, feel and behave. They provide us with new experiences and new lives, for through languages, we are able to dive into new nations and adopt parts of their cultures making them our own, and thus, becoming a part of those cultures ourselves. Languages shape our personalities and mindsets, allowing us to break free from the borders of our own country to become citizens of the world.
Languages do not discriminate, or hate; they only serve our communication. It is up to us to use them as tools to create a better and unified world.
“Spread the word, feel the world” is a unique Youth Exchange, consisting of 32 people from 6 European countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Poland, Spain and Greece) who came together at the 22nd of April in Edessa, Greece to discuss about the untranslatable word of their languages. For one week the participants worked together, joining their diverse cultural backgrounds to create a better understanding of the world around them, reforming their perception of it. The result of this collaboration can be viewed in this Handbook of Unique Words, which illustrates words that are unique in their own right because of the varied historical and cultural events that created them.
April, 2014
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