​Blog 518 – 01.08.2017

Do You Speak The Language?
Many Americans are offended by the phone messages they encounter that say, “For English press one.” We Americans are an isolated and egocentric lot who think English is some heavenly language and not the hogpog of many languages that it truly is. I love the English language. It is my medium. I paint with it, sculpt with it, sing with it, and dance with it. But I tell you truly what makes it richer than most languages is that from it’s beginning back in the guttural Germanic sounds of Beowolf through all its additions and revisions as the British Empire and English grew it has co-opted the words of the conquered and annexed much as the Roman Empire did and English is all the richer for it.

Apart from the French I took in elementary school (I love that line from both Sam Cook and Herman’s Hermits’ song, I Don’t Know Much: “I don’t know much about the French I took…”) I had two years of Latin in high school and Spanish in college but I had English in every class I ever took but I am still learning how to maneuver around in its richness and confounding and sometimes confusing phrases. Studying other languages did help me with English and I see so much of those other languages in English.
Some of my Christian friends believe in a heaveny tongue or language, a special gift from God. So do I. We just differ as to the nature of that heavenly language. They teach it is a secret  language that needs interpreting I think the opposite is true that it is a language known and understood by all. It is the language of love. A big smile and the look of love in your eyes goes a long way in making yourself understood. And we all know how to speak that language. I grant you sometimes we get a little rusty if we fail to use our mother tongue enough but as with all things practice makes perfect.
From time to time I still hear a mother say to a young child, “Use your words.” It is amazing to me how easy it is to understand anyone no matter the language barrier if we just try to listen in love. The first people the Europeans and the English met when they arrived in this hemisphere did not speak Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian or German. And I do not mean to offend anyone by leaving out the many other languages they brought with them. Adopting a common language has helped us to work together and grow. Most of us no longer use the languages that our ancestors used but a closer look at English reveals that maybe we still do. So don’t be angry about pressing one for English. The World War Two veterans are becoming fewer and fewer. The next time you see one, thank him or her that you are not being asked to press one for German or Japanese. If your first language is one other than English thanks to Google Translate you can push a button and read this in the language you choose.
I am still lobbying that we adopt Love as the official language not just in the good ole USA but worldwide and further. No offense intended to you Klingon speaking Trekkies out there.
Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White