Language

While I'm learning many things in Oxford, there seems to be a theme of language. I'm constantly learning new languages and ways to communicate, not all of them the conventional grammatically organized symbols, words, and sounds that we use to convey meaning to each other. The obvious one is my French tutorial. Yes, I'm learning new words, but that's different from learning the language. For example, I know that the word "bercer" means "to rock", as in a baby. But for the French, this word has sweet, calming connotations which us English speakers miss when we just see the word "rock". It's the subtleties that truly communicate; it's the nuances that make it language.
In addition to this, there is the language of the British. Obviously we are both speaking English, so we can get the basic point across, but every day I seem to hear a new word, phrase, or idiom that I don't understand. Even when I learn what it means, I can't bring myself to say a phrase in the glib manner which I can speak any American idiom. I lack the same level of comfort and understanding which I have for our own colloquialisms. For example, the Brits are always going around asking you if you're all right. This does not necessarily mean that you look like you just came back from your recent vacation to hell, however. That's just their way of saying "how are you?".
But I'm learning more than just spoken language. I'm also learning the language of music. As I'm finally learning to play the violin effectively, I've come to understand more deeply a language that has evolved beyond words. It has surpassed the need for clumsy syllables and ambiguous meanings which mere words convey. It passes directly from instrument into soul, without the logical filter of the mind, which is constantly trying to abstract something concrete from the jumble of prose.
Who knows what language I'll realize I'm learning next?

Lila Midgett

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