I
still consider myself monolingual even though I have a childlike grasp of a few
other languages. I believe you learn languages through embodiment. For the last
few months, I have been following the Fluent Forever method of training my ear,
tongue, and facial muscles to do French. It is a physical process. Deep
soaking. The reason History matters is that much of the way we respond to the
world is deep soaked. We don’t just wake up and decide who to be. A new French word
I have learnt is “longue durée”. Long Duration. Giving priority to long term
historical structures over the short term time frame that is the domain of the
chronicler or journalist. I can’t wake up and decide English isn’t my mother
tongue. If you want to understand me, you need to get to know me. Personally.
But I would be fooling no one if I said my history didn’t matter. If I want to
change, that is where I am changing from.
No comments:
Post a Comment