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In linguistics, a filler is a sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one participant to signal to others that he/she has paused to think but is not yet finished speaking. These are not to be confused with placeholder names, such as thingamajig, which refer to objects or people whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown.

In Afrikaans, ah, em, and eh are common fillers.

In Arabic, يعني yaʿni (“I mean”) and وﷲ wallāh(i) (“by God”) are common fillers.[2][3][4]

In American Sign Language, UM can be signed with open-8 held at chin, palm in, eyebrows down (similar to FAVORITE); or bilateral symmetric bent-V, palm out, repeated axial rotation of wrist (similar to QUOTE).

In Bengali, mane (“it means”) is a common filler.

In Catalan, eh /ə/, doncs (“so”), llavors (“therefore”), and o sigui (“it means”) are common fillers.

In Czech, tak or takže (“so”), prostě (“simply”), jako (“like”) are used as fillers. Čili (“or”) and že (“that”, a conjunction) might also be others. A person who says jako and prostě as fillers might sound a bit simple-minded to others.[5]

In Danish, øh is one of the most common fillers.

In Dutch, eh, ehm, and dus are some of the more common fillers.

In Esperanto, do (“therefore”) is the most common filler.

In Filipino, ah, eh, ay, and ano are the most common fillers.

In Finnish, niinku (“like”), tota, and öö are the most common fillers.

In French, euh /ø/ is most common; other words used as fillers include quoi (“what”), bah, ben (“well”), tu vois (“you see”), and eh bien (roughly “well”, as in “Well, I’m not sure”). Outside of France, other expressions are tu sais (“you know”), t’sais’veux dire? (“you know what I mean?”), or allez une fois (“go one time”). Additional filler words include genre (“kind”), comme (“like”), and style (“style”; “kind”)

In German, a more extensive series of filler words, called modal particles, exists, which actually do give the sentence some meaning. More traditional filler words are äh /ɛː/, hm, so /zoː/, tja, and eigentlich (“actually”)

In Hebrew, eh is the most common filler. Em is also quite common.

In Hindi, matlab (“it means”) and “Mah” are fillers.

In Hungarian, common filler words include hát (well…) and asszongya (a variant of azt mondja, which means “it says here…”).

In Icelandic, a common filler is hérna (“here”). Þúst, a contraction of þú veist (“you know”), is popular among younger speakers.

In Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), anu is one of the most common fillers.

In Italian, common fillers include “tipo” (“like”), “ecco” (“there”) and “cioè” (“actually”)

In Irish Gaelic, abair /ˈabˠəɾʲ/ (“say”), bhoil /wɛlʲ/ (“well”), and era /ˈɛɾˠə/ are common fillers, along with emm as in Hiberno-English.

In Japanese, common fillers include eetto, ano, sono, and ee.

In Kannada,Matte for also,Enappa andre for the matter is are the common fillers.

In Korean, eung, eo, ge, and eum are commonly used as fillers.

In Lithuanian, nu, am and žinai (“you know”) are common fillers.

IN Maltese and Maltese English, mela (“then”), or just la, is a common filler.

In Mandarin Chinese, speakers often say 这个 zhège/zhèige (“this”) or 那个 nàge/nèige (“that”). Another common filler is 就 jìu (“just/precisely”).

In Norwegian, common fillers are øh, altså, på en måte (“in a way”), ikke sant (literally “not true?”, “no kidding”, or “exactly”), vel (“well”), and liksom (“like”). In Bergen, sant (“true”) is often used instead of ikke sant. In the Trøndelag region, skjø’ (“see?” or “understand?”) is also a common filler.

In Persian, bebin (“you see”), چیز “chiz” (“thing”), and مثلا masalan (“for instance”) are commonly-used filler words. As well as in Arabic and Urdu, يعني yaʿni (“I mean”) is also used in Persian. Also, eh is a common filler in Persian.

In Portuguese, tipo (“like”) is the most common filler.

In Romanian, deci /detʃʲ/ (“therefore”) is common, especially in school, and ă /ə/ is also very common (can be lengthened according to the pause in speech, rendered in writing as ăăă), whereas păi /pəj/ is widely used by almost anyone.

In Russian, fillers are called слова-паразиты (“vermin words”); the most common are Э-э (“eh”), это (“this”), того (“that”), ну (“well”), значит (“it means”), так (“so”), как его (“what’s it [called]”), типа (“like”), and как бы (“[just] like”).

In Serbian, znači (“means”) and ovaj (“this”) are common fillers.

In Slovak, oné (“that”), tento (“this”), proste (“simply”), or akože are used as fillers. The Hungarian izé (or izí in its Slovak pronunciation) can also be heard, especially in parts of the country with a large Hungarian population. Ta is a filler typical of Eastern Slovak and one of the most parodied features.

In Slovene, pač (“but”, although it has lost that meaning in colloquial, and it is used as a means of explanation), a ne? (“right?”), and no (“well”) are some of the fillers common in central Slovenia, including Ljubljana.

In Spanish, fillers are called muletillas. Some of the most common in American Spanish are e /e/, este (“this”), and o sea (roughly means “I mean”).[6], in Spain the previous fillers are also used, but ¿Vale? (“right?”) and ¿no? are very common too.

In Swedish, fillers are called utfyllningsord; some of the most common are öhm, ja (“yes”), ba (comes from “bara”, which means “just”), asså or alltså (“therefore”, “thus”), va (comes from “vad”, which means “what”), and liksom and typ (both similar to the English “like”).

In Ukrainian, ой /ɔj/ is a common filler.

In Urdu, yani (“meaning…”), falan falan (“this and that”; “blah blah”), umm, and aaa are also common fillers.

In Telugu, ikkada entante (“Whats here is…”) and tarwatha (“then…”) are common and there are numerous like this.

In Tamil, paatheenga-na (“if you see…”) and apparam (“then…”) are common.

In Turkish, yani (“meaning…”), şey (“thing”), “işte” (“that is”), and falan (“as such”, “so on”) are common fillers.

In Welsh, de or ynde is used as a filler (loosely the equivalent of “You know?” or “Isn’t it?”). Ym… and Y… are used similarly to the English “um…”.

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Remember that this stuff is really important for fluency of speech. I’ve encountered a bad attitude among language teachers before: “we don’t teach filler words, because that’s not “normative” vocabulary, and it encourages students to sound unsure.” But that’s so, so wrong.

All people use filler words in conversation and even in formal settings. It’s a way to keep the flow of speech when the train of thought pauses; it holds the audience’s attention and actually helps maintain clarity of thought. What’s more, these words are instrumental for language learners, who need to pause more often in their speech than native speakers. Allowing them to pause without breaking into their language (saying a filler word in their language) or completely breaking the flow of their speech allows them to gain fluency faster.

My high school Japanese teacher did it right: “etto” and “anou” were in the second lesson. Teach filler words, people!! And if you’re studying a language and don’t know them, look at this list!! It has a lot!

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Contents

Chapter One: A Story

Chapter Two: Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language

Chapter Three: 3 Common Excuses to Not Learn a Language

Chapter Four: Resources for Learning (Almost) Any Language

Chapter Five: Google Translate— Best Friend or Worst Enemy?

Chapter Six: Mr. Mistake— the Misunderstood Friend

Chapter Seven: My Spanish Schedule

I love Mondays.

Yep, that’s right. Each Monday, I hop out of bed, excited to start the school work that I’ve come to love through homeschooling. After doing my morning devotions, I grab my phone and head over to the AnkiDroid* app for some review. I then brush up on my virtual flashcard decks titled “Vocabulario Español” and “El Argot de Puerto Rico”.

Then comes the not-so-fun part— verb conjugating. Using Linguasorb.com*, I pick out a new irregular verb and jot down all its conjugations. It can be a bit tedious, but it really helps me remember them. After finishing, I use their vocabulary page and choose a new topic to learn by the multiple choice quiz. If there are any new words that I haven’t yet learned, I record them on AnkiDroid*.

For a little educational fun, I log into Youtube.com and watch a few videos by “Gringo Español*”.

After some good laughs and some newly acquired knowledge, I visit FluentU.com*. I pick out a new video, watch it once, then use the “learn” feature. If there are any new words, I add them to my AnkiDroid* flashcards. After learning 100% of the video, I’m almost done!

Sometimes, later in the day, I like to translate a favourite song into Spanish. This helps me learn a lot of Spanish synonyms.

It is during our sleep that our brains process the day’s information, so I like to add a bit more info before bed. I like to do this by journaling in Spanish.

* Resources marked with an asterisk are reviewed in Chapter Four

Chapter Six: Mr. Mistake — the Misunderstood Friend

Only two of us were left. The fourth and third places were already determined and now it was battle for the crown. I impatiently waited in my seat, eager for the end of this lengthy and overrated contest. I didn’t want to win. Though I never liked being the loser, I disliked the thought of moving on to District even more. Nevertheless, I decided to give it my best.

As my opponent walked away from the microphone and toward his seat, I stood up, stepped up to the mic, and awaited my instruction.

“Your word is larceny.”

“Larceny,” I repeated. Quickly I turned to my thoughts. Hm. It only makes sense that it would be spelt with a c. But this is the final part of the spelling bee, and it can’t be that simple. “l-a-r- … s-e-n-y. Larceny.”

Diiing.

“I’m sorry, that is incorrect.”

I can tell you that, half of a decade later, I’ve not misspelled larceny since. I attribute this small victory to defeat. Publicly goofing up the orthography of a seven-letter word is not something I’m proud of. But it helped me nonetheless.

Believe me, I’m as annoyed as you are with quotes saying, “It’s okay to make mistakes… as long as you learn from them.” Ugh. [insert eye roll here] But I must confess, they’re right. There is science behind it.

It has been shown that mistakes literally grow your brain. Even when we are not conscious of our mistakes, brain sparks still take place. Our brains are made to learn and move on from our mistakes, not to be shut down by them.

As told in the story above, we give special attention to errors. Last year, when texting a friend in Spanish, I made a ton of sizable errors. I referred to myself as male, said that that I wanted school (instead of saying that I liked it), and in place of “teenage years”, I wrote “years of suffering” (but they’re basically the same thing, haha). I’m really grateful for that conversation, especially the blunders. Areas that were previously unclear to me became abruptly certain to me. I now know the proper use of querrer (to want). I always make sure my words are in gender agreement. And I know the difference between adolecía and adolescencia.

Let’s be real. Mistakes are inevitable, and unsureness will catch up with you eventually. Don’t stress about failures. Use them to your advantage instead. If you’re like me, then it will be a process. Little by little I’m letting go and learning to learn. But it’s a good thing to remember and work on— not just in language learning, but life in general.

And just for the sake of it, here’s a wonderfully cheesy quote:

“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”

—Bob Ross

#polyglot #polyglottism #languages #learn languages #language learning #bilingual #bilingüe #trilingual #spanish #hebrew #english

Chapter Five: Google Translate— Best Friend or Worst Enemy?

Since the time I was little, I’ve been interested in the Language Arts. I love reading, writing, speaking in front of crowds, and hearing others speak. To me, it is all fascinating- the way sentences are put together, the origins and histories, the accents and slang. There are so many rules (especially in English) but at the same time, there are no rules. I consider speech to be an under-appreciated art. Words are my passion. You can find me on Dictionary.com or Thesaurus.com more than on Facebook.

So naturally, after going to Puerto Rico (which you can read about in Chapter One), the same love I had for English then expanded to other languages. Due to the limitless expanse of my curiosity and my copious amounts of questions, I found myself referring again and again to Google Translate. Want to know how to say “fingernails” in Latin? Done (it’s “unguibus”, by the way). It became my best study buddy. Partnered with Anki (which you can read about in Chapter Four), my vocabulary drastically increased. Every time I wondered, How do you say that in Spanish? I could find out and add it to my flashcards with just a few taps. In this way, Google Translate is my best friend.

BUT.

After discovering HelloTalk and chatting with natives, I soon discovered some conversational problems- sometimes I didn’t know what a certain word of phrase meant. Upon encountering these difficulties, I quickly retreated to my cherished app.

Is there anything wrong with this? No. Google Translate is a m a z i n g. I really like it. But I wasn’t turning to a “cheat sheet” to aid my learning. I was trying to avoid making a mistake at all cost. Why is this bad? Because mistakes aren’t bad. They actually help you learn— a lot better than constant correctness would.

Most of the time, as a perfectionist, this is very hard to grasp. Since I was little, I’ve viewed errors as the end of the world. I often want (and sometimes give into such desire) to turn to my rescuer Google Translate. But each time I have to realize that, in life, you sometimes have to risk it. Sometimes we have to be fools to become wise.

I could delve much more deeply into this subject, and I will in the next chapter. So be sure to check out Chapter Six

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Chapter Four: Resources for Learning (Almost) Any Language

There are many people out there who would love to learn a language. They’re determined, excited, and willing. But the biggest question on their mind is, “Where do I start?” With all the options— courses, books, apps, and websites, figuring out where to begin and what to use can be overwhelming. But, friend, through trial and error, I have managed to come up with some resources that have helped me to learn (and to enjoy learning).

BEGINNING

Duolingo

What is it? Duolingo is a website and app (available for iOS and Android). Through a game-like setting of making easy daily goals, earning points and awards, it uses all four categories- speaking, reading, writing and listening- to teach.

Cost: Free

Languages: Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, French, German, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Welsh

Personal Experience: It’s a super fun way to begin learning, but it only takes you to an intermediate level.

Living Language Complete Edition

What is it? Living Language’s Complete Edition includes

3-4 books (depending on which language) in Essential, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels

9 Audio CDs

Free extended online learning

Cost: Around $30- $50 (I got mine on Amazon for around $30)

Languages: Arabic, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Personal Experience: I ordered the Complete Hebrew Edition a few months ago and I am really impressed. Each lesson is explained very simply and it is therefore very fun to learn with. The audio CDs have been a great help, as Hebrew can be very hard to pronounce otherwise. The language lab games are so addicting. As for the cost of this, in my opinion, it’s worth it (that’s coming from a very cheap person). It takes you from a beginner to an advanced speaker, all for one price.

ADVANCING VOCABULARY

Linguasorb

What is it? Linguasorb is a website mainly used for conjugating verbs, but also includes grammar rules, vocabulary lists, quizzes and games, cognates, and pronunciation.

Cost: Free

Languages: French, Spanish

Personal Experience: It’s great for practicing verb conjugates, and reinforcing your memory of vocabulary words through quizzes.

Anki

What is it? Anki is a virtual flashcard app available for both iOS and Android.

Cost: Free

Languages: -

Personal Experience: This app is so easy to use. It creates a schedule based on the (self-judged) correctness and ease of your answers. It spaces the cards for you to review just before you forget them. Even for people with “bad memories”, this makes it very easy to memorize vocabulary. I actually use it for several other things, like studying for my driver’s permit.

“The Spanish Dude” (formerly known as "Gringo Español")

What is is? “The Spanish Dude” is a Youtube channel with short Spanish grammar tip videos (a.k.a. “quickies”).

Cost: Free

Languages: Spanish

Personal Experience: I just started watching these videos and I am already so relieved to have found this channel. Just a few of these “quickies” have really helped me fully understand the quirky rules (and exceptions) of the Spanish language, explained in a new and very thorough way.

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

FluentU

What is it? FluentU is a website and app (available for iOS) that uses real-life videos to teach.

Cost:

Basic plans are $15 / month or $120 / year

Plus plans are $30 / month or $240 / year

Languages: Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish

Personal Experience: FluentU has many practical and real-world videos (in many different fluency levels) made by native speakers, which also give a glimpse into their cultures. But not only does it give you the “watch” option but also the “learn” option, which thoroughly walks you through each word in the video that you may not know. It has been a huge help to my listening comprehension, which has been my biggest struggle.

SpanishListening

What is it? SpanishListening is website that mainly uses videos (in beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels) of native speakers answering questions of many topics.

Cost: Free

Languages: Spanish

Personal Experience: This has helped a bit with my listening comprehension, though “beginner” are fairly challenging. One cool feature is the individual vocabulary quizzes and questions on each topic.

PRACTICING WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS

HelloTalk

What is it? HelloTalk is an app (available for iOS and Android) that helps you learn and practice by connecting you with native speakers from all over the world. It includes many features like audio messages, grammar correction, and free calls.

Cost: Free

Languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Afrikaans, Albanian, Armenian, Amharic, Apache, Afar, Bulgarian, Bengali, Bosnian, Basque, Belarusian, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Cantonese, Catalan, Czech, Croatian, Cebuano, Chewa, Choctaw, Dutch, Danish, Dakota, Dothraki, Esperanto, Estonian, French, Farsi, Finnish, Flemish, Frisian, German, Greek, Galician, Georgian,Gujarati, Gaelic (Irish and Scottish), Hebrew, Hungarian, Hindi, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hmong, Hokkien, Hawaiian, Italian, Indonesian, Icelandic, Igbo, Interlingua, Ido, Japanese, Javanese, Korean, Kannada, Khmer, Kurdish (Sorani, Kurmanji, and Pehlewwani), Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Klingon, Lithuanian, Lao, Latin, Latvian, Lingua Franca Nova, Malay, Mongolian, Macedonian, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Maithili, Malayalam, Malagasy, Myanmar, Norwegian, Nepali, Navajo, Ndebele, Nhuatl, Oriya, Ojibwa, Portuguese, Polish, Punjabi, Pashto, Quechuan, Russian, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Swahili, Shanghainese, Sesotho, Sinhala, Sundanese, Swazi, Sign Language,Turkish, Thai, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Tajik, Toki Pona, Tswana, Tsonga, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Venda, Valyrian, Welsh, Xhosa, Yiddish, Yoruba, Zulu

Personal Experience: Because I am a perfectionist, I was slightly scared to talk to native speakers in their language for fear of making a mistake. But this, scary as it may be to some, is the best way to practice and learn new things. This provides an amazing opportunity to use a new language. But not only do others help you learn their language, you can help others learn your language. I have actually made a few friends using this app.

Nowadays, it is now so easy to begin learning a language. Our options are no longer limited to a library book or a tutor. And though there are so many great resources, I recommend using multiple to learn. Because there is no perfect book, app, or tutor out there. Combining resources helps make up for the areas of lack. I have earned that the hard way.

I sincerely hope this chapter helped you, and I will be adding more to the list as I discover them.

#polyglot #polyglottism #language learning #bilingual #bilingüe #multilingual

Chapter Three: Three Common Excuses for Not Learning a Language

Following up on last week’s “Why You Should Learn a New Language”, I decided that it’s only fair to post “3 Common Excuses For Not Learning a Language”.

1. “I’m not good at it!”

Great, neither am I. I don’t have any particular skill for language-learning. Sometimes, it’s very hard for me. How, then, do I speak three languages? Because I have desire and determination to learn— which anyone can have. You see, learning a language isn’t much different from learning anything else. It doesn’t require any special talent. Do you have a particular knack for speaking your native tongue? Probably not. You just learned. As humans, we were made to communicate, to speak. So in sense, we all have an aptitude for speaking languages.

2. “I don’t have time!”

This I totally understand. Life is crazy and the thought of adding something else to do probably stresses most of us out. But the biggest misconception is that one must spend x amount of hours studying in order to achieve your goals. So wrong. For example: 3 hours of textbook studying = 15 minutes of having a conversation (no matter how basic) in another language. It doesn’t matter how much time you spend, but what you are doing in that time.

3. “I don’t live in that country.”

I lived in Arizona for 11 years. According to Pew Research Center, in 2012 (the year I moved to Missouri), 30% of Arizona’s population was Hispanic- which is 3.8% of all Hispanics in the United States. People of that culture and language were not hard to find, but I didn’t begin actually learning Spanish until I moved to Missouri, whose Hispanic population in 2011 was 4%. And even now, as I’m learning Hebrew, it’s even harder to find someone who speaks it, as you could imagine.

Don’t get me wrong- immersion is key to language-learning. But sometimes, you have to create a setting of immersion. “Artificial immersion” as I like to call it. How? Through some fantastic resources you’ll find in Chapter 4.

Tons of people have tons of excuses, some of them understandable, some of them slightly ridiculous. No matter what they are, I know that a little determination can overcome every one of them. All you have to do is begin.

#polyglot #polyglottism #languages #language learning

Chapter Two: Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language

For 6 ½ years of my life, I went to a school in which all students of all grades had to take Spanish class. Despite the phrase “me gusta la manzana” being drilled into my head since kindergarten, I was not learning, and I had no desire to. Even though my state bordered Mexico, I concluded that learning another language (even Spanish) was a waste of time. Hey, this is America, and we speak English here.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a bigoted child, and I certainly wasn’t raised to be one. But the only environment I had really been exposed to was my language, my culture. I had thought that my way of life was the ordinary. I didn’t realize that I and my practices are as foreign to another as they and theirs are to me.

But I didn’t learn this by staying in my bubble. I learned this by stepping out of where I was and seeing through the eyes of someone else. This brings us to point #1 of “Why You Should Learn a New Language.”

1. You can see things in an entirely new perspective

As said above, what is normal to one may be bizarre to another. Through language-learning, I’ve not only started to realize this, but have begun loving it. Yes, that’s right. Differences are a thing to be celebrated.

2. You can meet new people (even without traveling)

Riddle time: I have connected and made friends with people from all over world, yet I’ve never left the United States. How is this so?

Don’t worry, I’ll tell you. There’s this super cool thing called social media and the Internet. In fact, you’re using it right now! Who would’ve guessed?! Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Tumblr. Anything else that involves the Internet. With today’s technology the world is basically at our fingertips. It is so easy to meet people from all over the world. (Check out my secret weapon HelloTalk in Chapter Four!) Plus there’s always something fun about scrolling through Instagram, reading a meme in a foreign language and laughing mysteriously because the rest of your family doesn’t understand it. *secret agent skills unlocked* Speaking of families…

3. You can connect with your family or your heritage

Culture and language go hand in hand. Having a personal connection with the language you’re learning boosts your determination and ability to learn it.

4. Your brain will thank you

Countless amounts of studies have shown the advantages of speaking another language, including, but not limited to:

better attention and task-switching abilities

less cognitive decline in older age

better adjustment to environmental changes

5. You can help advance your career

Traveling the world “on business” is becoming increasingly common in this age. Who wouldn’t love to do that? But this requires the expertise of bi- or multilingualism (which anyone can achieve). Even on a smaller, more local scale, the ability to speak two or more languages looks great on a resume.

And finally…

6. Polyglots are polyhot

First of all, I am extremely proud of that title. Second, just take my word for it...

Of course, the list could go on and on, After learning languages for almost two years, I still discover new reasons all the time. So can you. Why not start learning a language today?

#polyglot #polyglottism #languages #learn #language learning

Chapter One: A Story

On July 16th, 2014, 22:53, one young girl found herself in an unfamiliar place. Whether here for toil or treat, she didn’t know. All she knew was that she was here— in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Through good times and troubles, new friends and old friends, some relaxation and a lot of realization, this trip had already begun to change her. But it wasn’t over yet.

After spending a week surrounded by chatter in a recondite language, her curiosity asked the now unavoidable question— what would it be like to speak another language? Unbeknownst to her at the time, this question would have serious repercussions.

She was a tenacious one, she was. And by golly, she was going to learn Spanish. A few hours after her return, she began her studies. As she dove head and heart first into this learning, she found her self captivated with it all. But it was more than just the process and the new ability that fascinated her. There was something deeper to it, something that stirred in her heart…

While in Puerto Rico, she had been smacked in the face with the truth. She lived a sheltered life. Consequently, seeing the homeless in a drug-induced state that leaves them unresponsive and staring blankly off into the distance was an impactful moment. Spotting “zombies” stumbling through the streets in a daze was not a usual occurrence for her. But here all this was, real and uncensored.

But not all realizations were painful. She finally grasped that, though we have our cultural and personal uniqueness, we’re all the same. We all smile, laugh, and cry sometimes. We have times of strength and times of weakness. Even though division and hostility surround us, our shared humanity cannot be eliminated. Despite racial, cultural, political, religious, and of course, lingual contrast, we’re all human. And we can all speak each other’s language.

No, not necessarily literally. But rather, empathetically. Jesus is the greatest example of this. He who was sinless reached out to us in our most sinful moments. A tax collector. An adulterous woman. A leper. A thief. People so dissimilar to Jesus, how could He speak their language? They had nothing in common. Except this. They needed love; he had it and he gave it. He met them where they were. That is the key. That is how you speak each other’s language. Pursue people. Meet them exactly where they are.

And such is why that young girl is learning languages. Simply to connect and relate with people from all over.

As you’ve probably already realized, this story and journey is mine. I have discovered so much about myself, about others, and about God via this quest of polyglotism. I’ve learned a lot, but I have even more to learn. Join me in this expedition.

#polyglot #language learning

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