Language

Reading about Rigoberta Menchu’s experiences and struggles living as an Indian woman in Guatemala really got me thinking about how important language is to communication and interaction with other human beings. There are many instances in which Rigoberta feels disconnected from others and alone only because there is a language barrier separating her from the other Indians. So do we, as human beings take language for granted? It really is a skill. For many who are not bilingual or trilingual it might be difficult to understand, but we grow up learning our language so we don’t understand how difficult the process is, especially for older people. I can only imagine how hard it must be to learn the language of a new country as an immigrant…being in a country where you can’t understand a single word that you hear. I speak three languages. Polish is my first language, English is my second language, and I’m currently learning Spanish as my third. Although I’m quite fluent in Polish, even when I visit Poland it’s so difficult to keep up with everyone who speaks it all day, every day. Applying this personal experience to Rigoberta Menchu’s story, I can really sympathize with the way she feels out of place among people who speak different languages.