The Heart's Language I lived in Turkey. Did I mention that yet? Well, I did. And Turkey is a beautiful country with a wonderful language. Having lived in Istanbul I was in a much more Western influenced part of the country. I had many opportunities to cross from Asia to Europe each week and see what was the capitol of the Byzntine and Ottoman empires. I never did become fluent after my three years there. I did meet many people and one of them was Charlotte McPherson. Besides owning one of the few bookstores in Turkey which has English language books she writes a column for the English language version of a Turkish newspaper.
In her article ‘Speaking the heart’s language’ she is able to draw the parallels between Hungarian and Turkish particularly well illustrated in the extract below:
“Turkish: “Cebimde çok küçük elma var.” Hungarian: “Zsebemben sok kicsi alma van."
(Translation: I have a lot of small apples in my pocket.)”
She is addressing some obvious similarities between not only the words but also structurally in the language. Though she translated it in the traditional American way of saying, which is the best way of conducting translation, a literal translation would follow “Pocket mine in many small apples exist/are/true". Yes, we may be acquainted but I find Charlotte's observations quite astute.
Not only does she touch on structural values in languages but she goes on to speak on how nice it is to meet people who speak one's mother tongue. One's mother tongue has also come to be known in some circles a your heart language. No matter how many languages you learn the language in which you will best be able to express your emotions will always be your heart language. For most that is the first language you learn.
I found this very evident when even after living in Turkey, each time I overheard a bit of English conversation it was like a safe have. I recall several times being on public transport, bus, train, ferry, funicular and finding in that mix of languages my mother tongue and relishing in those brief moments when I understood everything that was being communicated. I continue to wonder at people's reactions to their heart language and I'm sure my experiences will continue to inform my life. Taking a moment to address someone in their mother tongue is a treasure, no matter the language they speak.
I love that expression, "the heart's language," referring to the first language you learn. It is beautiful. I often ponder about how people think of English. I wonder if non English speakers think our language is more beautiful than theirs. I feel like I take English for granted all the time (when in fact there are some aspects of it that make it beautiful). Did your stay in Istanbul leave you with gratitude towards English as being your heart's language (I feel as if it had because you shared that you had moments of a safe haven when you heard English) ? Or did you have a longing for Turkish to be your heart's language?
ReplyDeleteThis post was fun to read. I love hearing about people's experiences in a different environment :)
I did grow a lot more in my appreciation for English. The hearts language is just the one in which you best express your emotions, it can change. When people speak more than one with great facility I always ask, what language do you do math in? Or what language do you dream in primarily? I think it would be wonderful to have Turkish as my heart language but I would likely have to marry someone from the culture and live there for 10 years at least for that to become a reality. :(
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