Wednesday, September 11, 2013
What If You Could No Longer Communicate with Anyone?
What if you woke up one morning and discovered that you were suddenly the only person on the face of the earth that spoke English and that the rest of the world spoke a strange new language that you had never heard of? As I pondered this question I realized that even the most simple of interactions would become extremely difficult. I would probably try to communicate with others using hand gestures and pointing to objects. It would almost be like a game of charades. I'm sure I would try to learn the new language but I'm not quite sure how. Perhaps I would point to various objects and hope that someone would tell me how to say what it was. Of course it would be extremely frustrating. The thought would definitely cross my mind to just give up and live alone for the rest of my life. However, I'm sure that my determination would soon get me back on my feet and out trying to understand the new world I had been thrust into. I would have to find someone extremely patient to teach me. I have tried to learn new languages before but even the simple ones have stumped me. This person that would be willing to teach me would probably become my best friend (if he didn't kill me out of frustration first). Eventually, I'm sure I would be able to successfully learn the new language. Since English would be dead, I would probably use it as a secret language and teach it only to the ones I was closest to.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is an interesting thought but a sad one. We are naturally such social creatures and for that to be taken away would surely drive me to insanity.
ReplyDeleteThis post brought me back to my mission. I probably couldn't speak the language properly for a full 6 months. I recall an emotional day when my first week in, when I couldn't quite recall how to ask for a glass of water.
ReplyDeleteThis made me think about civilizations colliding throughout history. I imagine this is kind of what it was like for native americans trying to communicate with the pilgrims, but they still had their own people to communicate with. I bet you would feel so helpless being the only English speaker.
ReplyDelete