Austin Wiggins is a 22-year-old writer from Southern California. He is a newcomer in nonfiction writing who writes about philosophy and psychology.
Links to connect to Austin: https://writingbyender.wordpress.com/ and Twitter @EndersWritings (https://twitter.com/EndersWritings)
In my 22 years, I have had the experience of learning two foreign languages: Turkish and Korean. I didn’t learn these languages because they’re a part of my culture, but instead out of simple curiosity. Through this curiosity, foreign language has exposed me to new ideas and has also changed my perception of the world.
Language is culture. Through learning a foreign language, you open up the doors to a new culture. Through further study and interaction with that culture you gain a deep understanding of it. For instance, the motives behind the politics of a culture or the individual people. One can become more understanding of and receptive to foreign cultures and can come to view the world through new perspectives.
I grew up in a diverse environment, but people never mentioned culture and race. My mom is half white and half Puerto Rican and my dad is black, but we grew up in a predominately Hispanic area. It might have been my childhood innocence that kept me from seeing potential tension, but to me it seemed all cultures in my hometown were blending together. In thinking about it now, I do leave the possibility that I was ignorant to what it even meant to have a culture. Either way, it is safe to say that before learning Turkish, I wasn’t as receptive to new cultures as I am today.
My studies of language and culture came to immediate use when I went to Turkey for a program in Hacettepe University in Ankara. I was immersed in all aspects of Turkish culture — both eastern and western. Turkey felt like any large city, though the customs were different.
One major difference is that Turkish men are much closer there than here in America. It wasn’t uncommon to see two men with locked arms walking down the street. My teachers taught me about it, but it took a while to adjust to seeing this as common practice. This was because I had a held belief about men not being able to be close, an idea that I think is continually perpetuated in American culture.
Language-learning and good literature are rather similar. When you read a good book, it absorbs you in beautiful metaphors and imagery. The story takes you on a journey, and along the way you reflect on each character’s motives and even think about what you might do in their situation.
Learning a language is close to this experience. As you study a foreign language, you learn the motives of the people of another culture. If the cultural difference is too extreme, one is forced to reflect on what one would do in the same situation. This leads to an understanding of both one’s own culture and the culture one is learning, and it provides an opportunity for self-discovery and growth. Embedded in language are cues to the other culture’s prejudices and stereotypes. When the reader recognizes these judgements, they become inclined to reflect on if they hold similar prejudices — leading to the potential for self-discovery.
Language-learning is much more than a gateway into another culture; it also broadens your perspective. Once you have this worldview perspective, you consider how global events affect much more than yourself or your culture. In doing so, you put yourself in a situation for lasting character change, all made possible through the learning of a foreign language.
Weaver's Knot by Glenda Bailey-Mershon 