Photograph byJolka Igolka

A Landscape of Women's Stories



Monday, April 26, 2010

Speakers Of Other Languages

As soon as I wrote 'Other Languages' I realised my faux pas. How negatively have I qualified language by the simple placement of the word 'other.' Am I suggesting that English is in some way a normal dialogue and anything outside of its boundaries is different, marked and perhaps, dare I say, less effective as a mode of communication. Actually, tonight I have realised the constraints of English. As with any language communicating with people whose mother tongue I don't share (or communicating with those who I do!) is a mixed bag: sometimes we understand and sometimes we make mistakes. It's a matter of guess and sometimes semantics. Either way, any dialogue is a minefield. So let's begin again without the 'other':

Speakers of [World] Languages

I'm seeking assistance from people who have a firm grasp of French, German, Czech, Aboriginal, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, any language at all to help us compose letters to art faculties and magazines. If you like to help, please drop me a line.

2 comments:

  1. Hello,
    My name is Mohammad Ameen, Palestinian\M\28 married, work and live in Ramallah, Palestine.

    I'm an International & Media Director for the Palestinian National Commission for Education,Culture & Science. http://www.pncecs.org
    I'm glad to give you a hand specialy when I got your mail on facebook about your looking for creative Palestinian Women, which I send invitations to all the palestiniane friends.

    Regards.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your generosity Mr Ameen. If you have any questions, please feel free to message us directly. Regards, Orchid.

    ReplyDelete