Years ago, when I was learning Italian, I wanted to force myself to improve my language. During that time, apart from attending a course, I tried to write everything I lived every day. I also started a blog and tried to write before going on a short trip. Although there are times when it helps when you are struggling, there can be situations that put you in a dilemma.
With my curiosity and ability in foreign languages, I can feel a bit more vigorous when it comes to them. As I have recently become interested in the German language again, I have been considering what I could do to speed up my studies. Due to my personal work on many other languages, I had to push myself a little to make quick progress on what I thought were easy points.
So, in order not to limit my language practice to the relevant applications, I diversify it by accessing random information from the internet and using it in a way that can provide my daily expression.
The strange thing is that sometimes I’m not sure we can speak even our own language properly. Considering that we are talking about a third language, it is also possible to lose some value in a narrative. However, I believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I may be wrong, but at least at the beginning I cannot say that I have seen any harm in it.
Photo by Leonardo Toshiro Okubo on Unsplash
Let us continue with the globally recognised language, English, which I know relatively well but never claim to know completely. When I write my articles, I continue to write in both languages, including the subject matter, the length, or anything that I assume might lose meaning in translation.
Actually, my purpose in doing this is not only to keep practising the language and not get rusty, but also to providing the content to more people. Because as you know, no matter how much time you spend on it, language is an asset that you will eventually lose if you don’t use it or make use of it. Just like I can say about my Italian, which I once knew well.
To make progress in this regard, I used to write directly in English and then translate it into my native language (although I do this less often nowadays). After a certain point, I thought it might be more appropriate to start writing my thoughts in my native language and, where necessary, modify them to fit the rules or narrative of English. I have done something similar for the book I am writing. I also always use a translation program to finalise my articles so that I can avoid grammatical errors of any level and present a cleaner and more fluent writing.
Having said that, let’s move on to writing books. Because, as you can imagine, our personal articles (the content of which is not scientific and academic) are intended to inform in the margins of everyday life. In other words, a misrepresentation of the story must not create a problematic situation at some point. Otherwise, some of the information we have on the subject can either fill in the gaps or help us to question the inaccuracy.
However, this situation may not always have the same effect on a fictional work. Because a work of fiction may not always contain content that we can make sense of at first glance. But if we think about it, we can see that it does make sense. Because, as in the title, when you perform a work outside your mother tongue, your expression will definitely be different.
When we talk about our local and perhaps generalised cultural values, they may not have the same resonance in another part of the world. It may seem morally awkward, it may not make sense. Perhaps, on the contrary, it can illustrate misconceptions or make people realise that they share part of a similar culture.
Idioms and proverbs in our own language and even sentences in everyday narrative will definitely add an eccentricity to the narrative. This is because even when we write in a language other than our own, our brain still gives priority to our mother tongue. If we take a phrase that is used in our language for exactly the situation we are describing and transfer it to a foreign language, we may not only enrich it, but we may also completely distort the narrative. This seems to me to be an event that depends as much on the language as on the competence of the writer.
Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
That is why I think I should write my book in my own language and, if it needs to be translated, leave it to people who know how to do it. But of course there are writers who are capable of doing this. It would not be difficult to guess that most of these exophonic writers are bilingual or even multilingual. Moreover, we can say that it is a great blessing for those who have had it since childhood. It is one of those situations where I always say “I wish”.
In my research I have found that the majority of people who have migrated at some point in their lives, or who were born in another country, have merged with the language and culture of that country. I think one of the most recent examples is Kazuo Ishiguro. Although he was originally born in Nagasaki, Japan, he moved to the UK at some point. He says that his views have broadened and become more sophisticated as he has been exposed to both cultures throughout his life. After winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017, he was knighted and given the title of Sir in 2018 for his contribution to literature.
“Can I improve my German to a level that I consider adequate? Will I be able to write poetry and fiction equally well in English or German? Will what I write be accepted in my own language?” I do not know the answer to any of these questions. But I do know that discipline is essential to progress in both writing and language learning. I hope to become an exophonic writer one day.
Articles that might interest you:
Comments