Power of Language
SATOH Miki
Ariake NCTGood afternoon everyone. I’m interested in language and today I’m going totalk about my ideas concerning language.
Living in Japan, I don’t have many opportunities to use English, or meet
English-speaking people. So I belong to the English Speaking Society atschool, and at the meetings I met new people. We have a lot of enjoyable
conversations about different topics in English. The teachers, foreign
students and Japanese students of different ages come together, and we alltalk like friends. I am really impressed by this. I noticed this kind of open
communication seldom happens when talking in Japanese, and I realized
how much effect language can have on people and how much power is in alanguage itself.
Language changes the way I relate to other people. In English it’s normal tocall people by their first name, (and we can always say “you” to the person wetalk to). I become less conscious of the age of people I’m talking to, whichmakes it easier to make friends. Japanese places emphasis on groups while
English places emphasis on individuals. I can talk casually even with ateacher when I call him just “Richard” without adding “sensei.”
Although English has never been a daily language for me, there are times
that I’d rather express my feelings in English than in Japanese. Phrases like“I miss you” or “I love you” are very simple and short, but still powerful. In
English it’s easy to express emotions directly without becoming too dramaticor rude. Because we state the subject and object, it also becomes very clear
whom you are talking about. I can say my opinion precisely even when I’mtalking to an older person or someone I’ve just met.
Talking in front of many people, like this, also becomes more comfortable forme in English. Because the subject and object have to be clear in a sentence,you have to clarify your opinion before you say something. That makes it
possible for me to speak with more conviction and confidence. It’s just agrammatical difference whether we emphasize the subject and object or not,but it has a large effect on the way we appear to another person.
Now let me turn to the Japanese language. In Japanese, it’s possible to talkwithout saying the subject and without completing the whole sentence.
When I say, “寂しい,” it’s not clear who is missing whom. These conversations
can be ambiguous sometimes, but that’s definitely not a negative thing. You
can enjoy your own imagination and mood, or convey thoughts and emotions
without being too forward or harsh. Through the language, you can feel theculture of people who tend to hide their feelings or prefer telling theirfeelings indirectly. The ambiguity in Japanese makes it easier to assume aharmonious attitude, because listeners may interpret the information suchas to make it more palatable.
Something else that’s very characteristic of Japanese is “kanji”. Theappearances are very unique, and these effect our mental image of the words.
One letter of the alphabet doesn’t have a meaning, but one kanji or even one
part of a Kanji can have many different meanings. When I use a Japaneseword, I sometimes imagine the kanji in my head. When I see something
beautiful, like a traditional kimono or wood-block print, for me it’s not only
“nice” or “wonderful”. It can be “美しい”, “ or “輝かしい” or other words whichgive an impression or image influenced by their kanji. It’s like the words
become something visual and artistic. Because Japanese has a more visualcomponent, it may have a more powerful non-verbal “felt” effect on its users.
Some things I can express only in Japanese.
There are thousands of languages in use today. The differences may
sometimes be troublesome, but learning new languages gives us new
possibilities to know more about people and culture as well as a greater
range of self expression and self-knowledge. When I use a different language,
I still feel comfortable and I am still the same person. But the power oflanguage gives me a chance to express myself in different ways and at thesame time, encourages me to keep studying foreign languages, and love mynative language even more.