Deep thoughts

(1) What is a language and what does it really mean to learn it?

A language is not just a set of words and grammar, but a tool through which we express our way of perceiving and thinking. It is the imprint of a culture, shaped by the experiences of that population, by the events that have forged their feelings and therefore their soul. By soul, I mean what stirs within us and makes us feel alive, our bubbling part. We can say that each language is like a garment designed and made directly onto the culture from which it originates, reflecting it and possessing a unique and lively imprint.

This is why learning a language different from our own means acquiring a new personality: Each language has its own character, an energetic identity shaped over time. Consequently, when we have truly absorbed the essence of a language different from our own, we manage to show a different personality, our facial expressions change, and we can even speak and act differently in front of the same situation based on the language we use, observing things from the point of view typical of the population to which the language we are speaking belongs.

Many people say that "in addition to language, it is important to also learn the culture," which is true, but they often consider these things as two separate elements that partially influence each other, which is insignificant. Most of the time, they say it just because someone else told them, and because mentally it makes sense. Very few of them consider the true connection between these two elements. The most serious thing is that among these people there are also language teachers, who are not able to convey something they have not fully or at least sufficiently understood. (Fortunately, with the necessary exceptions).

Language and culture are intrinsically fused together, they interpenetrate so much that through language we can perceive culture, and through culture we can understand the logic of the language. Each language contains a vibration, which can be perceived and decoded.

The real difference does not lie in the number of degrees and certifications obtained in the linguistic or psychological field, but in having started a deep journey within ourselves, aimed at understanding and freeing our soul, which has been suffocated by mental patterns: A set of rules that we follow faithfully but have never really observed or questioned. Everything our parents and teachers teach us becomes our religion. The quality of the teachings does not matter much, nor their deep understanding, only obedience matters and possibly also their acceptance.

Freeing our soul makes us regain sensitivity, the ability to perceive and see the world in a more enlightened and profound way. Knowing ourselves better allows us to better understand the rest of humanity.

It may seem quite strange or unusual to talk about all this during a language course, but we are studying a "HUMAN LANGUAGE." Man is part of nature, as weight is part of lead. Everything we create, especially a language (which is an expression of our feelings and thoughts), has the imprint of nature, just as we do, only sometimes we forget it.

Learning a language, considering it almost as an entity endowed with its own personality, will allow us to fully grasp its meaning and unique imprint, to absorb it and make it a part of us. Studying a language with a mechanical approach, almost mathematical and full of fixed, standardized, and timed schemes, will make the whole process heavier and fruitless. It is necessary to dive into its world and live it fully, following our emotions and an unrestrictive guide. Viewing it only through a book or always clinging to something for fear of falling will only make us victims.

After understanding this, we realize that learning a language is much more than just an educational journey, but a real adventure that can give us an infinite number of different emotions.

Emotions are what best fit human beings. Our ability to feel emotions is innate, and in any case, the human race is not the only one enjoying this ability. However, by a twist of fate, we are the only ones living our emotions as a problem rather than a blessing. In fact, from a young age, we are often taught to repress, control, and suffocate our emotions, especially as we grow and face greater responsibilities, such as exams and work. Everything must follow the pattern imposed by the society we live in.

Freedom makes us true, unique, and original, but above all, it makes us human.

Considering language learning only and solely as a study subject is extremely limiting and deprives us of all the beauty that this experience has to offer. Learning a language means learning art and science mixed with history and psychology. It is an intimate and invaluable experience, overwhelming and magical in the true sense of the term, through which we can break down barriers inside and outside ourselves and expand our world. It is something that shapes us and allows us to gain greater knowledge and mastery of ourselves. Self-knowledge is a source of inner light that allows us to grasp the nuances of the world, a source of strength and inner security.

School can certainly play a very important role, especially if teachers are enlightened people, in which case they will do their best to help us get the most out of it, but much also depends on us and how we decide to approach this adventure.

You will not become a superhero after embarking on this experience; they, as they are, exist only in comic books. But if you live this experience in the right way, you will discover a part of yourself and the world around you that you were previously unaware of.

Brandon - Luglio 2024

(3)

None of us is born knowing how to do things. Everything that is part of nature is in a continuous evolutionary process, each being and element according to its own time, including humans, or at least that’s how it should be… In many circumstances, from a young age, we are taught that we should feel ashamed when we can’t do certain things, but in reality, this is just an unfounded belief that everyone accepts without ever really questioning it. Humans are, in fact, often the only beings that deviate from this natural logic because they have created a division between themselves and nature, increasingly identifying through a set of mental patterns, many of which are neither natural nor logically sound, and only a few are healthy. From this perspective, we are in a process of involution because we (often unconsciously) insist on not seeing ourselves as children of the earth, but rather as children of a society to which we owe obedience.

As a language tutor, I can say that among the various things we seem to naturally feel ashamed of is the inability to speak a new language we are learning. This belief is quite dysfunctional and creates unhealthy effects in those who submit to it. Every skill has gone through an evolutionary process that has forged it through errors and direct experimentation, which has already given us dignity. There is nothing else to prove; we just need to continue evolving with strength and love for ourselves, recognizing our natural rhythm and perhaps finding the most suitable way for us to learn, which is fundamental, even though it is often completely overlooked.