Communication Errors

Growing up I found myself bouncing back and forth between my house and my favorite place, the barn. I spent so much time out there learning all about the majestic horse and the language to describe it. There was a language there that everyone used and I became immersed in as a young child and grew in. I learned so much from the barn and was and am always so excited to tell people about my experiences. Even recently I caught myself being overtaken with excitement to find that a friend of mine loves the animal as well. I began speaking with her and the language of the barn welled up in my throat and overflowed with terms that she probably never has heard before. I got that idea because she just gave me that slight smile and nod that indicated she was excited but had no clue what I was saying. I stopped and asked her about her past with horses and she relayed that she had none and that she simply admired them and desired to learn and work with them. 

That’s where the problem was, it was with the communication between someone who didn’t grow up in, or knows, the environment with the specific language floating around, and someone that did. It’s always a conflict of emotions for me afterwards because it’s frustrating trying to formulate a new way to describe what I’m trying to say to people that don’t get it because I feel they are missing out on the true experience of the word and that they just won’t fully grasp it, but at the same time it makes me happy to get the chance to explain and expose people to this wonderful world I lived in. My parents at home always just nodded their heads like they understood when I was younger but eventually I learned to separate the two and my accounts became less detailed and more bland. That is why I believe when I’m asked by someone who knows all about the sport that I tend to be overexcited and energetic about it. 

Min-Zhan Lu described the struggle of language in the narrative “From Silence to Words” between the voice of her home language and the voice of her class language; I would say mine would be similar. I see a struggle between being able to throw around terms like “dressage” and “passage” and other phrases out at the barn or with people that understand and having to dilute my language with those around me that don’t. It’s a struggle I’ve gotten used to and one not near as difficult as Lu’s, but still one that I see a barrier in communication that can be frustrating at times and also gives me a sense of intimacy with my fellow barn friends that is difficult to share with the world. Do you have any struggle to separate a language of a passion of yours with those you spend time with? Do you feel a sense of instant friendship or an excitement being able to share a specific language with someone who shares the same passion as you whether it be a sport or a hobby?