Language Learning Moments

 Mo gega ka. I am big, compared to locals,
I just wish they wouldn’t always highlight the fact
(D.Petterson)

Language learning is a never ending process, but in these beginning stages there are some moments that leave me somewhere between a smile and a grimace. Usually it is because I have become familiar with common phrases.

Early in my last village stay I realised I was recognising everything the person behind me was saying “Oobo gega ka. Bogobogo gega ka. Merebehe gega ka.” …but I wished I couldn’t … “The woman is fat. The whiteskin is fat. The lady is fat.” I know they were commenting, not judging, but coming from a western culture in which ‘big/fat’ is so often equated with ‘bad/lazy’, it is hard to hear it as just a description.

Another series of words I recognise but wish I didn’t hear so much was the parents in the house across the path telling off their children. “Piroha!” “Be quiet!’ “Hepui eito!”... which is literally “Go to ground!” In context is not telling people to go into hiding, but to get out of the house by going down the ladder onto the ground.

A word I hear directed at me is “Ahu!”, “Be strong!” In context, they are telling me not to fall in the mud, off the log bridge, or roll the canoe.

 My neighbours, they look far away,
but I can often hear them (H.Schulz)

Recognition of the word “bogobogo” always makes me wonder what people are talking about, as I am the only bogobogo, or whiteskin, in the village. I recognise the reference to me, but not the content of the conversation. One day I’ll understand.

If it is not common phrases causing me to be caught between a smile and a grimace, it is non-recognition of words I knew a minute earlier. As I slowly learn, I am able to use words in context. If the context changes and the same word occurs, I can find myself knowing I should know the word, but not knowing what it means. This is most frustrating.

Then there are the moments when I do manage to put an idea into words, or understand what someone has said to me, and there is a moment of victory. I look forward to the day when comprehension is more normal and confusion saved for new events, rather than every event.