The magic of mother-tongue

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Holiday memoirs, part I, Jan 7th 2008

What is it about the mother tongue that no matter how fluent you are in another language, it's not your mother language. Thus, it doesn't have that same effects on you as your first language. Nothing can substitute your first language. I do miss Farsi more than I miss Iran itself. I remember a time when a car pulled over to ask me a direction. When we both realized we were Iranian, I gave him the direction in Farsi. It was such a wonderful feeling- talking to a random person in Farsi. Even songs and music have different essence when they are in Farsi.

Having said that, it reminded me my trip back from Montreal. My flight was 2 hours delayed because of the weather condition. There it was a heavy fog in Montreal in January. As soon as the plane took off, we experienced some heavy turbulence which continued through out the flight. I didn't mind; these sorts of things barely affect me. But that wasn't the case with my fellow passenger next to me; 21 years old Sara, who started shaking and panicking. She wasn't able to talk and I really feared for her life. No one could do anything to calm her down. We had to ask the flight attendant to come to her rescue. Nothing worked until the flight attendant realized that Sara and he were sharing similar first language which was Arabic. He started singing an Arabic song to her. It was amazing to see the effect of that song on her. She started to breath normally and eventually asked for water.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear Daisy...
Thanks for sharing this story...
To be honest, I do like persian language...
Too many metaphors makes it a challanging language.
I had a friend (whom try to learn Farsi), once he said: " I never learn verb usage in u'r language, specially "Khordan"...
how can a taxi driver eat your way?" (folan ja mikhore agha? " :D
Shad ziid
January 30, 2008
Daisy said…
that was a funny comment. Thanks
January 31, 2008
Nazy said…
Salam Daisy Jan:

I know what you mean about Farsi. I thought about your saying:"I miss Farsi more than I miss Iran."

I think too many emigrants don't embrace their new environment fully, because they stay isolated in their cultural closters. Speaking the language of our new home is really important to enable us to sustain ourselves, but reading it, writing it, and communicating in it becomes essential if we are to truly embrace the culture and the country.

I get so disappointed in the atrocious English many Iranians speak and write. I do appreiate that some people simply don't have good language skills, but when people spend the time and effort to perfect it, it usually pays off.

Farsi is the language of my heart. It cannot be forgotten, nor replaced. It is permanently stored in the right side of my brain as mother tongues are stored, where I can remembe it and speak it even when I'm sleepy, dazed, and shocked. English and all my other "acquired" skills are stored in the left side of my brain, where when I'm too tired, or otherwise influenced (!), I can easily forget words in it.

I think what you saw on the airplane was "the language of the heart" in action.

Be good azize delam.
February 03, 2008
Daisy said…
Salam Nazy jon,

Wow, no one could put it better that you- “the language of the heart". That was an awesome title for that post.

Generally speaking my language skills are one of my weaknesses. I do really want to be fluent in English and I'm doing my best to achieve that. One of the reasons I write my entire blog in English is simply to practice more. I can say I've improved a lot since I've moved here but there is still a long way to go.

Enjoy the Sunday afternoon
February 03, 2008
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