Stop Licking Watermelons

Mistranslated Phrase of the Day:

At a Budapest Zoo: "Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty."

I never realized the true power of languages until I, Elizabeth Woo, was a victim of it. It was in 4th grade when rather than studying for a Math test I had that week, I boasted that because I was familiar with the format of the tests, studying would be unnecessary. My mom responded with the quote, "수박 겉 핥기" (soo bak gut halki sheek). Directly translating this phrase to English, I was left with "Stop licking watermelons." Yum.

It turned out that the phrase actually signified the idea of making judgments before experiencing or knowing the deeper layers. She was warning me of assuming the nature of the test before having truly taken it.

Despite not earning a good score on the Math test, I instead became aware of the power and role of languages. Without knowing the Korean language, I would not have been able to access or even understand the wisdom that my mom was sharing with me. Ever since then, through my adventures to Germany, France, Finland, etc. I've pursued learning the languages.

I was shocked to see how many different expressions existed that couldn't be translated from one language to another as well as the importance of one single word. This got me thinking. How does the English language influence us?

Historically, I saw the country split over the wording of the Declaration of the Independence. I saw the country go to war over the de Lome letter. I saw Lincoln bringing people together through his Gettysburg Address. I realized history in part repeated itself because of the same mistakes or successes that were made through the rhetoric and the language.

Language continues to be influential, even today. With the election on its way, the presidential candidates must not only have policies, but they must also be able to wield the language in their favor in order to attract the American public. Languages also play a key role in the lives of immigrants. As I saw with my Korean language, languages shape a culture and there are values and ideals that can't be easily transferred from one language to another.Outside of our borders, the language we use to engage with other countries on a daily basis naturally contributes to our ability to trade and to collaborate.

From my high school perspective, there's even a difference in my language of the texting, facebooking, tweeting world and that of my parent's generation or that of the next generation's. It's from those differences and even similarities that values and priorities are reflected.

Languages are the silent movers. They can poke holes in our foundation or make it stronger, without us even knowing.

For too long we have deceived ourselves of the taste of the watermelon solely by licking the surface. Join me in investigating just how deep the layer goes.