Awhile back, I discussed with my friend regarding my inabilities to translate -
"I'm Monolingual, you know."
"That should be your DJ name."
I admit, his joke was funny. I don't blame him for being light-hearted about it. With him being bilingual, he has that freedom of understanding. Our conversation stemmed from obstacles I face within my current career as a Pharmacy Technician. In addition to the meticulous-learning curve, the tasks I face may sometimes seem impossible to overcome. No matter how much studying I invested into this profession, it couldn't prepare me for the real world. There are so many things you can't learn in books and that's what separates academics from actual experience.
In this day and age, it's beneficial to know multiple languages, but it seems I've only been able to master one thus far. One of the most challenging tasks for me is translating for non-English speaking people. In this occupation, patients that visit most frequently require some interpreter. Knowing their languages could open many doors; communicating with others on a personal level offers comfort for you and them. Being unable to speak languages besides English hinders me in work as well as life. I admit this is one of my greatest weaknesses; one of life's challenges I've yet to succeed. Previous employers have graciously seen beyond this and allowed me to grow in different areas. However, there's a social stigma attached to the lack of understanding. I may be book smart, but when it comes to communication, not knowing other languages is a disadvantage.
As a Filipino born in Southern California, there's an expectation that I should have learned dialects with relative ease. To this day, I struggle to understand the language of my family, Tagalog. When I address this to them, they sometimes laugh at it. I think if I had grown up learning the spoken tongue of my relatives, I might have more sense of heritage and pride. I always have to explain that I was born in East Los Angeles with no real ties to our culture. Having grown up monolingual has forced me to put more effort into everything else, though. The language barriers are obstacles that I have to overcome, or rely on others to assist. Trust me when I say that this is not the best feeling in the world. It makes me view myself as highly inadequate, not being able to comprehend. I'm not afraid to talk about this, because I'm constantly challenged by it.
Even though it's a requirement to study another language throughout school years - for some reason, I could never retain any of that information. I have an excellent memory, but for some reason, I can't connect the dots when it comes to translation. In my youth, I was raised to read, write and speak in English so I wouldn't develop any "funny" accents growing up. I was part of the generation where our parents didn't want us to struggle in American schools and be ridiculed for the way that we talked. So now, none of us know Tagalog. See how nicely that life is treating us? The saying goes, "Latin is a dead language," but I beg to differ. The ability of understanding, comprehension and conversation makes you that much stronger as a person. I don't feel weak, but that barrier makes me feel inferior.
"I'm Monolingual, you know."
"That should be your DJ name."
I admit, his joke was funny. I don't blame him for being light-hearted about it. With him being bilingual, he has that freedom of understanding. Our conversation stemmed from obstacles I face within my current career as a Pharmacy Technician. In addition to the meticulous-learning curve, the tasks I face may sometimes seem impossible to overcome. No matter how much studying I invested into this profession, it couldn't prepare me for the real world. There are so many things you can't learn in books and that's what separates academics from actual experience.
In this day and age, it's beneficial to know multiple languages, but it seems I've only been able to master one thus far. One of the most challenging tasks for me is translating for non-English speaking people. In this occupation, patients that visit most frequently require some interpreter. Knowing their languages could open many doors; communicating with others on a personal level offers comfort for you and them. Being unable to speak languages besides English hinders me in work as well as life. I admit this is one of my greatest weaknesses; one of life's challenges I've yet to succeed. Previous employers have graciously seen beyond this and allowed me to grow in different areas. However, there's a social stigma attached to the lack of understanding. I may be book smart, but when it comes to communication, not knowing other languages is a disadvantage.
As a Filipino born in Southern California, there's an expectation that I should have learned dialects with relative ease. To this day, I struggle to understand the language of my family, Tagalog. When I address this to them, they sometimes laugh at it. I think if I had grown up learning the spoken tongue of my relatives, I might have more sense of heritage and pride. I always have to explain that I was born in East Los Angeles with no real ties to our culture. Having grown up monolingual has forced me to put more effort into everything else, though. The language barriers are obstacles that I have to overcome, or rely on others to assist. Trust me when I say that this is not the best feeling in the world. It makes me view myself as highly inadequate, not being able to comprehend. I'm not afraid to talk about this, because I'm constantly challenged by it.
Even though it's a requirement to study another language throughout school years - for some reason, I could never retain any of that information. I have an excellent memory, but for some reason, I can't connect the dots when it comes to translation. In my youth, I was raised to read, write and speak in English so I wouldn't develop any "funny" accents growing up. I was part of the generation where our parents didn't want us to struggle in American schools and be ridiculed for the way that we talked. So now, none of us know Tagalog. See how nicely that life is treating us? The saying goes, "Latin is a dead language," but I beg to differ. The ability of understanding, comprehension and conversation makes you that much stronger as a person. I don't feel weak, but that barrier makes me feel inferior.
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