I found the language panel to be absolutely fascinating. Hearing from the panelists about their language experiences inspired me to take some time to reflect on the varying perspectives that emerge from language and other, perhaps nonverbal, forms of communication. I had recently watched the movie Coda, detailing the lives of a mostly non hearing family in Massachusetts. That was my first extended experience watching ASL since classes in elementary school. In my personal life, I have never closely known a deaf person who uses ASL, so watching this film and noticing the incredible nuances of the language (expressions, jokes, communication of emotion) was really profound. Because these ideas had been on my mind, it was fascinating to hear from Dr. Pedro Villaneuva. I was really interested to hear about the visual aspects of the language (besides the obvious fact that ASL uses physical motions). To hear about the importance of positioning (sitting in circles) and eye contact (being able to engage with someone’s facial expressions) reminded me of aspects of spoken language that I take for granted. For example, hearing people are able to hear tone (for example sarcasm) even if we cannot see or read their facial expressions. 

Another idea that stood out to me during this panel was Dr. Iddrisu Saaka’s discussion of words identical in spelling yet vastly different in meaning. For example, he talked about the Gonja word Alag and explained that it could mean water pot, hollow trees, mats, drumming, swimming, or houses depending on the context and tone used. I thought it was fascinating that one word could have such a variety of meanings. Beyond the concept itself, I reflected on how difficult it would be for someone like me (and English speaker with limited background in language learning) to truly master a linguistic concept such as this. I think it is an excellent example of the profound ties between language and culture (and experience). To truly understand a concept such as this, I imagine that one would have to live with it, live in it, rather than simply read about it in a book or online. It makes me wonder what features of the languages we learned about (and other languages that strongly differ from English) can be easily learned in the classroom versus what features could be much better understood within the context of their associated cultures. 

It was also interesting to hear from Dr. Iddrisu Saaka about cultural differences between the U.S and West Africa. He explained that in his culture, it is disrespectful to look an elder in the eyes while engaging with them, and that he often struggles to remember that during interactions here. I thought about how even with the intention of respect, to look away from someone while speaking with them would be considered disrespectful in this community. This tangible example of differing customs inspired me to reflect more on the things that I consider to be “normal”, and how important it is to challenge and examine those aspects of my culture.