Language: One Way to Access the Occurring

You are a Master of the words you don't say and a Slave to the ones you do.

- Anonymous

As evidenced by our interaction with media, more than one way of obtaining information--as it occurs--exists. In other words, the "news" can be accessed by television, articles online, the latest iPhone app, word of mouth or even being an eyewitness. I began thinking... 

Recalling that "access to the occurring is through language or not at all," I referred back to the example of media. Seeing that there are many paths leading to the information we seek, there must also be many paths leading to the conversations we seek. These are my observations and questions:

In what ways can language be embodied? 

Language can be embodied. If embodiment is defined as the manifestation of an idea or concept, and we consider language an idea or concept, then it is clear that language has been embodied in characters, words, sign language, facial expressions, eye gestures, and overall body language. 

Upon expanding on this understanding of language, are there not multiple ways of accessing the occurring? It all depends on which language we decide to speak.  

What possibilities arise from replacing "language" with "communication" to gain access to the occurring?

This past summer, as I made my way through Iraq, I realized how challenging traveling can be when lacking the most essential of tools--language. While I have crossed many a border before, this time, I became aware of being in a surrounding where I was lost. Without the compass of language to navigate me, I found myself at the beckoning of a small Sorani phrase book, not exhaustive by any means. Sorani is the language of the Kurds who live in Northern Iraq and surrounding regions (Turkey, Iran). It is a blend between Persian, Arabic and the native Kurdish language which, over centuries, has lost its authenticity.

In failing to penetrate through the language barrier, I found ways to manage to communicate. Although I relied on the phrase book for the essential tools (numbers, directions for the cab), I wanted to find alternative ways to access the occurring. Simply by making eye contact with the hoards of men on the streets at night, I communicated. I communicated by smiling or attempting not to smile! With the store clerks who noticed I was a single female in her early twenties, I communicated. There were so many manifestations of language occurring without my realizing it. They all spoke to me without having a word spoken. 

In language, what role do idioms play in gaining access to the occurring? to culture? to people? 

One of my Turkish students, to whom I taught English, asked me a question. "How many languages do you speak?" she inquired. I responded to her that English was my native language, that I could hold a conversation in Spanish, Turkish and Urdu and that I grew up reading and writing Arabic. I was barely given a chance to qualify my language abilities in each of these respective languages before she exclaimed, "So that makes you five people." I was confused. Five people? Okay...

She explained to me that there was an idiom in Turkish. The idiom states that for every language a person knows, he becomes that many people. Think about it. If you know one language, you know how to communicate to a certain group of people. If you know two, you can communicate to two groups of people. With sign language, for example, you can communicate with the deaf. With brail, the blind. In essence, the languages we know allow us to connect with people from all backgrounds. 

I realized the power of this idiom later on. In seeking insight to the origins of this idiom, I realized that idioms themselves are a way to understand people, to communicate. In English and in American culture, the beauty of our richness in diversity stems partly from the mesh of cultures that have each brought their own idioms into our daily interactions. Looking into the origins of common English idioms today will certainly reveal a number of foreign origins. So, idioms are the keys to gaining access to a culture and people in ways that other tools simply cannot unlock.

Where does language limit and inhibit; in contrary, where does it expand?

I recall one moment during Fall retreat in which it was mentioned that words in different languages can have direct connotations and sometimes multiple translations. As Keith mentioned, the Eskimo tradition has five words for the term "ice." As I mentioned, too, there are several translations of any Classical Arabic term. There is a certain benefit to knowing the connotations of words and even knowing the cognates. For example, the term "bio" comes from "life" in Latin. In English, the words "biography" and "biology" extend from this. Thus, in knowing the origins of language through cognates or connotations, language can expand our understanding of the knowledge we have. The origins also provide context--for instance, the timing of word coinage indicates an aspect of society relevant to the issues of that time (case in point: the word "freak" is explained in this article). In failing to seek these origins, we limit and inhibit the rich, robust dynamic that enhances our understanding of the occurring. 

Here is a relevant excerpt from a book I am reading entitled "Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart" by Hamza Yusuf:

One of the extraordinary aspects of the modern era is that we are discovering aspects of the heart unknown in previous times, although there were remarkable insights in ancient traditions. For instance, according to traditional Chinese medicine, the heart houses what is known as shen, which is spirit. The Chinese characters for thinking, thought, love, the intention to listen, and virtue all contain the ideogram for the heart.

What is my favorite method of accessing the occurring? Metaphors.

Religion is indeed the opiate of the believers.

Faith is the pain-numbing narcotic of the soul from the divine Healer that enables a fallen humanity to endure the trials and tribulations of life on earth.

Life is a divine surgery on the soul that removes the cancer of desire from our hearts, and faith enables us to suffer the procedure peacefully.

— Hamza Yusuf, Islamic Scholar

Metaphors are the translation of language. What seems impossible to communicate becomes possible by selecting words that impose familiar characteristics onto the foreign. This is an effective method of communication. If you have ever been in a situation in which you felt inept to understand what was going on, you know that there is power in metaphors. These are situations in which harnessing the power of a metaphor allows for access to the occurring. For example, whenever I go to the mechanic, I am given a detailed explanation of what is wrong with my car. While I know little to nothing about technical terms relating to vehicles, I do know a fair amount about the human body. Realizing this, the mechanic effectively communicates the problems with my car by likening it to the human body. He translates mechanical language into biological language, which is the one I understand. As is showcased in the poem above, metaphors are a powerful method of accessing the occurring.

Science vs. Art

Isn't it interesting how "black and white" science is perceived and how "gray" art is--and the line that distinguishes a border between the two seems to always be solid; it's never dashed. How is it that society really defines science? How does society define art? What about science and art makes them mutually exclusive under so many contexts? And under which contexts do science and art overlap?


While watching the video (right), a thought occurred to me. I saw a theme I had seen many a time before. The irony lies in the study of science and how it creates art and vice versa. Take a look at the vast array of watercolors. Doesn't it take precision, measurement, and science to come up with specific colors? It's a chemistry, really. It's 2 cups yellow to 1 cup green, yielding the perfect shade of blue. Then, taking a look at the process of watercoloring, the actual manifestation of the chemistry into an image--rather, colors that form a pattern on paper, leading us to cognitively form an association--is an art. As the colors are applied to the page, and as they merge, they form this chaotic mastery of imagination. And this imagination--the product of which is known as art--seems to imply that it has no basis in science. For where in this image, in this painting, is there evidence of scientific process? "2 + 2" doesn't equal "1 eye" and "6 over 3" doesn't equal "1 hair strand."

So, I have a conclusion that gets down to the essence of science and art. Neither science nor art can be objectively defined. Sure, science is black and white. I see black and white when using Pascal's formula or calculating the volume of my can of coconut water. Then, seeing how true these statements are, where does the "gray" in science arise? Well, even science--as black and white as it is--cannot escape the grayness of theory. What one scientist proposes as the empirical understanding of the universe, let's say as e=mc², can be reinterpreted and reformulated or even expanded upon. In short, it can be edited. And if there is any characteristic that describes art, it would be that art can be edited. Art is all about edits. And so is science.

I would dare to draw a division between these two disciplines. 

A Day

Some days are good days, other days are bad days. Either way, the "day" is used as a unit of measurement akin to other measurements of time such as seconds, months, and even light years. But what exactly consitutes a day? The "day" somehow became a frame of reference due to the simple act of a star in the sky rising from the East and setting in the West? From the twenty four hours it takes for the earth to spin upon its own axis? How is it that a day can be such a single unit, and disregard the hundreds of seconds that compose it--and should not each second be given its own right to exist in singularity? It is, yes it is, but is there ever a saying that goes "those were the seconds?" No. Alas, it is always, "Those were the days."

In life, we write chapters and conclude volumes without knowing when one will start and whether there will be another addition. How we classify these "days," too, enters into an oblivion of memory that is easily identified as a "phase" or "moment in time." For example, people experience emotional phases in life, such as the loss of a dear one, causing them great sorrow for an elongated period of time. Those were the days. Those were the days, when he mourned for the loss of his mother. And, in parallel, those were the days when he and his mother shared such fond times on holidays and family trips. Those were the days, and the days are so clumped together that each day is not paid respect to on a singular level. One day could have passed with an altercation with son and mother, but the days surrounding that one day enveloped much affection.

How can one day make all the difference? How is it that a dragonfly is born and its life can just span the next twenty four hours? Does it realize the passage of time, and does it know how long time really is? Does it matter? How incredible it is that we understand the lineage of time but it doesn't--is it not being cheated? A day can make all the difference for such an insect, but, too, can be life changing for others. A driver who suddenly looses control of his vehicle gets into an accident and changes many lives forever. He may lose his own life or take the life of another--of which both scenarios include the affected families. In love, movies such as Veer Zara or epic literatures such as Romeo & Juliet emphasize the value of one day. In just one day, it is possible that entire lives change based upon the unsteady assumption that both lovers equally care for another. How can it be that one day can change a life?

It can be... Lives were changed forever on a day that is very well-known throughout the world. On September 11th, 2001, the world changed forever. What a difference a day makes. That one morning, we all wake up to a new reality. A new world in which trust has gained yet another level of difficulty. In just a day, the theft of lives provoked the domino effect of the theft of trust, of belief in mankind.

Birth can occur in a day, and death can occur in a day...The fate of an innocent man pressed with guilty charges is determined in just a day. A day can be the date of marriage, a day can be the date of divorce. A day can be recorded in history as revolutionary and a day can be recorded in a diary as suicidal. A day is shared around the world but does not serve a universal purpose; for one man it is a holiday and for another is a mourning. Some see days, some don't. Days pass with time, days start time. Days can be counted, and days can be eternal.

Yes, in just a day. A day is all it takes. What is a day?