Two languages, two cultures, one(?)self

I read a narrative “Two languages, two cultures, one(?)self: Between Polish and English” by Anna Wierzbicka for one of my classes. The story makes me feel happy. The reason I have such a feeling because it shows me something I have not thought before in my life. From the story, I have learned two things.

First, I learn several new words related to the culture, language, and identity. Those words are feeling and emotion. I chose those words because the use of language affects our feeling and emotion. The writer’s experience proves it. I also have an experience as she has. The feeling when I use other languages (e.g. Javanese) is different with the feeling when I use my first language, Bahasa Indonesia. In addition, when I use other languages, I feel that I become another person because I have to adapt not only with the languages but also with the cultural and situational context. For example, when I moved from Jakarta to Salatiga, I had to use Javanese. It was a difficult thing to do for me at the first time because I had never used Javanese in Jakarta, but either it is difficult or not, I have to learn to use Javanese because many people in Salatiga tend to use Javanese and it seems that using Javanese has become a culture in Salatiga. Therefore, because I live in Salatiga, I have to adapt with the culture. Not only that, in Salatiga, sometimes I have to think on my interlocutors’ feeling when I have a conversation with them. I have to be very careful in choosing the words I use to speak. The situation is different with the situation I found in my neighborhood before. In Jakarta, when I gave opinion about something, I could say what I wanted to say objectively, but in Salatiga, I have to think several times in sharing my opinion.

Other than language use, the narrative raises my awareness with regard to the importance of understanding the cultural awareness. At the first time, I think that grammar is the most important thing when we use a language, but the writer’s story proves that knowing the grammar rules is not the only thing to have a successful communication. Therefore, we have to know about the other contexts (e.g. cultural context) of the target language we use.

Finally, I want to say that this story is an inspiring story for me. It makes me reflect back to myself when I have to use another language.