Language Barriers

Although I cannot carry on an intelligent conversation in French I was surprised at the number of French words or phrases that popped into my head after arriving in Burkina. Chapeau. La fenêtre.  Fermez la porte. Pourquoi? Qu'est-ce que c’est?...not that any of those particular examples were of much use to me.

Bonjour, ça va? Le famille? Good day. How are you? The family? These are typical greetings that I learned to extend to everyone we met.  That was easy enough to do, but most people responded with a further barrage of French far beyond my capacity to understand.  Non parlez français, I'd say, and they would offer a smile or a phrase like petite anglais, but communication usually faded. I couldn't connect with them and it was frustrating.

Being in Burkina made me wish I had paid more attention in language class.

I’m used to striking up conversations with relative ease, but that skill was lost to me during the Learning Tour. I wanted to know how Othniel, the preacher who blessed us with a sermon about Jonah at Foyer Evangélique Mennonite de Ouagadougou on Sunday, came to speak with such passion. (His sermon was translated for us by Pastor Calixte Bananzaro.) I yearned to discover something about Othniel's background and how he came to be where he is, why he is studying law instead of theology when he is obviously so gifted. 

I wanted to ask the old man on the corner outside of the marketplace what he thinks of as he sits on the street all day, and if he has a family, but I didn't have the words to open doors to that discussion.

Conversation is a delicate art, nuanced by body language, facial expression, intonation and even the ways in which words are strung together. Although there were several French-speakers in our group willing to translate for me – and I am grateful for their help - I could not follow these translated interactions closely enough to recognize the signals that might lead to deeper conversation and more meaningful connections.

Not being able to communicate freely gave me a new appreciation for what Mennonite Church Canada workers face when they choose to serve abroad, and for what newcomers to Canada endure as they struggle to converse.  

Language is a vessel of connection that I've always taken for granted. Without it, I felt lost.