reading response #9

[Andrew Lyell]

The reading about dialects and accents really interested me.  While I attempted to learn Bangla in Bangladesh this last summer, I would step out onto the street and often not understand a word of what was being said.  I eventually discovered that most people in Bangladesh did not speak the same language I was learning in the classroom.  They would replace “ch” sounds with “s” sounds and “j” sounds with “z” sounds.  Not only that but different words would be substituted for simple things like how to say “to talk” and even for personal pronouns.

 

The language I was learning in the classroom was Standard Bangla, the form that is written down and spoken formally.  In Kolkata, India, this form of the language is used exclusively.  But as mentioned before, Bangladesh has created their own dialect of the language.  What is incredible is that some of the sounds they speak (like the “z” sound), do not even have a corresponding character in their alphabet.

 

On top of this complexity, local dialects exist within Bangladesh.  Supposedly Chittagongian Bangla is quite different than Dhaka Bangla.  Also many of the indigenous languages are now forming hybrids with Bangla, so that for example I could understand about half of what was said in the indigenous Chakma language. 

Suffice to say, in Bangladesh the line between separate languages and dialects is blurred.  The only way to really learn to language is to speak it with nationals.  Good thing that was my goal anyway.

Cultural competence is a tricky issue.  I think the key is being self-aware of how often we behave a certain way because of our cultural background.  Also being willing to be flexible, and laugh at yourself helps a ton.  I wish to develop this skill more because I know how important this is to effectively communicate even when the language can be fluently spoken.  The old saying “actions speak louder than words” is often more true than we would like to admit.