meanings
For somebody who usually hears the voices of children and hurries away, just to not get annoyed, I was surprised to come back to Israel, and actually listen in on local kids' conversations, and to have an unusual reaction to it...
I must have probably found it painfully endearing, because I burst into tears, walking away , trying to figure out what was happening to me;
I was finally *understanding* them.
Of course I understand the meaning of words spoken by Americans, or Australians, or Italians for that matter. But here, for the first time, I realized that there is so much more into my own mother-tounge that I was willing to admit.
Other languages, are understood by my brain as translated. As is. But Hebrew, Hebrew is an entire different matter. Hebrew to start with, is a language with words that are like trees: each word is based on a root, each root has a stem, , which has many secondary branches. One single word, can have multiple meanings, connotations, and of course a rich, old history; General, and personal.
That's why, it just dawned on me, that all of a sudden, I can't let meanings pass me by, untouched, and live the light existence I usually do, where I can *chose* to understand , or *not* to.
You see, I can chose to read some political graffiti in Paris, or wall-posts in Italy, and I can chose to understand the argument between the German lady and the fruit vendor, but I really don't have to, especially if my day is demanding enough. When it's not *really* your mother tongue, you can ignore it, (like it's somebody else's child).
Here, however, I just can't shake anything off my shoulder and go on with my day uneffected.
And everything, EVERY thing, is rooted deep in me, deeper than I imagined.
The very specific smells, the asphalt on the side walks, the bushes and trees and flowers I grew up with. The sand and the dust. The mentality, the foods, the sounds, the innocent words of a four year old.
This suddenly hit me, like a huge wave.
To be continued after I somehow finish swirling in it.
I must have probably found it painfully endearing, because I burst into tears, walking away , trying to figure out what was happening to me;
I was finally *understanding* them.
Of course I understand the meaning of words spoken by Americans, or Australians, or Italians for that matter. But here, for the first time, I realized that there is so much more into my own mother-tounge that I was willing to admit.
Other languages, are understood by my brain as translated. As is. But Hebrew, Hebrew is an entire different matter. Hebrew to start with, is a language with words that are like trees: each word is based on a root, each root has a stem, , which has many secondary branches. One single word, can have multiple meanings, connotations, and of course a rich, old history; General, and personal.
That's why, it just dawned on me, that all of a sudden, I can't let meanings pass me by, untouched, and live the light existence I usually do, where I can *chose* to understand , or *not* to.
You see, I can chose to read some political graffiti in Paris, or wall-posts in Italy, and I can chose to understand the argument between the German lady and the fruit vendor, but I really don't have to, especially if my day is demanding enough. When it's not *really* your mother tongue, you can ignore it, (like it's somebody else's child).
Here, however, I just can't shake anything off my shoulder and go on with my day uneffected.
And everything, EVERY thing, is rooted deep in me, deeper than I imagined.
The very specific smells, the asphalt on the side walks, the bushes and trees and flowers I grew up with. The sand and the dust. The mentality, the foods, the sounds, the innocent words of a four year old.
This suddenly hit me, like a huge wave.
To be continued after I somehow finish swirling in it.
posted by Singin'rin at 10:22 AM
1 Comments:
have to admit...i would love to learn Hebrew someday...don even realize why, but I like jewish music and song, I like it since watching Prince of Egypt - the song was performed by Ofra Haza...the language is so beautiful)))
may be the emotions were there beacause of the homesickness? i mean after so much time spent outside Israel...
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