Nov

Visual Wordplay for the Bilingual Brain

by Eva Boynton on November 14, 2017

A cartoon of a woman pulling a leg and hands grabbing her hair, showing how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

“Ouch! You’re pulling my leg!”
“¡Ay! ¡Me estás tomando el pelo!” (“Ouch! You’re grabbing my hair!”)
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Spanish and English Proverbs in Pictures

While living in Mexico, I heard phrases whose literal translations created odd visual images for me and confused my developing bilingual brain. For example: “Me estás tomando el pelo!” (You are grabbing my hair!”). My initial bewildered response? I checked to see if my hands were minding their business at my side.

With further explanation, I soon understood that such strange phrases were proverbios y refranes (proverbs and sayings), wise and colorful ways to make a point. In this case: “You are pulling my leg.”

As I started collecting Spanish proverbs, something else began to appear. Oh, I saw that the essence of a proverb often translates from language to language even when the metaphors and imagery vary.

For me, someone who thinks visually, these proverbs were waiting to be translated into cartoonish illustrations that bring their wordplay to life.

1. Together is Always Better

Proverbs and sayings state a general truth and often offer advice metaphorically. Has anyone ever told you, “Two heads are better than one”?

A cartoon of a man with four eyes and a woman with two heads, illustrating how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

There’s something different about this guy . . .
© drawing by Eva Boynton

How about the Spanish equivalent: “Cuatro ojos ven mas que dos” (“Four eyes see more than two”)? Whether there’s an extra head or more than two eyes, collaborating with others always helps to solve problems.

2. You Can’t Hide What’s Inside

Whether in Spanish or English, proverbs represent values people hold. They reflect shared experience and the wisdom that arises from it. For example, “Fine feathers don’t make fine birds” communicate that it’s not the elegant coat and shiny earrings that define a person, but rather what is underneath.

A cartoon of a cockatoo and a monkey with a silk dress sitting on a branch, illustrating how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

What banana?
© drawing by Eva Boynton

In Spanish, the feathers metaphor takes on a different form: Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda (“Although the monkey is dressed in silk, she remains a monkey”). The true nature and that fuzzy monkey tail cannot be hidden by silken decoration.

3. Pay Attention or Learn Your Lesson

Proverbs and sayings touch every aspect of life. “You snooze you lose,” said a man who quickly slipped into my parking spot. That jolted me into the present after being distracted by a pretty view. The proverb had it right with its warning not to hesitate and miss an opportunity.

A cartoon of a shrimp sleeping on a raft going down a stream, illustrating how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

Zzzz..nothing to worry about…zzzz
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Maybe the raft is incredibly comfortable, but this shrimp is about to learn the same lesson—in Spanish: “Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente” (“A sleeping shrimp gets carried away by the current”).

4. Beware of Musical Chairs

There are many English and Spanish proverbs with warnings about losing something you already have. In Spanish, “El que se fue a Sevilla, perdió su silla” (“He who left for the town of Sevilla, lost his seat.”) is a good reminder to pay attention.

A cartoon strip of a woman taking the chair of a man who left his seat, showing how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

I was only gone ONE minute!
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Not all proverbs are a beautiful slice of wisdom. Sometimes they can be sarcastic, to the point, and biting. If someone took my seat and chanted, “Finders keepers, losers weepers,” I would most likely furrow my brow, cross my arms, and . . .

5. What Looks Nice Sometimes Bites

“Every rose has its thorn . . . every cowboy sings his sad, sad, song” is more than a couple of lines from an eighties song by the band Poison. “Every rose has its thorn” is also a famous proverb with advice on the nature of things—something that appears beautiful and perfect can have its sharp side.

A cartoon of a rose poking its thorn at a bee holding honey, showing how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

And I thought you smelled nice!
© drawing by Eva Boynton

When I asked my husband for an example of the proverb in Spanish, he came up with, “Hasta las abejas que tienen miel, tienen aguijón” (“Even bees with honey have stingers”). He smiled and elaborated in Spanglish, “You are sweet and cute, pero cuando te enojas, tienes aguijón” (but when you are angry, you have a stinger). Perfect, I wrote that one down.

As my pen marked the page, I wondered about the significance of a rose versus a bee. What might the choice say about the culture or the language?

If you have a bilingual brain, try out some bi-visual wordplay of your own. You may find yourself feliz como una lombriz (happy as a worm) when you think in Spanish and “happy as a clam” when your clever brain turns to English. And please share the bilingual proverbs you come up with in the Comments.

A cartoon of a smiling clam and a dancing worm with maracas, showing how visual wordplay with Spanish and English proverbs tickles the bilingual brain. (image © Eva Boynton).

Nice maracas!
© drawing by Eva Boynton

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Eva Boynton 3 Comments

Becoming Bilingual/Language & Culture/Proverbs & Sayings/Wordplay

Oct

The Egg and “Ei”

by Joyce McGreevy on October 24, 2017

When four teenagers and a writer, Joyce McGreevy, meet in the Volksgarten, Vienna, Austria, they share the fun of speaking two languages. Image © Joyce McGreevy

Finding our voices in Vienna: Catrina, Cedric, the author, Nicky, and Adah. (Oh, and “Albert.”)
© Joyce McGreevy

What Four Viennese Teens Taught Me
About Speaking Two Languages

I was sitting on a park bench in Vienna when they approached me, speaking two languages.

What’s more international than the Volksgarten? An Austrian park in formal French style around a replica Greek temple, it attracts visitors from around the world.

The replica Temple of Theseus at the Volksgarten, Vienna gives a group of visitors an opportunity for speaking in two languages. (Public domain image by Norman Davies)

The Volksgarten (“people’s garden”) blooms with roses and buzzes with languages.
Norman Davies (public domain)

I’d been thinking about language, about the surprising fact that I’d found it easier to speak Hungarian than German.

Let me explain. One of my travel pleasures is taking language lessons and then practicing every day with native speakers. Picking things up little by little. Savoring the taste of new words.

Permission to Speak

When I did this in cities like Budapest, or countries like Malta, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, native speakers responded with encouragement. It’s not about ego boosting—the nearest toddler could out-debate me—but genuine human connection.

People overlooked flaws in pronunciation, eased me past mistakes, and enriched my vocabulary with the aplomb of chocolatiers proffering boxes of pralines.

Alas, when I spoke German in Austria, native speakers switched to English. Politely, but irrevocably. How to negotiate, to explain that I missed speaking two languages?

So what if I strode in one language, limped in the other? I’d happily hobble along in order to learn.

A street scene in Vienna reminds a writer of the pleasures of speaking two languages. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

I longed to steep myself in another language to the point of dreaming in it. (Vienna)
© Joyce McGreevy

A Wanderlust for Words

I became a silent student of German. I read food labels and environmental text, listened to opera and watched local news. At a thrift store near Sigmund Freud’s historic apartment, I found a 1970s children’s book and carried it home like it was Mozart’s lost sonata.

Whenever I rode the metro or shared an elevator, my ears fairly twitched like a dog’s toward familiar sounds.

Assorted German-language reading materials inspire a writer in Vienna who misses speaking two languages. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A language learner’s improvised library.
© Joyce McGreevy

Talking Points

I marveled at close connections and vast gaps between German and English.

I fell in love with the word arbeitslust, which artist Gustav Klimt used to discuss the will, indeed the burning desire, to do one’s work.

But I wasn’t speaking two languages.

It was like viewing a feast, but never tasting it. Maybe there’s a German word for that, too.

Cakes on display in Cafe Demel, Vienna, Austria become a metaphor for speaking two languages. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Cakes on display at Café Demel, Vienna. The sweetness is hidden inside.
© Joyce McGreevy

Teen Talk to the Rescue

Then I met four Austrian teens on a mission.

Their teacher had sent forth small groups with an unusual assignment: Go to the Volksgarten, find a friendly foreigner, and make a trade using English.

Their teacher was helping her students acquire language functions.

Language functions are specific purposes we address every day: We summarize a movie. We compare and contrast our baseball team’s wins and losses. We greet neighbors and ask questions to get to know them. We persuade a friend to help us move.

A market in Budapest reminds a writer of reasons for speaking two languages. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

We negotiate everything from groceries to relationships. (Budapest)
© Joyce McGreevy

A Good Egg

“What are you trading?” I asked.

“Albert,” they said.

“Excuse me?”

Albert, it turned out, was a total egghead. Hard-boiled, I was assured.

Cedric, Catriona, Adah, and Nicky persuaded me that I would benefit from the trade, because:

Albert had purple hair,
a nice smile,
a pleasing shape,
and was very portable.
Besides, how often do you meet a purple-haired egg named Albert in a 19th century park in Vienna?

Sure, they might have mentioned that eggs are a reliable source of protein, selenium, and vitamin D. But when the egg in question has a big goofy smile, why go there?

For my negotiation, all I had was a pen. So I told stories about, well, writing stories with it.

And since negotiations entailed that all stakeholders should benefit, I suggested they each use the pen to record English expressions.

“It’s a deal!”

A deal that got sweeter: The teens spoke German with me. Vielen Dank!

People conversing near water in Vienna, Austria become a metaphor for speaking two languages. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Languages reflect our universal impulse to connect. (Vienna)
© Joyce McGreevy

Trading Ideas

We traded pleasantries and then we traded languages. Like ei for “egg.” And glücklich for “happy.”

Ich bin glücklich, I ventured.

“We’re happy, too,” they said. “This was fun!” When four teens say they’ve enjoyed meeting a woman old enough to be their ~~grandm~~—uh, mom, that’s a good day.

Suddenly, it didn’t matter who was the native speaker. Only that we were speaking. In two languages.

These confident-looking teens admitted they’d felt nervous approaching strangers to start a conversation. Some folks shooed them away.

As for the trade, anyone who’d been willing to negotiate offered . . . a pen. So why had they accepted mine?

“You made it into a story,” they said. “What about us?”

“You made an egg into ‘Albert.’ An ei into an I.”

An egg character set against a scene of urban crowds becomes a metaphor for the fragility one can feel when speaking two languages. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Oh, I see: We’re all speaking two languages. Words, and whatever gives them meaning. Imagination and negotiation. Curiosity and discovery. Trust and connection.

Is there a word that means “a love of communicating with others”? With practice—and the encouragement of fellow travelers—we just might find out.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 3 Comments

Austria/Becoming Bilingual/Cultural Encounters/Language & Culture

Aug

14 Ways of Learning a Second Language

by Joyce McGreevy on August 8, 2017

A signpost atop Floyen, Bergen in Norway reflects the idea that learning a second language can take you in new directions. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Language Tips for Busy People

Research shows that learning a second language is like superfood for the brain. Experts say we’re predisposed to be multilingual. So why do so many smart people think learning a second language is impossible?

Curiously, those who claim linguistic ineptitude often use complex grammar:

“Had I understood the benefits of learning Japanese, I would have taken classes.”
“If only I could have learned Spanish in high school, I would be fluent today.”

“Oh, I see”: You can learn languages, whatever their complexity, whatever your age, wherever you travel.

A card in London featuring a quotation from Deborah Levy features an inspiring language tip. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Immerse to Converse?

The ideal way of learning a second language is through immersion. Imagine living among native speakers until, little by little, the unfamiliar language starts making sense. Nearly 5 million kids in the U.S. do this every day. There’s also the “win the lottery, move to Tuscany” school of immersion, but most folks are already immersed in life’s demands.

But suppose you’ve got a vacation coming up. You could stick to English—depend on others to be multilingual—or you could learn at least some of the language.

Here’s how:

1. Practice the Tao of Now. In Peanuts, Snoopy tells Woodstock “I read at least one word a day.” Download an app that will send you “the word of the day” in your chosen language. Poco a poco, le parole diventano frasi.

2. Learn Ps and Qs. Master local versions of please, thank you, and other emblems of respect. Start with the basics, then listen for local variations.

3. Greet the Neighborhood Cats. Too shy to practice new words on people? It’s a little-known fact that cats are multilingual. The next time you meet a friendly feline, greet it in another language. Sure enough, it will demonstrate utter comprehension with an affirming “meow” in the local language. Repeat your greeting until you become comfortable enough to try it out on humans.

A city street in Athens, Greece inspires thoughts of learning a second language. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A sleeping cat in Athens, Greece is unlikely to offer language tips on learning a second language. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

4. Get Practical. Most phrasebooks reflect outdated travel norms. In this digital age, few of us need dialogues for making hotel reservations, let alone asking porters to carry our steamer trunks. To update the phrasebook approach, brainstorm what you personally need to know and research that. For me, that includes requesting photocopying services and scheduling a root touch-up.

5. Act Like a Child. In Valletta, Malta, a bookseller pointed wordlessly at the textbooks for learning Maltese. Then I asked her to recommend kotba tat-tfal (children’s books), gesturing toward myself and grinning sheepishly. With that, her warm personality surfaced. She not only helped me find a local favorite, but shared a wealth of language tips.

6. Picture the Page. Don’t forget comic books, graphic novels, and magazines. Make your own captioned pictures, too. Visual supports mean you’ll need a dictionary less often.

Magazines in Budapest, Hungary offer enjoyable ways of learning a second language. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

7. Cognates to the Rescue. At a Florentine apothecary, a friend of mine mimed washing his hair because he didn’t know the word for shampoo. Turns out it’s il shampoo. Discover the power of cognates.

8. Sing It. Though it’s hardly a marketable skill, I can sing the theme song from “The Flintstones” in Italian. I also know that Albania borders on the Adriatic. Why? Because I heard the information sung. One time. Years ago. If you can say it, sing it, and you’ll save it.

9. Preempt Translation. Think of grocery stores as 3-D picture dictionaries. The great thing about picture dictionaries is that they help you stop translating. Instead of thinking “the word for apple,” you see a red round object and discover that it’s manzana.

10. Catch on with Context Clues. When my friend Julie visits Irish friends, she doesn’t ask for “milk” in her coffee, she asks for bainne. And she doesn’t always have coffee, sometimes she sips a cupán tae. Just don’t drop a mála tae into your cupán and pour boiled uisce over it. The best tae is brewed slowly in a taephota.

Trays of ice cream with flavors labeled in Croatian suggest a tasty way of learning a second language. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

11. Eat Your Words. If that charming taverna has an English-language menu, chances are it’s limited to bland options. Explore a culture’s culinary language before you ever go abroad, thanks to diverse restaurants and cooking classes in your community. And keep this shortcut handy: Learn expressions equivalent to “favorite local dish” or “something traditional.” What if you have allergies? What if you’re vegan? Download multilingual food-allergy chef alert cards or use a travel app.

12. Repeat, Please. Soap operas are ideal, not only because you get caught up in the conflict, but because they recap plots and repeat expressions. Counter-intuitive language tip: Set subtitles in the same language, not English, and be patient. Once you begin to understand, you’ll retain more of what you learn.

13. Listen in the Laundry. If you do use language audio, include podcasts—many free 5-minute-a-day lessons are surprisingly effective. Put on earphones and turn chore times into learning opportunities.

14, Dare to Air—I Mean, Err. When learning a second language, you’ll make mistakes. But don’t we sometimes make mistakes in our first language? “Oops,” we say, and try again. That’s a good plan for any language.

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Visual Wordplay for the Bilingual Brain