On The Importance of Language

Language plays a critical element in the quest for getting to better together. Without the ability to share our thoughts and the meanings that we attribute to words, shared communication would be essentially impossible. Even when we are speaking the same language there are considerable difficulties in communicating exactly what meaning we are attempting to convey. When we say the word land for instance are we talking about the paddock out the back or the piece of property we own under our house? Or do we mean the nation as a whole or the entire landmass of the planet? Whenever a statement is made, be it a fact of the matter, an opinion or a wild guess, it is subject to different interpretations and even misinterpretations. We talk of information of misinformation of dis-information of mal-information of alternative truths. A very significant issue here, in our present context, is when we say better what do we mean? What constitutes better according to what criteria and who says so?

These matters are profoundly complicated by the fact that there are literally thousands of different languages spoken in the world, each with its own words, pronunciations, grammar, vocabulary, and indeed processes of making meaning. As anyone who has even tried to learn a second language will know, it is quickly becomes apparent that what one can say in one language is often not translatable into another – meanings get lost in translation!

In these circumstances, how do we come to understand each other at all across this Tower of Babel that is our world? Certainly a significant start would be for everyone to attempt to learn at least one other language beyond their mother tongue.

In this episode, Richard pursues these matters of language and meaning with his guest, Levi Durbidge.  Dr Durbidge is a lecturer in world languages at the University of the Sunshine Coast. As a fluent speaker of Japanese, he has been involved in language education across secondary and tertiary sectors for more than 18 years in both Australia and Japan. His research explores how international mobility, language contact and technology use intersect, is currently authoring a book entitled language learning social media and study abroad: multilingual experiences of Japanese adolescents.