what's in a name?

"a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

language is utterly amazing in its complexity. right now i am being bombarded with this truth. and this oh-so-famous shakespeare quote really exemplifies my most recent conundrum. that is, spanish words do not stand for english words which stand for the things themselves. the word "rosa" does not mean "rose," the word "rosa" means a sweet red flower with thorns. the word "arbol" does not mean "tree." "arbol" means the brown and green things that line the streets. i'm learning the when a person has to learn a second language post-childhood, we are taught to equate the new language with our first, as opposed to the things themselves. and granted, i understand that it would be difficult to teach 8th graders by only speaking to them in spanish, but i can't help but feel that this language-to-language teaching does a disservice to students. its as if we (all students who learn this way globally) are taught a bit of ethnocentrism from the start. we are taught to take what we're learning, put it in our terms, and then try to learn it. i guess as i'm learning words here that i never knew in english, like foods or colloquialisms, i'm realizing that spanish does not exist in it's ability to be translated into english. i don't know, this may not make any sense at all. or maybe only to those that have longed and worked to learn another language like i'm trying now.

also, i'm learning how many things about me are wrapped in my words. not just my ability to express myself and display my personality, but other things. ie--the last couple days, i've found myself slipping and saying random words within a conversation in english. this worried me a bit, because i felt like i was back sliding. however, it isnt words that i don't know, it's words like "because" or "last night." and the more i think about it, i think this is because i'm becoming more and more comfortable in general here, and therefore i'm forgetting that i'm an extranjera (foreigner.) at first, i was consistently uncomfortable because everything was so foreign. but as i settle in more, even with my host family, i sometimes forget that i'm not in chicago and express myself as i would if i was there.

ah, it's confusing, i know. but when is language not? i mean, look at this entry. i used the world "conundrum" but i never used a capital letter.

chao and goodbye.