Small steps across thelanguage bridge
By Lianne de Baat
Since I started working here in South Africa, I often think back to the moment I took my English exam in the assembly hall of the Van Lodenstein College. I remember sweating and getting a headache because I didn’t know how to write down the correct answers. In retrospect, the grade also reflected that. Foreign languages didn’t really seem to be my strong suit.
four languages
These days, I am faced with four different languages every day and it seems to be true that your interests can change. I can say that the Lord provides, also in this respect. Although I would like all four languages to come out equally fluently, this also turns out to be a process, a road to walk. And every step counts.
With Dutch being our mother tongue, we still speak Dutch among colleagues. During my early morning walk together with a colleague, I prefer conversing in the language that is most familiar to me.
But as soon as I get into the car to go to work, I have to start switching. A beggar on the side of the road can address me in both English and Afrikaans. Once I am on the work field, I usually start with polite greetings and general questions in Sepedi, but then quickly switch to English. While attending a colleague's Bible class, I use this as a language lesson by listening to how the translator translates the meditation into Sepedi. And slowly but surely, I start to use complete sentences in Sepedi when communicating with the local people. I then try to apply them when telling a Bible story to the children.
Language mix
To be honest, this is easier in Refilwe than in Phumzile. This is because there are people from many different backgrounds living together in Phumzile, such as Malawians, Zimbabweans or South Africans who speak Zulu. There is a mix of all kinds of languages, which means that you often achieve more by speaking English rather than Sepedi.
The older people we meet generally still speak Afrikaans well. That is because they used to be taught lessons at school in Afrikaans. Although I have never had lessons in Afrikaans, I try to botch my Dutch in such a way that it sounds like Afrikaans (no offense to this beautiful language!). A real Afrikaner smiles at it, but step by step I hope that it will start to sound more and more ‘real’.
Necessary bridge
Yes, learning another language has become an important part of my life. However, there are also times when it makes my head spin. This happens more unconsciously than consciously. Especially at times when I get startled, Dutch phrases suddenly come out. My local colleagues who are riding with me in the car can testify to that…
I once heard someone say that learning the language is a necessary bridge to cross in order to do missionary work. Although the unique situation in South Africa enables us to achieve a lot with English, I like to keep taking small steps on the language bridge of the local language, especially because of the children! That way I can learn the language of their heart and bring them God's Word in their own language.
