Language. It seems something so obvious. But… is it?
Everything one says and writes is determined by one’s choice of language, and the grasp one has on that particular language. Quite some time ago, G.W.F. Hegel described it as “the force of the mind is only as great as its expression; its depth only as deep as its power to expand and lose itself (1)”. If you are – like me – not one of those people who immediately understand everything Hegel wrote, you might better like the apt way Wittgenstein put it. “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. (2)”
I am a child of two worlds. My feet are rooted deep in both, but due to my education an upbringing I’ve always had the wings to fly from one to another. Both worlds have their own unique attraction. Their own dark sides and limitations. Their own particular smells, habits and people to love and be loved by. Also, they have their own languages. Thinking in English about my all-day life in Flanders would be quite ridiculous. Dutch is a beautiful language, my mother tongue, and perfect for living this life. It becomes a whole different story when I want to talk about the passion of my life – Africa. Then my feeling for Keats’ and Joyce’s language kicks in. Anything Zambia-related, my dreams, my thoughts and my memories sound as if pronounced through negroid lips with possibly a strong American accent.
Here on this blog, those two worlds collide. I’ll have to make a choice whether to tell my stories in Dutch or in English. And I'll be making that choice with every individual post I write. Posts written in Dutch will please my family and the rest of the home front, while my anglophonic friends will be more satisfied with English - for obvious reasons.
You, dear reader, might be struggling with that. For those of you who are fluent in English: here is your opportunity to pick up some Dutch, truly one of the most poetic languages ever spoken. For the people brought up in Flanders or the Netherlands: isn’t this an excellent chance to refresh your knowledge of a language a wee bit more international than ours?
(1) G.W.F. Hegel, The Phenomenology of the Spirit, 1807
(2) L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 1921
