The Confessions of a Monolinguist Witch
I have a confession to make, I am a monolinguist. It is a terrible handicap, as it limits me in so many ways. The fortunate aspect of this disadvantage is that I am an English Monolinguist, and therefore share this substantial limitation with hundreds of millions of others. I am praying someday there will be a cure.
I jest about being a monlinguist, or a speaker of a single language as a handicap. Let me state it is not truly a handicap as it does not prevent me from communicating enough to earn a living. There is a definite disadvantage to those who learn a single language, as that language gives them all their words for expression. As such, it creates a limit of culture, where a language captures a common element of the people who speak it and nothing can truly interpret the phrase relating to it, retaining the special essence. So no matter how much I try, there is things I will never understand with my limitations of single language. As a witch, words have meanings, words have power, and that is why being a monolinguist, harms my ability to be even better at my magic and my understanding.
If nothing else, at this turning point, I am praying that we a emerging witch culture that is polylinguist in its vocabulary and able to understand humanity through more than one language filter.
Which brings me to my reality, as a Correllian Elder, and that is “How do we prepare to be a global tradition with a single language?”. Global social marketing firms have learned that 11 languages are needed to market the world. A single language like English only reaches approximately 25% of all people worldwide. So the Correllians need to begin developing a understanding and acceptance of multilingual culture.
We are fortunate as Correllians we have always seen this need, and we do have wonderful translators who have helped us begin to bridge the language barrier. This is how we can overcome the monolinguist deficient. Under the guidance of Rev. Anna Rowe and Rev. Yoko, the translators have produced many translated pieces. As First Elder, I am looking to further strengthen our Order of Translators, bringing them deeper to the center of the tradition. It is my hope they can help us interact with the world in all the languages that they speak.
So while I am one that currently speaks just one language, I am hoping and working towards the day that our tradition can speak many languages, creating a greater understanding among us, and someday rid the tradition of the handicap of monolingualism.
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