Languages y Idiomas

"Guatemal...what? Where the heck is that?!" I asked after reading my call. I read it again just to make sure. Back then we didn't have Google maps, so I had to look it up on the internet doing a search on Yahoo.
"Under Mexico? I thought that all of that was Mexico," I said to myself. I reflected on my mission interview with Bishop Burke and the application I filled out.
"So, you would like to serve in Japan?" he asked.
"Yes, I would. I mean 'hai'," I replied. He rubbed his chin a little in his usual way then placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.
"Well, I can't say that you'll go there. It's been my experience that you generally don't go where you want to. But who knows?" he said with an all knowing smile.

"Who knows is right," I said to myself staring at my mission call. Then it dawned on me.
"Spanish, they speak Spanish down there....coool!"

Languages are a natural part of any mission regardless of where you're called to. Even if it's state-side you'll need to brush up on local customs, traditions and languages. I remember running into a few missionaries in the MTC that were called to the Knoxville Tennessee Mission, which is my home mission. I told them that they needed to really brush up on the Bible and try to get used to the Southern Twang we have down there.
"Instead of saying 'over there' you need to say it like 'oer thar' or 'oer them thar ther'", I would instruct them.

Guatemala has over 10,000 languages smushed into a tiny country the size of Tennessee. There's Mom, Quiche(with various dialects), Caqchiquel, Kekchi, and host of others and THEN there's Spanish. Spanish is the linking language among all the peoples of Guatemala. Reminds me of Aladdin, "GREAT COSMIC POWERS!, in a tinyyyyy little living space."

Spanish is a fascinating language and really not too difficult to learn if you have the drive for it. Once you master it pretty well, you'll be surprised to hear Portuguese, Italian, or even Romanian, because they will sound a little bit familiar to your Spanish mind and you will be able to distinguish, mas o menos, what they are saying and what's going on. French though...well that's a whole nother ball game.

Any language you will learn on the mission has some basic steps or things you can do NOW to help you learn it quicker. Here are some suggestions:

1. Get a bilingual dictionary with both the english words and the words in the other language.

2. Label everything in your home with words from the other language. For example label the wall with the word for 'wall'. Label your bed with the word for 'bed'. Do this throughout the whole house, including inside the refrigerator and make sure the words are big enough for you to read even from a short distance. I have found that 3 x 5 index cards and a marker are the best tools so far for labeling.

3. Buy music in that language and listen to it as much as you can tolerate it. After the first couple of hours you are probably going to get sick of it and may want to hurl. Turn it off for the rest of the day and listen to some more tomorrow.

4. If you can find TV stations that have programs in that language, watch them for about 30 minutes to an hour each day.

5. Get Scriptures, like a Book of Mormon, in that language and read it aloud for about 30 minutes a day. Try to get the words and the pronunciation as best as you can.

6. Do some prayin' and don't get frustrated.

In essence what you are doing is reprogramming your brain to hear and understand the language you will be speaking, which is generally how it will happen in the field. These exercises will just assist you in that process. I have been told that you will start to get the language down, when you start dreaming in that language. But the experience is different for everyone. Don't give up! It will be frustrating at first, but this after all is a language and will take some time to master.

One other thing to remember is that while you are a missionary there will be times that some words, though you won't be able to really define them in your brain, will just make sense. I have found that the Holy Ghost really bridges the gaps in your brain when trying to speak and listen in that language. I can't count the times, I heard someone speaking and saying words that I didn't quite understand, because in my head I was trying to process it all into English, and the Spirit would just open my head and plop the words into Spanish and then, though it had no real meaning in English, it made sense in Spanish.

Practice, practice, practice. It will all make sense in the end.