Literature and Language: the way in (for understanding other cultures)?

I believe that, as Goethe says, reading literature written in a different country than your own will increase your knowledge and probably even appreciation of the culture of this particular country. It might be impossible to create world peace this way, but it might still be a good way to start. Of course, there is the matter of mistranslation, but, as Goethe puts it, “it is, after all, these relations between original and translation which are most expressive of the relations of one nation to another, and which should be evaluated and known above all for the benefit of the dominant general Weltliteratur” (Goethe 6). Also, since language is part of a people’s culture, we can establish that language is important to understanding cultures.

I have always been interested in languages. I started speaking English when I was five years old, and it was of no big surprise to anyone who knew me that I was going to study English. I also got interested in other cultures, and one in particular (although I am not quite sure if it is accurate to say this country only has ‘one’ culture): that of India.

I first visited India at the age of sixteen – five years ago – on a holiday with my parents. I immediately got fascinated: the bindi’s, architecture (Taj Mahal, The Golden Temple), art (paintings and statues of Hindu gods, Buddha and the Dalai Lama), and religion (Hinduism, Buddhism and even Catholicism (in Goa, which was until not too long ago colonized by Portugal)). Also other things that seem strange to us: the holy cows and the dancing and singing in Bollywood movies, it all fascinated me. What got to me the most, beside the amazing countryside and the incredible food, is the people. Their behaviour: they are friendly, hospitable and genuine interested in learning about other cultures, and their languages: among others Hindi (and English as a second language).

My parents were the ones that made me visit museums and see artsy films, they were the ones who took me with them to Asia, and my mother was the one who actually introduced me to English when I was five, and I did not really have a choice in the matter, or in any of these matters. But, is that a bad thing? They did not force me to like it (even though, of course, I did not immediately enjoyed everything), they merely gave me a push in a certain direction. They did make me into the person I am today. Is it a bad thing that parents – or teachers, in the case of Dead Poets Society – give children a push in a certain direction? Is that not part of education? The only thing that I think is important, is that parents, as well as teachers, give them a choice. Of course, every teacher (and that includes parents) has their own opinions and preferences, but that does not mean that they should urge their students to think in the same way, merely to think for their own (and I think John Keating – and my parents – did a pretty good job of that).

Ever since I visited India (the second time I was there for three months) I have wanted to learn how to speak and write Hindi. Last year I wanted to apply for a semester of Hindi in Delhi, but unfortunately that was not possible for foreigners, so I applied for a semester of comparative literature in Calcutta, which, in hindsight, might have been an even better choice. Unfortunately, this also did not work out, but I am determined to somehow come closer to India’s culture(s) through literature and language.