October 28, 2022
When teaching Polish to my partner, I try to emphasize that some Polish words carry multiple meanings depending on the context (polysemy). Some of these words have related meanings, for example, zły can mean bad, angry, or wrong. But there are also words with multiple meanings that are entirely different from one another, which can be especially confusing for someone who didn’t grow up speaking the language.
I also notice that the way I speak changes when I switch to Polish. Certain concepts feel more natural to express in Polish, especially those tied to emotion, family, and tradition. The language carries a kind of warmth and familiarity that English, for me, often lacks. I become more soft-spoken, more patient, and more reflective. This shift may be rooted in the fact that Polish is the language I use with my family and the people who shaped my earliest understanding of the world. I’ve also observed a slight shift in my personality when I speak Polish. The words and expressions that are available in a language influence what and how we’re able to articulate our feelings, opinions, and worldviews. In Polish, there are phrases that evoke emotion in ways English never quite captures, and vice versa. That’s why I believe language doesn’t only serve as a communication tool, it frames our understanding of the world and society, and in many ways, defines who we are in different contexts.
This idea that language shapes thought and identity is echoed in the reading, which describes how colonizers undermined Indigenous communities by failing to understand the depth and meaning embedded in their languages. I found it troubling to learn how colonizers managed to weaken strong, established communities on their own land, all because they didn’t understand the values or traditions of Indigenous peoples. They chose to assume there was no complex thought process behind their ways of life, but in reality, these communities had developed intricate societal rules and traditions through their language. Instead of trying to understand them, the colonizers displaced entire communities and stole children to raise in what they considered a more “civilized” society while erasing their prior culture through forced assimilation. Into a lifestyle that is notably “foreign” to the lives those children had known and cherished. In doing so, they effectively stole their voices, identities, and the future of the indigenous people.
