One of the things which has had the
biggest impact on my short time in Greenland so far is the concept of
language. As I had mentioned before Greenlandic is one of the most
complicated languages in the world—but, in my opinion, the most
beautiful. Concepts and ideas form words, combining them into long
stretches of consonants often starting with or ending with the
guttural, soft q. Pauses in speech and intonation alterations pull
you in, and as I hear people speaking I feel almost as though they
have a secret—even if they are simply speaking about the weather or
groceries. The most beautiful speaking I have heard was from a
Greenlandic girl about my own age while filming a short video to
promote tourism to the country- http://bit.ly/JPerNW starting at 2:45 in (and Tupaarnaq, if
you’re reading this, sorry for being awkward!) After hearing her
speak, and the others in the video afterwards, I was drawn in by the
soul behind the words and have strived to listen to anyone possible
speaking Greenlandic just to capture the essence of the linguistics.
Danish is widely spoken in our office
as it is the common language known by everyone in our two locations
(Copenhagen and Nuuk)—not everyone working at Visit Greenland
speaks Greenlandic or even is from here. In fact, a lot of the
business people from Greenland are Danish by descent and have come
here for the opportunities the country affords. Even those growing up
in Greenland now often speak Danish but not Greenlandic, showcasing
the change in culture happening right before our eyes. The majority
of signs are in both languages, and businesses often have their
information in three—English, Danish, and Greenlandic. After being
in Copenhagen the last month I can pick up on and read more Danish
than I was thinking I would be able to at this point, making life a
bit easier as there is no feasible way to even start learning
Greenlandic for an English speaker.
Faroese—the language of my host—is
one I have not yet gotten used to hearing. As Roar plays traditional
folk songs and sings in his powerful deep voice, I have learned to
focus on the music itself and the meaning behind it rather than the
words. His obsession with music from his homeland has been comforting
in a lot of ways my first few days here, providing me with a
songtrack to my own journey far from home in a land vastly different
from my own.
And, of course, English. The language I
hear while speaking with Sarah, when the office is talking to either
of us or feeling kind and speaking in our presence, and on a scarce
few programs on one of the four channels available on our TV in Nuuk.
The Danes in Greenland are almost all fluent in
English in a way that puts our language skills to shame—however the
people who work in everyday places, who have deep roots to Greenland,
often cannot understand a word I am saying. My first trip to the
grocery store ended in mass confusion for the girl taking my money as
she could not convey to me the reason why she had her hand out still
after I had handed her 350 kroner for a 335 bill—and to this point,
I still do not know what she wanted or why she stared so blankly at
me.
I had thought I would feel partially
helpless knowing limited Danish only and with a lot of the population
not speaking English at all or, if they do, as a third
language—especially after living in Denmark where as soon as I
smiled and said ‘hello’ everyone and anyone would change tone and
switch languages as though it were nothing—however, the lifestyle
here has culminated in such a kind and relaxed atmosphere that the
differences in understanding one another are nothing to be concerned
about, and are not taken as a problem. The fact that outsiders so
rarely come, especially Americans—everyone I have spoken to can
identify only two Americans living in Nuuk in total—not speaking
the language or being confused in a situation hasn’t resulted in
shame or embarrassment as it would in another country where people
would roll their eyes and think to themselves ‘stupid American’
(as at least the scene plays out in my own head), but a genuine
curiosity and kindness exists. Here, speaking English and being
American doesn’t bring the exasperated sighs or the immediate
stereotyping (that I can see outright as in many other places), but
in fact gives the opposite—a simple acceptance and aid if
necessary, a symbol of the people in the Pioneering Nation that is
Greenland.
No comments:
Post a Comment