A Matter of Language

On my recent visit to Arizona/Mexico I was awakened to the power of language when I met an Aztec man, Netse, 70, and his 20 yr old son. Both are descendants of the Mesheeka people, indigenous to the Arizona/Mexico lands. It was interesting and heartbreaking to find out that even though Netse still spoke the languages of their ancestors that his youngest son could not speak any.The son shared that it was a sacrifice they had to make so that he could get an education in English and learn in the same way many other children around the world were learning.

Sometimes I wonder if it's such a bad thing that people around the world are losing their language and culture and instead adopting a global language that increases communication? Or is it just another form of control and cultural hegemony? As always there are many sides to a story and multiple ways of looking at things.

When I look at my own life, I'm thankful that I speak a language unique to my people. When I speak my language I feel connected to my people and the people that were before my time and to those who will come after me. It's also a feeling of pride and being unique in an age that can easily be cookie-cutter monotonous. It's so hard to think that one day I could very well be one of the last speakers of my language. Netse said it best, 'there are certain things that just cannot be expressed in English...'

~Love God,Live life,One Enkounter at a Time~

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A Matter of Time

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Taken

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