Languages. Gestures.
Languages siitata here in Senegal, there are so many. By now I speak Malinke pretty well; some days seem better than others, but I manage to have more meaningful conversations than saying where I went, or I am full, i.e. I don’t want to eat that. I speak in French at the hospital and sometimes English with students or friends who are trying to learn so they can one day fulfill their dreams of going to America. Often, especially at the hospital, I hear conversations that include French, Wolof, Malinke and a word in English such as “leadership” or “business” that do not exist in either of those other languages.
But one interesting language twist I have not spoken yet about in my blog is the fact that I have a host brother who is deaf, Sambaly. In Senegal, education is lacking for the deaf population. I have heard of schools for the deaf existing here (apparently there is one in Kolda somewhere? And I am sure Dakar as well), but most do not have the chance to attend one of these schools or access to a deaf community where people know sign language. I am sure also twenty years ago when Sambaly would have begun school, there was even a smaller chance of him learning French sign language. The language he uses is a set of dramatic gestures and has no grammatical structure. Many things seem to be assigned gestures, such as mom and dad, money, numbers. For example telling him something will happen next month, I point to the moon and point to the right. Some are better at communicating with him than others, for example my host dad, Chris Brown, my predecessor, and his wife.
He manages to be quite the entrepreneur without having a structured language. He has a barbershop, he builds roofs and shade structures, works construction, farms etc. He says he does not know how to read but he can write down numbers and spell a few words. Sometimes communicating with him is a breeze and even a relief because it is really like I am speaking English and acting things out. Sometimes I am pretty sure neither one of us has any idea what we are trying to say and pretend we do. Often when I am talking about another volunteer I refer to them as the one over there and point to the direction their village is in. Or if I talk about Chris I point in the direction of Israel, not quite sure if he thinks Chris is in Israel or China or in another village northeast of here. But I think that in general, because learning Malinke was so difficult I am usually acting out what I am saying anyways I have become quite the pro at non-verbal communication. But we have fun communicating and usually laugh it off when we decide to give up, just like I do with my host mom when I try to explain to her how medication works, or the existence of high fructose corn syrup.
