Language Immerson and Acquisition

I just got back from two trips. This entry is about the first trip. I stayed in Chong Jer, which is about a half hour west of Bishkek. I stayed with a family that agreed to help me learn Kyrgyz. In effect, they agreed to take on another child, because that is where my speaking and comprehension ability were. But after my short stay, I am no longer a Kyrgyz infant. I am now a Kyrgyz toddler.

I definitely feel more confident in speaking Kyrgyz, especially in making mistakes while speaking. I basically humiliated myself enough that I no longer care if I make mistakes. For example, on the day I left, I was sitting on a little makeshift bench they had near the road. When you walk down the road--especially in the rural areas--and see someone older than you, it is expected that you will shake hands with that person and say hello. You actually use a rather ritualized greeting. The younger person initiates the exchange and says “Salam Alaykum,” which is actually Arabic for “Peace be upon you.” The older person responds with “Alaykum Usalam” which means “And upon you, peace.” In my case, when older people were aware of language abilities, they would simply respond with “Azymatsyng,” which basically means “Good boy.” That’s the kind of thing you say to a small child.

Anyway, I was sitting on the bench, and a boy walked by and greeted me. I responded appropriately, then he sat down next to me and started talking. I told him I didn’t understand. He said, “You don’t?” And I responded, “No. I don’t like Kyrgyz.” I meant to say, “No, I don’t know Kyrgyz that well.” In Kyrgyz, there is only a one-word difference between those two sentences. I just happened to use the wrong word. He looked at me as if he didn’t know what to say (which isn’t surprising--I honestly don’t know how one responds to the comment that someone doesn’t like one’s language) at which point I realized what I had done, laughed inappropriately loud, and told him what I meant to say. He then decided I wasn’t worth talking to anymore, and left. Things like that make a person not afraid to get a little grammar wrong. I am now ready to make a fool of myself in a wide variety of new situations.

The trip also helped me in my comprehension. The first day I didn’t really understand anything. The second day I understood some things after they were repeated several times. By the last day, I understood about 1/3 of the things the first time they were said, about 1/3 of the things after they were repeated a few times, and 1/3 after they were repeated a whole bunch of times. I’d say that’s a lot of progress in a very short amount of time. I think the main thing that made for the improvement was being able to hear Kyrgyz on a regular basis. Even when I didn’t understand, attuning my ears and brain to the particular sounds and vocal patterns that people were using made the whole language a little less strange. I experienced the same kind of thing when I was learning Russian nine years ago.

I’ve included a few photographs of the family in the pictures section.