Anthony Liu Week#10: Polygot
As my grandfather has recently been transferred to an assisted living center due to his health conditions, my father and I have taken the duty of clearing out his apartment before terminating the lease. Being blind, my grandfather has accumulated quite the amounts of equal parts necessary and unnecessary items, making the trips to throw away trash seem more like my daily cardio than throwing away a stack of papers. Yet, it was among those stacks of papers that I discovered a new side of my grandfather.
While I’m not particularly close to him, I’ve still known him for my entire life and consequently know a fair amount about him. I knew that he was a studious man, having worked all his life to become a pharmaceutical scientist. It seemed amazing to me that my blind grandfather, even at his ripe age of 90, could rattle off medicines’ names and their descriptions with just a feel of the prescription bottle, while I struggled to even pronounce the label that was printed so clearly in front of me.
It wasn’t classified US government secrets that I found in those papers, nor blueprints for the Batcave, but rather pages upon pages of research ranging across all topics, ranging from medicine and biology to linguistics and the arts. Yet it was his papers on linguistics that caught my eye.
My grandfather had immigrated to Argentina along with his entire family, without speaking a lick of Spanish or Portuguese. I distinctly recall my father telling me about a Spanish to Chinese Dictionary that my grandfather would carry around. In time, he had become so fluent in Spanish that he could be considered a native speaker.
Given that most of us are taking a foreign language, it may not seem terribly impressive to be bilingual. But what about trilingual? Multilingual? As I sifted through mountains of papers, I found similar documents written in Japanese, German, Chinese, Taiwanese, and English.
I had never given much thought to my grandfather’s ability to speak so many languages, but seeing those papers made me realize just how much effort he put into learning and understanding the environment around him, wherever that may be. As I grabbed the last pieces of paper off the ground, I felt a sense of admiration for the life that he had led, a life dedicated to the pursuit for knowledge.
Hello Anthony! I love the direction you took with your blog this week. The powerful and moving story you tell of your grandfather’s old stuff is truly indicative of how much can get lost between generations. Your grandfather seems like a really talented man with a great amount of neuroplasticity, as he is still able to identify medicines and speak/write in so many different languages. As an AP Spanish student myself, your grandfather’s penchant for language is certainly admirable and a little bit enviable.
ReplyDeleteI also love the humorous tone this blog took at times, particularly your mention of “blueprints for the Batcave.” I thought it was a funny way of incorporating humor into what could easily become a dense read. I agree that bilingualism may not be as impressive these days, but being a polyglot is certainly no small feat. It makes me wonder what tips and tricks your grandpa used to learn so many languages. Did he grow up speaking a variety of languages?
Overall, I felt that your blog was extremely informative and entertaining, telling a compelling story of your grandfather’s past through your own eyes. Great work!
Hi Anthony. I loved the part in your blog where you said that it wasn't classified US government secrets. I chuckled when I read it. I also love the fact that you said that it even wasn’t the blueprints to the bat cave, and I would also be disappointed if I didn't find the Batcave blueprints in my grandparents house when I am going through some stuff. I also like the fact that you stated that we are all learning a language at school, but you can say I am “learning” a language because I still don't understand Spanish. I like the fact that you didn't know a lot about your grandfather until recently, and I can relate to that because recently I learned what my grandfather did for work. I am honestly impressed by your grandfather for learning so many languages. I am mostly impressed because I have difficulty learning other languages.
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