Nowadays, communication is as vital as ever, but much, much easier.
When I was a child, getting a telephone call was a big deal, it was exciting, it meant you could speak to someone else simply by picking up the receiver. Amazing! A world opened up to you, you were able to connect with those family members that didn’t live nearby. You could call them, argue as expected, and not need to travel for long distances to do so. Communicating with other countries was possible, of course, but not something done that often.
He Said
Today, I work from my home in Lancashire for a company in Colorado. I speak daily to my boss, who you will know better as Mr Spiral. I spend my leisure time connecting, and trading, with people from all over the globe in a virtual world and I DJ for you from my home PC – and you’re all over the world, too! The world is now, more than ever, a global village. This is all good, right?
Well, yes and no. I am delighted to be host to Around the Campfire and I love being involved with Recording, but there is often something missing in the way I have to communicate. From the title of this post you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m going to talk about languages, but I’m not. We have so many ways we can at least get the essence of what someone is saying to us if they don’t speak the same language we do. What is missing, in so many cases, is the bits of communication our many devices cannot always offer. I’m talking about non-verbal communication – I’m talking about being there, seeing them speak, seeing their body language and every other little sign given off when someone is trying to express something. Even the likes of FaceTime and Skype can’t offer all of this. You can see someone on video, but you’ll still not be able to get all of the nuances that a face-to-face communication will give you.
I feel this very acutely in my other job, which involves me helping people with their daily issues and is done entirely by telephone. I have had at least one case where I have said outright that I thought the person did a good job on something – and they complained I’d insulted them. It seems inconceivable that a flat-out compliment could be so badly misinterpreted, but I’m afraid it happens all the time. You have to be very clued in to triggers from the person you are speaking to, to really know what they mean. Even face-to-face contact doesn’t guarantee that you’ll understand the whole of what they mean. Nothing is infallible when it comes to one human being communicating with another.
So, am I advocating we all return to making a journey every time we want to say “Hi!” to our friends, and even then accepting that we may not get across how we feel? Not a bit of it. What I’m suggesting is that we try to listen more, feel more. A conversation has as much going on in the variations of tone and strength of delivery as it does in the words being said and there is something under every line of every sentence spoken. I’m suggesting you listen to the music of what someone is saying to you. Even if they are speaking another language, you can pick up some of what is being expressed if you do this. Of course, in my case, they have to get a word in edgeways first…
She Said
Not only is language music, but music is a language, too. What is fascinating is how people get different things from the same track, and have different reactions to it. No-one should be surprised that this is the case, tastes in music are as individual as the people listening to it. That’s what it all comes down to – our individuality. Communication is as much a minefield now as it ever was – we may be able to do it more easily, but we still don’t always get it right. Is there an answer? No, I don’t think so. There is, however, a suggestion, based on the old saying everyone has heard, that offers a lot of sense. “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.”
I hope you enjoy the music tonight and it hits all the right notes with you. Do tell me – I may even figure out if you did!
Here are the tracks you heard tonight, in order. They are all titles that are not in English, to link with the theme of communication. I’ve put links to translations or etymology where I can.
Parataxis – Logos
Agaetisly – A tire d’aile (On The Wing)
Nightwind – Arcanum
mindSpiral – La Derniere Lemurien (The Last Lemur)
Syndromeda – La Tristesse (Sadness)
Kit Watkins – Le Petit Wave (The Small Wave)
Robert Rich – Nada (Nothing)
Phillippe Mangold – Singes et Gorilles (Monkeys and Gorillas)
Alpha Wave Movement – Terra Infinitus (Infinite Land/Earth)
Bosques de mi Mente – La linea del horizonte (The Horizon Line)
arbee | Specta Ciera – En Pleine Ascension (The Perfect Ascension)
Sonoprint – Epilogue
Team Metlay – Meta (Zap 26)
Stephen Briggs – Una Volta (Once)
And here is my poem, which is pretty much tongue in cheek, especially as I’m not married to an American. I hope you enjoy it.
“An “English-Speaking” Wife”
by Gypsy Witch (D Smethurst)
I love the global melting pot,
Where we all get along,
Despite the fact that I am right,
And you are often wrong.
Language is my passion –
I want to learn them all,
But hubby is American…
And I’ve just hit a wall.
His “English” I simply don’t get,
It just confuses me.
Technically, it’s just like mine,
But different as can be.
I want to go out with my guy,
So I tell him “Dress *smart*!”
I foolishly believe that he,
Has this down to an art.
I even help him out and say:
“A “tuxedo” would be grand”.
I know that’s “dinner jacket”,
And he’s got a few to hand.
So imagine how confused I am,
When he’s downstairs in time,
But not “well dressed” as I had hoped…
He’s dressed up like Einstein.
Then when we go to dinner,
I ask for “chips” with steak.
I expect “fries”, but not a hope
There’s crisps upon my plate.
He says we’ll go back to our “crib”,
I think he’s lost the plot,
He means our pied à terre of course,
I think he means a “cot”.
But if I try to explain that,
He gets out a “camp bed”.
Instead of trying to explain,
I’ll draw pictures instead.
I need the universal speech,
That works in every land,
A kiss that says “I love you”…
The heart will always understand.
Around the Campfire 