Speaking or talking is a process of when words come out of the mouth. This is the form of communication that is used by humans.
Some people speak in tongues – a form in which a person utters incomprehensible sounds. Some others speak in echo while others vibrate.
Others speak in medium wave, short wave, Frequent Modulation and others mix these waves in their speeches. It all depends on things such as space of the windpipe, the size of the lungs and the nasal cavities.
The nose, sinuses and oral cavity act as resonating chambers and modify the vocal tone produced by the vocal cords.
The quality of human voice also depends on the movement of the tongue against the palate, the shaping of the lips; the arrangement of teeth also brings about changes in the voice.
Since the structures and movements of all these organs are different in different persons, the voices of no two persons in the world can be identical.
Because of this, I don’t have any problem if people speak in any form or type of voice but what I refuse to accept is when they start switching from one language to another.
These people come out loud and clear when they switch to native languages. But they should be watchful with what they say when the father of junior is around.
I say this because I suspect some people have been saying things that are not amusing about me when I am with them.
Take the other day when I joined some people in their barbeque gathering. One of them switched to his other language. He said something to his friends. There is no way I could have understood what he said.
I asked for a translation of it, the fellow quickly said that he was saying that this summer has been too hot compared to the last one. However, the true translation of what he said is: “this guy is as foolish as an old pan. Look at the way he is harassing our goat ribs. But when it comes to him buying things for other men to eat, he becomes a miser”.
Or on that day when I decided to dress in a certain style in expensive clothes and I meet some people who quickly switched to a different language.
These guys gave their comments in their own language so much so that I couldn’t understand a thing. I asked for a translation; and one of them told me that they were commenting on the way I was so polite in manners and gentle in a character. But the true translation of what they said nearly made me go bonkers. If one would roughly translate it, it would be something like this: - This guy is a very useless show-off creature. He goes shopping to second hand garment markets and then comes here to brag around.”
What I find particularly amusing is when I am sitting in a bus with strangers who have no idea that I speak the same language as them and then they start talking about me in the same language that I not only speak but also dream in.
They assume that I don’t understand the language and continue to say things about me that if loosely translated would mean “This character with a funny pair of shoes is a real coward. He lives near me and recently I heard noises coming from his home. I am sure he was crying out after being beaten by his wife”. “One day I saw him washing the dishes under the supervision of his wife.”
On a serious note, any intentional false communication, whether understood or not, that harms a person’s reputation; decreases the respect or confidence in which a person is held is defamatory and a form of non-civilisation. It encompasses both libel and slander which should be shunned at all levels.
Be guided accordingly!
Nizar al Musalmy
nizar.nmh.musalmy@gmail.com
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