Rules

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote for three consecutive days.
• Nominate three new bloggers each day.

Quote

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
― George Orwell, 1984

This is a quote from another book I studied at school, and I’ll never forget it. I’ve read two of Orwell’s works so far, “1984” and “Animal Farm“, and a few of his essays. If there’s a book that you want add to your lifetime must-reads, it’s definitely “1984”. I actually loved the language Orwell employed for each sentence, paragraph and chapter of his book. In many of the books I read, I look for meaning and depth in the content, but rarely do I find that richness in the language itself. Orwell’s work does that.

I chose this quote particularly because of my interest in language. Growing up having to manage three languages at the same time, I had to deal with the culture and environment that came with that language. And a few years ago, I came into contact with sign language, with deepened and  confirmed my interest in language more.

What we say matters so much because it’s always open to interpretation, depending on our point of view, culture, background, and whatnot. I love the fact that I have such a rich linguistic and cultural background, but I hate the fact that I often feel that my knowledge is spread in the three languages that I have to manage daily. It’s as if no matter how much I learn in one language, when I ‘switch’ to another language, a gap will be there. It’s hard for knowledge to exist if I cannot express myself as well in one language as I do in the other.

Though English is my third language, I am proud and abashed to say that it is the language I believe I know best. I can barely read or write in Chinese, and I pretty steer clear from Spanish texts unless it’s for school/work.

Language has shaped me so much, and it’s such a determining factor in who we become as an individual.

Nominations

• I feel like I’ve been nominating way too many people in my last few posts. I don’t know if that’s annoying or a good thing, but I don’t really feel like doing that anymore… (I just broke a rule! I’m a rebel!)
• If you’re interested, though, I still have one more day left of this challenge, so I can still nominate you if you want! Or you can just go ahead and nominate yourself 😉