THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE ARTS EDUCATION The more comfortable people are when communicating with others, the better the world will be. One way of communicating effectively is obviously by learning language arts.

There is a need for tolerance and understanding in this world. People despise and fear what they do not understand. Opportunities are lost because of cultural gaps. When people do not understand each other, they cease trying to communicate and cooperate with each other. There is often talk of the language of love. When people love each other, they make every effort to try to understand each other. When misunderstanding takes place, there is a great deal of pain and efforts to communicate lessen. Once there is a small gap, it is easy to drive a wedge in a relationship. This is exactly how wars and strife start: by one small gap.

COMMUNICATION ENHANCES CONFIDENCE The ability to communicate effectively with others enhances confidence. People trust you more in relationships when you make yourself understood. You put them at ease. No matter what measures are used, whether verbal or non-verbal, once the receiver understands the intended stimulus, communication has taken place. This is why negotiation is so important.

When the negotiation process comes to a successful close, the parties feel a sense of relief. At times, the harder it is to reach the close of the negotiation, the more the pain of the process is remembered. If the process was too painful and difficult, one or more of the parties may decide never to negotiate with the other again. At times, people tend to avoid situations they do not understand or with which they are unfamiliar. They also tend to avoid situations that are too painful to remember.

On the other hand, if communication is achieved after a fair amount of effort, what is accomplished may very well be treasured. This is why people who work very hard at a friendship over time may remain friends for life.

Similarly, some spouses will not separate even long after the sparkle has worn off their marriages because it took them so long to really know and understand each other and the effort it will take to develop intimacy on the same level with a new person is too difficult.

One of my former high school students who is currently studying International Relations at La Sorbonne was staying in the suburbs of France in the early summer at the end of the semester.

He described to me the difficulty he experienced trying to explain his symptoms to a French doctor during an asthma attack. He felt horrible after his "ordeal." I asked him if the doctor had been able to provide him with the necessary care to relieve his symptoms to which he replied in the affirmative. I told him, "then communication did take place." He expressed some relief after I had said this. However, I understood his angst at not being able to adequately articulate his symptoms to the French physician. I am sure the added stress exacerbated his symptoms.

PRE-CONCEIVED NOTIONS/ IMPRESSIONS BASED ON THE LANGUAGE SKILLS OF OTHERS A relative of mine, who has been an educator all her adult life, and I were having a debate about whether or not Caribbean dialects were an acceptable means of communication. I was arguing that they were acceptable if the intended stimulus could be clearly understood by the intended recipient of the information. She made the statement that "people judge where you are coming from by the way you speak" and reluctantly conceded that "how you speak does not always determine where you are going."

At the time, I was very vigorously arguing my point that it didn't determine where you are going.

Nevertheless, over the years, after seeing how much my knowledge of various languages has broadened my experience, I realize that had I only been proficient in my mother tongue, English, and certain Caribbean dialects, my experiences would have been more limited and I would not have functioned at the level at which I have functioned over the years.

During the time I taught language arts in High School, I had many a debate with my young students who felt that learning foreign languages was irrelevant. While it is true that many of them went on to have many illustrious, glamorous and successful careers, I wager that if a survey were taken, the success and interesting nature of their professional lives would be proportionate to their knowledge of languages other than English.

In particular, one young student of mine who turned out to be an airline pilot comes to mind. I am sure in his travels, he thinks of the days when he used to be in my French class. I am sure he is either grateful he learned French or regretful that he did not take it seriously, or a mixture of both.

TONE VS. WORDS There is a saying that goes, "let your heart be without words, but do not let your words be without heart."

PROBLEM:Many know how to speak words but their tone and attitude enhance neither the communication process in general nor the fostering of cross-border relationships in particular. Sarcasm, scorn, apathy and indifference are integral parts of cultural gaps. There are some groups that, in an effort to maintain their cultural identity, do so at the expense of learning to integrate with the general society by which they are surrounded. Hence, even though they may learn the prevailing language, their ability to communicate effectively with those outside of their cultural group is basically non-existent.

LANGUAGE AND ACCENTS Every time I attend a networking event and introduce myself and my business, people say to me, "I hear an accent, where are you from?" It's usually the second sentence in our conversation. When I tell them that I am from the Caribbean, they say to me, "What is your mother tongue, Haitian Creole?" They usually find it hard to believe that my mother tongue is British English since I have an "accent".

The conversation usually comes to an abrupt end when I point out that they, too, have an accent. I gather from these conversations, that having an accent other than an American or British accent is an indication that surely the speaker can not be a native English speaker. An accent is simply the way in which words are intoned. There are various types of accents and people from the same geographic area might have different accents based on their family backgrounds and socialization. Every single member of my immediate family has a different accent because we all either come from or live in different geographic areas. Some accents and the way words are pronounced, make it difficult at times for other listeners to understand what is being said.

There are some people who are well trained in the art of understanding almost any accent and even accurately identifying the geographic location from which the speakers originate or live.

RACE, GENETICS AND CULTURE Because marriages and romantic relationships now take place more than ever between a cross-cultural mix of people, it is harder to "place" people because at times they are a product of two or more races. Despite political discussions and delineations, many of these people feel more comfortable identifying themselves as multi-cultural rather than as having one particular race. This is not to say that they are ashamed or feel uncomfortable identifying with any particular ethnic group from which they have ancestors.

However, to place them in only one ethnic group is not a sufficient means of identifying them. This is especially so, depending on the family members to whom they were closest during their upbringing. Their culture, then, depends more on what goes on in the family and home than in the society at large. One's identity is a very sacred thing that can only be defined ultimately by the individual and his or her family and not by political groups with agendas.

BRIDGING THE GAP In our profession, we encounter every single day, opportunities to cross borders and to bridge every imaginable gap, by the use of our language and communication skills. In order to do this effectively, we must be aware of the gaps when we encounter them and make sure that by our professionalism and dedication to the ethics of our trade we seek solutions in every situation to prevent the perpetration of misunderstanding, ignorance and prejudice. We can play a great and important part in making wars cease.

This solution is adapted from an article of the same name originally published in The Gotham Translator in the September / October 2007 issue.