Language is a Lifeline

Learning Portuguese

Mar 03, 2024

My family will be moving from the United States to Portugal soon. Last week, I stopped by a neighborhood pharmacy to buy a few things. While there, I noticed an elderly woman speaking a language other than English. A translator communicated what she said to the pharmacy employee. The employee explained: “Tell her we can deliver her medications to her home. Let her know we will deliver all her medications at the same time.” The translator shared this information with the elderly woman and I could see the woman relaxing and smiling.

Seeing a translator and hearing two languages spoken is rare at my local pharmacy where English is the norm.

As my spouse and I prepare to move to Portugal, I have been working with online flashcards daily to increase my Portuguese vocabulary. Doing these memorization and pronunciation exercises is a relaxing stress reliever. However, to say it’s relaxing doesn’t mean my Portuguese is getting better quickly.

Language is a lifeline. Being able to share thoughts and feelings is essential, even if this sharing happens through writing and not through face-to-face conversation.

When I was growing up, my mother had a life-long best friend, Catherine. Catherine and her husband retired in their 50s to live on a sailboat in the Caribbean. They sold or gave away everything they had and moved onto a beautiful 38 foot sailboat. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I spent time sailing with them on their boat in the summer. I saw mountainous islands and swam next to amazing coral reefs.

In the cabin of her boat, Catherine wrote her book on a manual typewriter. Her book was about how people age quickly by having the same daily patterns in their lives. Instead, Catherine suggested seeking out new people, different activities and unfamiliar places to stay mentally flexible throughout life.

That summer, when I prepared to return home, Catherine gave me a printed draft of her book to share with my mother. Catherine had found a publisher for the book and it would be printed soon.

I was amazed at Catherine’s ability to live happily and productively in a small space and to stay focused on writing her book, while managing the many draft pages.

During the day, when Catherine was on the boat, she would sometimes listen to a televangelist who was popular at that time. His radio programs ended with a pitch for listeners to send in a donation. I don’t believe she necessarily agreed with the religious ideology of the preacher, but I think there was something comforting to her about hearing the language and speech patterns she was accustomed to from her time in the American South.

During the 1980s, when Catherine wrote and published her book, there were a number of one way channels for communication, such as broadcasting radio shows and publishing books; however, there weren’t avenues for online conversations for writers and readers. I eagerly read Catherine’s draft as well as her book after it was published. I enjoyed discussing her book with her. Given her life on the water, Catherine did not have an opportunity for any book tours or readings where she might meet readers and discuss the key ideas shared in her book. Social media, or other avenues, where she might share ideas and hear from readers didn’t exist. Sending her words out into the world had to be enough.

I’ve been working for months now to be able to form the sounds of the Portuguese language: the nasal vowels, the strange sound of the “r,” the “lh” sound, and so many others. I am making slow progress.

I listen to Portuguese podcasts and shows to gradually understand this new language. The journey to speak, write, read and understand spoken Portuguese will be a long one.

Are you learning another language? How is it going? Are you fluent in several languages? What helped you most to gain fluency?

American South <-> Portugal

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