Liner Notes

Soundscape #51: “Whereof One Cannot Speak, Thereof One Must Be Silent”

I saw in a documentary once that babies up to the age of 3 (or 5, can’t remember exactly) are able to identify nuances in the tones of foreign languages but as we grow older, we lose this ability and become “deaf”—so to speak—to languages other than our own. I guess this is why most non-Chinese speakers are not able to hear the 4 tones of each word and why most non-French speakers can’t roll their “R”s.

Fabbriciuse. The Absolute Silence, 2007.

They say that language describes the world in which we live. Think about it—there is no way you can think anything outside of your language(s) (try it!). So learning a new language must surely be one of the most direct ways to learn about a people, their culture, character and mindset. In a way, the world our language(s) describe(s) is meaningful only to the speakers of that language—discounting dialects, social contexts, and so on. There are more words for “snow” in Inuit, for example and there are more than a lot of ways to describe the act of “carrying something” in Vietnamese, simply because “snow” and the act of “carrying something” figure a great deal in the respective cultures.

But this is slowly disintegrating. With increased trade and—what must be the most cliché word this century—globalisation, the different worlds we inhabit are slowly merging into one faceless commodity. The little quirks that only belong to speakers of a certain language are being sandpapered into nothingness. Because of its influence—or pervasiveness, depending on how you look at it (did you know that English is the official language for aerial and maritime communication?), English is often known as the lingua franca—the global language. While it’s good that everyone understands one another, I think part of the fun of travelling to another country, for example, is walking around the streets and figuring out the signs in another language. When I was in Prague, I knew less than 5 Czech words (2 of which are “pivo, prosim” = “beer, please”) but it brought a smile to people’s faces whenever I try and say them. The people would start rattling off but even though you don’t know what they are saying, they seem to genuinely want to know you better, or help you. You get that little bit closer, you know?

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Playlist:
1. (0:00) A Silver Mt. Zion - Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning (He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms)
2. (5:58) Explosions In The Sky - First Breath After Coma (The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place)
3. (15:44) Sigur Rós - Starálfur (Ágætis Byrjun)
4. (21:32) Bedhead - Dead Language (4Song19:10 EP)
5. (26:59) Ambulance Ltd - It Goes Without Saying
6. (29:22) My Dad Vs Yours - Canyons (Grand Or Otherwise) (Winning Hearts And Minds)
7. (33:02) Mogwai - Summer (Young Team)
8. (37:29) As The Poets Affirm - Help! Help! (I Want To Tell My Heart To You But I Cannot Speak English)
9. (42:30) When They Know You They Will Run - December