Lost in translation
Imagine you live in a small village and as far as you know, that village is all there is in the whole wide world. In the village, everyone speaks the same language and communication is easy, misunderstandings are rare. As far as you know, that language you speak is the only language there is.
Now imagine one day you decide to go and explore the world outside of that village. You don't know whether there is anything beyond the gates of the village but you want to check it out.
After a while walking alone on the dust path, you see unusual creatures all around you. There are lots of them of all shapes and sizes. Some are peacefully standing there and others are running around. You stand there for a bit to observe them and you notice there is no sound, none of the creatures are making any noise.
You walk towards one of them and say 'Hello'.
The creature looks up at you, its eyes widen with was seems to be fear and before you've had the time to say anything else it runs away and disappears into a large bush.
You try again with other creatures but every time the same thing happens.
A few days go by and you start feeling lonely. None of the creatures want to speak to you, let alone let you near them. They seem to be getting fine with each other though. On many occasions you saw groups snugging together. You feel very sad. You are trying hard to be nice and friendly but they run away.
That night in your sleep you have a dream, the first in a long time. In that dream a big four legged creature - at least twice your size - comes to you and asks:
'Why are you sad?
-I left my village and I am all alone. None of the creatures here want to be around me. I should never have left.
-That is strange. Creatures here are very friendly and are always looking for a new companion. Tell me, what did you do that they should stay away?
-I didn't do anything. When I see one I walk up to it and just say hi with a big smile. I also tried offering a handshake but that seems to have made matters worse. Every time they run away.
-Ah! I think I know what the problem is. You see, the creatures here don't speak like you do. They don't use sounds at all and facial expressions, like smiles, mean almost nothing.
-But how can they communicate then?
-It's very easy. They do it with their bodies. In this place, every little movement you do with your arms and legs, how you position your body etc, this all means something. For example, walking straight up to someone means you are going to attack them. So every time you wanted to say 'hello' they thought they were in danger and ran off. Luckily for you, this language is much easier to learn than the bizarre sounds you currently use to communicate. Observe the creatures and you will soon pick it up.'
When you wake up the next morning you are not sure what to think but as you are running out of options you find a cosy spot under a tree and start observing the creatures. You soon realise the dream creature was right and surprisingly their body language quickly starts to make sense.
You observe a while longer and decide to test what you have learnt. You approach one creature from the side, turning your body into an angle so you are not coming straight up. Amazingly, it doesn't run away this time. You slowly walk up to it, making sure you don't look at it in the eyes (you noticed they never looked each other in the eyes) and touch it softly.
After a few weeks, you can communicate with them fluently. How naive, you think, to have assumed these creatures could understand the language from the small village you came from. Now, you are surrounded with friendly, soft and cuddly creatures.
Now imagine one day you decide to go and explore the world outside of that village. You don't know whether there is anything beyond the gates of the village but you want to check it out.
After a while walking alone on the dust path, you see unusual creatures all around you. There are lots of them of all shapes and sizes. Some are peacefully standing there and others are running around. You stand there for a bit to observe them and you notice there is no sound, none of the creatures are making any noise.
You walk towards one of them and say 'Hello'.
The creature looks up at you, its eyes widen with was seems to be fear and before you've had the time to say anything else it runs away and disappears into a large bush.
You try again with other creatures but every time the same thing happens.
A few days go by and you start feeling lonely. None of the creatures want to speak to you, let alone let you near them. They seem to be getting fine with each other though. On many occasions you saw groups snugging together. You feel very sad. You are trying hard to be nice and friendly but they run away.
That night in your sleep you have a dream, the first in a long time. In that dream a big four legged creature - at least twice your size - comes to you and asks:
'Why are you sad?
-I left my village and I am all alone. None of the creatures here want to be around me. I should never have left.
-That is strange. Creatures here are very friendly and are always looking for a new companion. Tell me, what did you do that they should stay away?
-I didn't do anything. When I see one I walk up to it and just say hi with a big smile. I also tried offering a handshake but that seems to have made matters worse. Every time they run away.
-Ah! I think I know what the problem is. You see, the creatures here don't speak like you do. They don't use sounds at all and facial expressions, like smiles, mean almost nothing.
-But how can they communicate then?
-It's very easy. They do it with their bodies. In this place, every little movement you do with your arms and legs, how you position your body etc, this all means something. For example, walking straight up to someone means you are going to attack them. So every time you wanted to say 'hello' they thought they were in danger and ran off. Luckily for you, this language is much easier to learn than the bizarre sounds you currently use to communicate. Observe the creatures and you will soon pick it up.'
When you wake up the next morning you are not sure what to think but as you are running out of options you find a cosy spot under a tree and start observing the creatures. You soon realise the dream creature was right and surprisingly their body language quickly starts to make sense.
You observe a while longer and decide to test what you have learnt. You approach one creature from the side, turning your body into an angle so you are not coming straight up. Amazingly, it doesn't run away this time. You slowly walk up to it, making sure you don't look at it in the eyes (you noticed they never looked each other in the eyes) and touch it softly.
After a few weeks, you can communicate with them fluently. How naive, you think, to have assumed these creatures could understand the language from the small village you came from. Now, you are surrounded with friendly, soft and cuddly creatures.
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