Friends Through Language Barriers

My dad can understand English, for the most part. Early on in our lives in America, he decided to take several ESL courses to enhance his English-speaking skills, so that he'd be able to get a better job, one that didn't involve working with bosses who were screwing him out of pay just because they knew he didn't have many options. Even after we moved to Nebraska, he continued to take the courses, long after my mom stopped taking them. Short version, he can now communicate effectively, as long as you keep it simple.

Anyway, in his most recent round of ESL courses, he met someone in a similar situation. My dad's friend was a Japanese immigrant who also needed to learn English to get a better job, and they became friends through the most recent course. After a few months, around Thanksgiving of '09, he invited him and his wife to come eat with us, which is when I formally met him (he'd been by a couple of times, but never long enough for me to get to know him).

To me, their interactions are as heartwarming as they are funny. These two men are bound together by a language neither completely understands, and so they make heavy use of gestures and other forms of sign language to get their points across, and use English to tie their messages together. They talk about cars, wine, sports, and a variety of other topics using their hands more than their mouths, and it seems to work, as far as I can tell.

For whatever reason, it reminds me of children, who connect their disjointed sentences with motions to help them communicate. Watching two grown men break down language barriers this way reminds me of the power of human ingenuity. Is it wrong that every time I see them together, and can't help but say," Awww..."? As though I were patronizing them? I hope not.