Linguistics for dummies

We all know that Americans struggle to say hola when they enter into their local Mexican joint. They might not even understand that Spanish isn't originally from Mexico.

And when they think of Europeans? Everyone's a Polyglot.

But neither of these assumptions are quite true. Americans are fully capable of delivering the perfect hola, and most Europeans aren't actually polyglots. A Polish person in Paris probably finds themselves just as lost when trying to order a croissant.

What we all really lack when it comes to becoming polyglots is  vocal freedom.

You're probably wondering what I mean by vocal freedom. You might feel like you already have it—you can shout, scream, sing, speak. Isn’t that freedom?

But when you hear a Polish speaker say szczęśliwy (happy), your brain stalls. (Seriously, go look up the pronunciation.) (Go to Google Translate and paste the word in, then click on the speaker button).

Now imagine someone asks you to repeat it.

You hesitate. What the hell was that? Say it again? Sorry I can't…

That hesitation—that moment of vocal paralysis—is where the lack of vocal freedom lives. It’s the fear born from unfamiliar sounds, the lack of confidence to even try, the weak and untrained jaw muscles.

Did you know we use around 100 muscles when we speak? The lips, tongue, jaw, throat—all of them working in perfect coordination to produce sound.

In our mother tongue these muscles are trained to work together, it's routine, and that's why our language flows out so nicely. Say you run everyday, then running feels natural.

But now imagine trying to run backwards. That’s what speaking a new language feels like—your muscles are moving in unfamiliar ways, and suddenly, it’s a challenge.

That’s why words like dziękuję (thank you)  and sprzedaż (sale) in Polish feel impossible. Not because you’re not smart, but because your mouth hasn’t been trained to perform those specific routines. (Go listen those next two words).

Herein lies the problem: we assume we can’t learn languages because we’re “bad at them,” or we lack some innate ability. But in reality, it often comes down to this fear, muscle unfamiliarity, and an underdeveloped vocal workout routine.

I want to remind you all that the people speaking these seemingly impossible languages are also human. They are no different. 

The Polish, the Portuguese, nor the Thai have some secret chamber in their mouth that permits exclusive audio. They were simply trained consistently at a young age how to use these mouth-muscle combinations.

Maybe this is turning into linguistics for dummies, but the point I want to get across is that nobody is inherently disadvantaged when it comes to speaking a language.

The difference lies in how we deal with fear. It's about pushing past the noise, the discomfort, the awkwardness—and learning how to match your vocal patterns to theirs.

True vocal freedom would be hearing one of these words and saying  "I'll give it a try!".

And maybe you should - go give these three Polish words a try!

Try, and fail, and try, and fail. You might find that your mouth is tired, your jaw is sore, even though you just tried repeating a couple of times.

But that's the exact process you need if you want to speak something new.

If you have been interested in learning a language, reflect on where you are.

Am I free in my voice? What is actually holding me back from trying to blurt this word out?

Powodzenia  ;)