Precerpt from My 20th Language: Linguacy (Leaver)
Linguacy, a term coined by Brecht
and Ingold (2002), is not just about speaking or understanding a language. It’s
about grasping the systems of meaning that shape how people think, solve
problems, and communicate—whether through words, numbers, diagrams, or
gestures. I didn’t set out to learn these things, but over time, I found myself
needing to understand them in order to function across unfamiliar terrains.
Some of the differences were
subtle. In certain places, math is taught through calculation first, theory
later. That reversal of order changes how students approach problems. Instead
of being handed a formula and told to apply it, they’re expected to wrestle
with the numbers and discover the logic through use. It’s not better or
worse—it’s just a different way of thinking.
The orientation of math problems
also varies. Some are designed to be solved forward, step by step. Others are
meant to be worked backward, with the answer in mind and the path
reconstructed. That shift affects how one reads a problem, how one even begins.
I had to learn to spot those cues, especially when helping others navigate
systems that assumed a particular kind of reasoning. More especially, my
daughter, Echo, who attended seventh grade in Soviet schools when I was
researching at the University of Moscow, had to learn that instead of the U.S.
“division bracket” where the dividend sits inside and the quotient goes on top,
the Russian method uses a vertical layout that unfolds downward. It’s more
columnar and often feels more arithmetic-driven than algebraic. And, at first,
I had a dickens of a time helping her with math. Fortunately, she is talented
in math and could handle most of it completely on her own. Later, in Russia,
when I stayed with friends and the young son, Lyovik, was struggling with me, I
actually could help him with his homework, thanks to learning alongside Echo.
Mechanical drawing was another
surprise. In some school systems, as in the Soviet Union educational programs,
it’s part of the regular curriculum from an early age. Children learn to
visualize objects in space, rotate them mentally, and render them with
precision. That kind of spatial literacy isn’t just artistic—it’s mathematical,
anatomical, and deeply practical. I cannot say I ever truly appreciated it, not
ever having studied it, but little, logical Echo loved it and excelled at “cherchenie.”
Fortunately, she never needed help from me!
And then there’s the abacus. I’d
seen them before, but I hadn’t understood how they functioned as cognitive
tools. They’re not just counting devices—they train the mind to hold and
manipulate quantities visually. That kind of fluency doesn’t translate directly
into spoken language, but it’s a kind of literacy nonetheless. They are also
fantastic tools at inrgaining concepts of a decimal system. I had to teach Echo
how to use the abacus because it was part of her schoolwork, and she had a
small wooden abacus she carried in her backpack. Helping her helped me; the
stores of the time used the abacus as the main calculating machine. It has
evolved, and I have followed along: from abacus to cash register with abacus on
the side for double checking to cash register to the more sophisticated cash
registers now used in a point of sales system.
Cultural subtleties shaped my
learning just as much as formal systems did. In Belém, Brazil, I arrived with
an umbrella, only to discover it was useless against the daily 2:00 downpours.
The rain came fast and hard, shredding umbrellas and flooding streets—but it
passed just as quickly. Locals didn’t bother with gear; they simply stood under
overhangs or stayed inside for twenty minutes. Afternoon appointments weren’t
scheduled by the clock but by the rain: “an hour after the downpour,” “two
hours after,” and so on. I learned to follow suit.
In Jordan, I learned not to throw a
party before 9:00. The first one I hosted in Amman, I optimistically scheduled
for 7:00—what I considered a reasonable U.S. time. No one arrived until after
9:20. Eventually, I adjusted and began setting my invitations like everyone
else: “after 9:00,” with the understanding that guests would drift in up to 20
minutes past that. (More than that would have been impolite; less than that
would be rude.)
Mealtimes were another adjustment.
Many countries eat later than the U.S.—Spain, for example. That was difficult
for me for physical reasons. With a hiatal hernia and GERD, I needed earlier
meals. So, I ate very carefully at parties and kept to my usual 5:00–7:00
window at home or in hotels. It wasn’t always easy, but it was necessary.
And the buses—every country seemed
to do it differently. In Russia, I “rode rabbit” for my first few trips, simply
because I couldn’t figure out how to reach the ticket box when people were
packed belly button to belly button. Then I saw it: passengers handing money to
the person next to them, who passed it on and on until it reached the person by
the box. That person would insert the fare, take the ticket, and pass it back
through the crowd. It was elegant, communal, and completely foreign to me until
I saw it in action.
In Russia, I also had to relearn
how to count on my fingers. Starting with the thumb and waving digits in the
air marked me instantly as American. Russians begin with the pinkie and fold
inward toward the palm—a small gesture, but one that carries cultural weight. I
adjusted, quietly and found that even finger-counting could be a kind of
linguistic camouflage.
There were so many new ways of learning to live, each differing from others, as I went from language to language and country to country that I can only describe them in the chapters devoted to each language—and culture.
For more posts about language learning, click HERE.
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