Multilingual Headache

Believe it or not, in high school my greatest career aspiration was to travel the world as an attorney working for a fancy airline, doing deals in exotic lands, juggling multiple languages and cultures, making lots of money for my client. The afterhours would, as a matter of routine, be spent wining and dining important clients in the presence of gorgeous flight attendants. That dream has at least partially been fulfilled.

Fact is, speaking, and understanding, multiple languages may be fun and games to some, while to others it may offer a career boost, with the right combination of functional or industry skills. For me, however, even a trip to the lunch room can cause quite a headache as Japanese, English, Hindu and Chinese of three different dialects are thrown around like pieces of rotten fruit in a high school cafeteria food fight. Banter is tolerable provided that it takes place in a "controlled" environment where the pace and the topics of conversation are predictable, such as a smoke-filled room of high-level Japanese executives working out a budget. At least you know what to expect and you have the luxury of tuning out those subjects that you are not expected to pay attention to.

With casual conversation, however, I often recall the trials and tribulations of Bruce Almighty who simply becomes overwhelmed by the sudden sensory overload arising from his new-found ability to hear to people's prayers -- all around the globe. Trying not to be distracted is a serious challenge for those of us who have the ability -- for better or for worse -- to hear people's thoughts. Indeed, with great power comes responsibility!