Divine words: what role does language learning play in religio...

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/10/language...

Divine words: what role does language

learning play in religious practice?
For many, developing an understanding of a religion extends to learning its
associated language. We spoke to those learning Arabic, Hebrew and classical Tibetan

Does relying on a translations of a religious text get in the way of practising a faith? Photograph: Robert
Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Matthew Jenkin
Monday 10 November 2014 10.51GMT

Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation, Su mystic Rumi once
said.
Words are, however, a way for the worldly to connect with the divine through prayer
and worship. For many, developing a greater understanding of a religion extends not
only to studying the theological and philosophical points but to learning another
language. We spoke to three people studying Arabic, Hebrew and classical Tibetan
about the role languages play in their relationship with religion.

Hebrew and Judaism

Retiree Anne Evans decided to learn Hebrew as a way to reconnect with her Jewish
heritage after the death of her parents. Although not particularly religious, the
Holocaust survivors from Lithuania proudly maintained their Jewish traditions.
Wanting to do something that brought her closer to them she enrolled on a Hebrew
course at the Spiro Ark school for Jewish education.
The language, she claims, is intimately involved in an understanding of the religion,
with word stems allowing a whole philosophy to be found in a single term. Take the
word barmitzvah, for example. The word literally means son of the commandment
and is used to refer to a Jewish boys coming of age ceremony. However, the stem

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mitzvah on its own has deeper layers of meaning, referring to the 613
commandments given in the Torah at biblical Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic
commandments instituted later. It is also used to refer to a good deed.
Evans feels overwhelmed by the sense of history she feels when reciting the passover
prayers in Hebrew which have been memorised and spoken by Jews from Russia to
Afghanistan for thousands of years: That has made me not devout but truly proud to
be Jewish, truly gobsmacked by it all.
Nitza Spiro, director of the Spiro Ark school, says she has seen a large increase in the
number of people wishing to learn both biblical and modern Hebrew. Spiro agrues
that language is central to Jewish identity and its resilience. Books meant our spirit,
our hope, our outlook on life, our morality, our ability to argue about issues which are
higher than the daily mundane things, says Spiro. Without it [Hebrew] you dont
have the tools to understand what it is to be a Jew.

Arabic and Islam

Just as Hebrew has helped preserve Jewish religion and culture for generations, the
Islamic intellectual, legal and social heritage has been transmitted for centuries in
Arabic. All Muslims are not only required to recite daily prayers in Arabic, but they
must have a minimum amount of the Quran memorised for the purposes of prayer
and worship.
London-based Imam, Shaur Rahman, believes learning the language would help
prevent any dangerous misinterpretations of the holy book. While there are parts of
the Quran which are open to interpretation, Arabic scholars have developed sciences
around grammar, syntax, and rhetoric which ensure followers dont extrapolate
meanings from the book which werent intended. The word jihad, for example, is
often translated as holy war but actually means struggling or surviving.
Despite the importance placed by Islam on learning Arabic, Rahman claims there is a
tremendous disconnect between the generation of today, especially in the west, and
this heritage.
He says: There would be a much better understanding of what Islam is, how the
original community around the prophet Muhammad understood Islam and how
subsequent generations developed their understanding according to context and
situation, if more Muslims learned Arabic.

Classical Tibetan and Buddhism

For Tibetan Buddhist Lydia Polzer, learning a foreign language has become an integral
part of her religious practice. Polzer rst became interested in the eastern tradition a
decade ago after attending meditation courses at the Kagyu Samye Dzong Tibetan
centre in London. What started as a curiosity about the benets of mindfulness
quickly developed into a greater involvement with some of the more complex
Buddhist rituals.
Tibetan Buddhism rst put down roots in the UK in the 60s, with the founding of

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Kagyu Samye Ling monastery in Scotland in 1967, and the traditions mother tongue
is still preferred by both western monastic and lay practitioners for recitation of
prayers during these practices.
Polzer explains that while a transliteration of the Tibetan script is provided, she
yearned for the alien prose to trip eortlessly o her tongue and understand what she
was chanting without having to keep one eye on the English translation. With a group
of other eager practitioners, she started to learn the language through online Skype
lessons for colloquial speaking and by attending workshops in classical Tibetan with a
native speaker at the centre.
For me it is about appreciating the culture and having respect for the Tibetan
teachers who visit us, she says. I want to understand rst-hand and not rely on
translators.
Whether its for better job prospects, travel or the desire to become closer to your
signicant other, there are a myriad of reasons why people learn a foreign language.
For many, however, it is an opportunity to connect with their beliefs and culture on a
deeper level, developing an understanding which they believe transcends words and
speech.
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