The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Hard language: Shaked was not broken from broken English Israel today

2021-10-21T14:16:52.021Z


As someone who boasts in the English of an elementary school, I am full of respect for Ayelet Shaked's courage


I usually refrain from writing here about politics, but one human moment this week made me deviate from the custom: the moment Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked turned from a conference podium to the facilitator and asked for her help in finding a word she was missing in English.

This single moment made me forget for a moment the variety of angers I carry towards the Minister of the Interior for her part in the formation of the government and simply appreciate it.

To appreciate, from the language of appreciation.

Well, how do you say that?

Ah, Appreciate.

Many criticized the interior minister this week for the lame interview in English.

The outrage on a politician due to his lack of command of a language other than his own is vicious.

Even the good English speakers among our public figures find it difficult to express themselves freely, precisely because they are politicians.

While giving the answer they need a great deal of concentration to say the right and accurate thing and not fall into their language, and in addition - they are supposed to articulate well in a foreign language.

It's very complicated.

The second reason, and it is main - who am I to criticize someone for not knowing English.

As someone who finds himself making a living from standing on stage for many years and flaunts English at the elementary school level, I am full of respect for those who are struggling to break this inferiority complex.

The truth is that I also sometimes excel at bursts of self-confidence in this area, especially in cases where the reward is worth the torture of preparing a lecture in English.

Oh, the nightmare!

The people who market my lectures already know the basic rule - no questions!

But the following story, which happened to me just a few months ago, during the Corona period, really breaks every record, and is dedicated in appreciation to Sarah Shaked.

I attended a zoom conference that included a group of lecturers, and each in turn gave a short lecture on the topic of the virtual conference.

The audience was American, English-speaking, but for some reason it seemed to me that I would speak in Hebrew.

It was only when the conference began, and the two Israeli lecturers before me spoke fluent English, that I suddenly realized that I was supposed to be lecturing in English.

And not just in English, but in beautiful English of conferences.

Out of the immense distress I was suddenly reminded of something I had once heard from Meron London: since language is a matter of survival, the way to acquire and master it relies on instincts and need, rather than on talent.

When I heard the presenter calling my name, I smiled a huge smile at the camera, placed my hand on the mouse and the mouse slider in the lower left corner of the screen, and burst into a lecture in fluent, rich English, full of confidence and full of accent.

Whenever I was missing a word, I simply said it in Hebrew, but a second before I clicked on "Silence", and a second after I released "Silence".

Exactly like that.

The audience in Maryland wrote before him with satisfaction that this lecturer is worth hearing, he is fascinating and enriching.

What a pity that it is technologically less developed.

Maybe he's not at all to blame and this is a regional internet glitch.

kobiarieli@gmail.com

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-10-21

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.