Knowing a Language

Travelling to a country such as Ghana, which has English as a national language, I didn’t think I would find the language barrier so frustrating. Most of my trip was spent speaking English with my hosts as we discussed life in Ghana, but a good portion of my time was spent in silence as I took the blood pressure and recorded daily activity levels (with the help of a machine…so no words needed) of local community members.

I was frustrated as I all I could do was point to a chair where the participant would sit. I would then measure their arm circumference to choose the correct armband size and then I would fit the armband and push start. The machine I was using would take three pressure readings. In between each reading there would be a minute break to help normalize the pressure of the arm. In total, I sat in silence with each participant for about 4 minutes. I have rarely felt so awkward in my life. Because these community members speak in a local dialect and almost none of them have ever been to high school they never had enough practice with English to be able to communicate in English as an adult.

While this time was frustrating for me a few times I was able to make eye contact with the participant and we would smile at each other knowing we couldn’t communicate in any other way. This experience further drove home the point that if I truly do want to work in International Health someday I need to make language a priority. I don’t need to know just the national language, but I need to spend the time learning the local or regional language which will help me communicate with the community I will be directly working with.

Nate