Scratch 52 The Voice of the Other

Going on a bus I heard a man loudly talking in a language I didn’t know. Sometimes it has irritated me. Sometimes it has fascinated me. Sometimes I just enjoy the sounds. I too, have talked in a language that is not the local language in various contexts. For some, this is threatening, as evidenced by rascist rants on various public transport systems. After all another language is alien. We fear it is taking over our space. We feel intruded upon. But that sound which is strange to us, is someone’s world. It is their existence.

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