Jacque Jorns

Jacque was born and raised in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, a small city consisting of roughly 10,000 people. Today, however, her primary residence is Elon, North Carolina, where she is a senior at Elon University. Jaque is majoring in international studies with an emphasis on the Middle East. Part of her studies includes learning Arabic. This semester Jacque is studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt, at The American University in Cairo. During school breaks, she hopes to travel to Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel. Jaque's interest in Pathways stems from her interest in the Middle East and from something her mother always used to say: “No one knows what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes.” Jacque says, "I think of this every day and how we all are guilty of judging too quickly. Yet there are things each of us can do to help bridge gaps between each other and between cultures." As a Pathways intern, Jacque is excited to be part of a team that works hard to establish cultural cohesion. She believes that the personal experience that Pathways emphasizes is what strikes a chord with people.

Nov 162009

Language Barrier in Cairo

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Our entry this week comes from Pathways intern Jacque. This semester Jacque is studying in Cairo, Egypt, which provides plenty of face-to-face encounters with cultural difference.

After nearly two months in Cairo, I have begun to realize not only that there are obstacles to cultural cohesion, but also that there is one that has a particularly stagnating effect on the process. The language gap is by far the most prevalent obstacle. In order to defend their unique identity, individual cultures tend to emphasize certain characteristics that separate themselves from other cultures. Language separates those who are foreign from those who are native to a culture.

Language is a separating force but also a unifying one: the glue of a particular society of people. There is no question for me on this issue. One must learn another culture’s language, in order to participate in and better understand that culture. I have had interesting reactions from people when trying to utilize the little bit of Arabic that I claim to know. I remember a particular time, when I was in a small store in Dahab, when I bartered for a certain price on a small wallet. We went back and forth on prices for a minute before I told him 15 L.E was the highest I would go. He then told me that he would only give it to me for that price, because I asked in Arabic. In the streets when people are asking me to buy flowers or fruit from them, I’ll say no thank you in Arabic, to which their response usually is, “You speak Arabic! “ I have also had the opposite of such experiences. There have been quite a few times when I’ve asked a store owner how much something is in Arabic and they respond in English. In addition most often people approach me by speaking English, which is understandable considering my undeniable appearance as a foreigner.

In essence, the language barrier really has an effect on how much I am able to participate in and learn from the culture. Beyond communicating with people, it is almost impossible to understand all of the idiosyncrasies of a culture without knowing the language. Yet while language is an obvious obstacle it is also one that can be overcome with time.

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