There was an exciting discussion between a teacher and his students about music. Every student tried to approach one's personal reasons from listening to music.
The students were enjoying the discussion and were eager to talk about themselves since there was someone ready to listen to them and understand their ambitions, convictions, and worries.

During the discussion, one student said:
"Music is a language!"

Apparently, this answer provoked the teacher who commented by saying:
"I see! … But what is the meaning of "language"?

The student answered quickly:
"It's a means of communication!"

The teacher slowly noticed:
"Most people repeat the same definition!"

The student said:
"I didn't grasp well what do you mean, Sir?"

The teacher added:
"I need a deeper answer."

The the student tried to clarify his answer more:
"I said that language is a means of communication, and this definition can lead to the exploration of many worlds."

The teacher:
"Good. But remember that you mentioned the word "means" which usually implies a shallow meaning, maybe a technical meaning."

The student kept silent for a while not knowing what to add then he said:
"I can't go further in defining the word but I insist on the definition I stated at the beginning."

The teacher:
"Ok. I am going to ask you some simple questions."

"Yes, Sir"

"Is the language static or dynamic?"
"I think it is static!"
"How?"
"There is a set of grammatical rules we should learn and abide by. There is the same vocabulary to acquire and some repertoire we should study."

"I am afraid to say that I disagree on this point. Language is dynamic. It looks like all living things on the earth. It grows and shrinks. It loses some of its contents and receives new ones. It needs food and energy to stay alive and it has its own soul."

Then the teacher went on in his explanation by asking another question:
"We all do our best to learn foreign languages, but can you eradicate your native language from your memory and replace it by another one?"

The student replied:
"Absolutely no!"

"Why not?"

"My native language is a part of my body, my existence, and my belonging. I can't imagine living without using it!."

"Excellent! So language seems to stand for an identity. It apparently reflects the social, economic and the cultural and certainly there are other fields to explore.
My dear, our big mistake is that we take every meaning for granted without trying to think it over. So the question of what does language mean will stay open for everyone!"🙂✌🏻


© Ashish Oberoi
#writcostory #inspirational #language #shortstory #shortstories