As someone who’s had the privilege of being raised in an environment where learning many languages and being exposed to different cultures was not only encouraged, but often facilitated, the idea that emotions and experiences feel very different depending on the language and context, is quite a recurring theme in my life. I found it ridiculously endearing when I first learned in French that to “miss someone” was described as “you are missing from me”, a fact which seemed to strengthen the idea that relationships involve a relation between two individuals, between two counterparts. I was often confused at the claims made by people who commented on the harshness of the German language, that it spurred in them a recollection of aggressive experiences and emotions. Funny, to me German had always seemed soft, soothing, and comforting. But then again, my years living in the country lie amongst the fondest of my childhood memories…

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