Sad Irony of Patriarchy- The Story Of An Hour

Textual Analysis of Narratives  

The Story of an Hour; Kate Chopin 1894

Life is full of surprises and irony, the thing that was well illustrated in “The Story of an Hour”. The story by the American author Kate Chopin is a mainstay of the feminist literary study. Originally published in 1894, the short story of approximately a thousand words documents the complicated and ironic reaction of a woman upon her husband’s false death and even after walking in all safe and sound, in a time where Americans were highly influenced by the construction of a good woman reflected by the Victorian lifestyle back in England. In her story, Kate Chopin also tried to display the limitations of the patriarchal system and even marriage towards women in the nineteenth century.

From the outset, Louise Mallard was introduced as a married, weak woman who is receiving Brently Mallard’s death, her husband, from her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend; Richards. The latter go gently on her “in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” (4-5) as they assume the news is going to be devastating to Louise and threatens her fragile heart. From a one hands, Josephine and Richards provides a better demonstration of society over widows-simply a child that should be taken care of. The heart trouble, on the other hand, indicates a breakdown in the fundamental structure of communities which is marriage as it is the core and root of any society. Thus, Mrs. Mallard’s illness represents a typical 19^th century woman who is entrapped between her desires and the societal expectations from a good married woman. Unexpectedly, only when she is alone in her room Luoise feels overwhelmed with epiphany and a sudden revelation as her consciousness retrieves the thought of freedom and a comfortable happiness. This is symbolically represented via “the open window” (16) in her room  as a gate to her new life that she looks through and being able to be in harmony and recognize the rebirth of nature after the harsh winter “with the new spring life” (20). She can see “patches of blue sky” (24) and even can hear “a distant song which someone was singing” (22) and thus all her senses came back to life again without any restriction in a revealing moment realizing she is finally free from the fact of marriage when “she said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free”. (44-45). Hence, Louise is content as she looks forward to “years to come that would belong to her absolutely” which reflects her new self-possessed life independently without any patriarchal reflection. Nevertheless, the same physical description of excitement is displayed together with a feeling of guilt as an internal conflict in a paradoxical exposition “monstrous joy” (48) and the use of the third narrator or omission narration.

However, Brently Mallard enters the house opening the door with “latchkey” (82) as a proof of the patriarchy system where he belongs to the open space and get in and out whenever he wants unlike Mrs. Mallard who is blocked within the closed space before that front door. Alive and well unaware of what happened, Brently as usual got in “composedly carrying a grip-sack and umbrella” (83-84). Alas, Luoise’s “feverish triumph” (78) and her walking down the stairs as “Godess of victory” (79) vanish and get assassinated right away.

Eventually, Luoise dies. When the doctors determine that Luoise “died of heart disease-of joy that kills” (89-90), one directly notices the explicit verbal irony. It seems that Luoise died because of her loss of the cherished, new found freedom but not because of joy over her husband’s survival.

AAYP Recaps by Zeyneb KHALDI

The unprecedented Arab African Youth Platform in its first edition in Asouan was striking. It was beyond expected as far as the organization, accommodation and every single other detail is concerned. We, as African and Arab young leaders, were so impressed by the Egyptian youth ability and commitment in hosting such a giant forum gathering smoothly delegates from Africa and the Arab world.

       From the outset, the AAYP set itself as the founding platform that enabled young leaders from African and Arab world to finally discuss sustainable development goals that are to be implemented under the Egyptian Chairmanship of the African Union in which it also included the Arab world, for Egypt represents the hook up between the two on the main continuum.

       As ample as the topics’ assortment dealt with, the sessions were congruously diversified. Workshops, discussion panels, open talks, debates, round table discussions and so on, were intermediaries and agencies of introducing the ultimate conceivable challenges of the Afro-Arab relations and suggesting a variety of solutions as to overcome any sort of limitations concerning the matter.

      The platform’s theme was tackled through sessions. Most of the sessions were of vigorous impact, not only did they witness a presidential presence, but they also came up with recommendations that were put into immediate actions, as the registration opening for the WYF LABS as part as the Scientific research enhancement is concerned where ensuring the SDGs incorporation, in addition to registration for the African Presidential Leadership Program (APLP) expanding the benefits to all youth from Africa and the Arab world, likewise, the launch of the Storymate App which helps the delegates and leaders to share their own professional stories as to start entrepreneurship projects.

        One example is the Social entrepreneurship from the African perspective workshop held by Nelson Mandela’s grandson paving the pathway towards social entrepreneurship in Africa and Arab region to youth through the Mandela’s legacy example by gaining new perspectives.

       What is more is the opportunity given by his Excellency not only on the round table discussion but also on the 18th March at the presidential breakfast were the atmosphere was open to suggestions and words whereby African and Arab leaders shared a variety of suggestions such as the African-Arab common market project towards a prosperous economy, government facilities role in the social entrepreneurship, and Visa aperients among the countries for youth.

       As a delegate representing my own country Algeria, I was so pleased to take part in the exchange of ideas among brilliantly successful leaders from different backgrounds, race and ethnicities, the thing that assisted our intelligibility in SDGs initiatives and future insights for Afro-Arab relations.

Zeyneb KHALDI 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aayp-recaps-zeyneb-khaldi-zeyneb-khaldi/

Femme Noire Analysis-African Literature By Leopold Senghor

“Femme noire/Black woman” is a short lyrical poem extracted from “Chants d’Ombre” collection , written by Senegalese Leopold Senghor. The poem was published after WWII denouncing colonization and celebrating the black culture of the African continent. In his poetic quest, Senghor presents a series of images that are, in effect, the attributes of the black woman in a figurative style. One, hence, perceives the impact of this poem through the imagery, metaphor, and personification that the poet employs in both sensory and emotional ways. Thereby, “Femme noire” became a hymn of praise to the black woman as an individual, and also as a symbol of African race. This essay analyzes the poet’s response and imagery usage throughout the four stanzas whilst explaining the illustrations used.

Within the first stanza, the first two lines serve as a statement of the poem’s theme: the beauty of the natural black woman, who though naked, is “clothed” in her color, which is life and whose form is beauty. The poet has grown up in her shadow and has felt the gentleness of her hands. He thus seems to name her qualities, beginning with a description of the natural woman, and then referring to her as the “promised land”, a plain that rustles and a noon sky at in the midst of summer, and her beauty strikes him directly to the heart, like the flash of an eagle. The poet sees her not only in terms of a person, but in terms of the earth itself, and even the universe.

Moreover, there are other metaphors in the second stanza (more erotic than the first) where the black woman is seen as a lover in terms of ripe fruit, a woman who can relocate him with petulant ecstasies of black wine, a woman with a mouth that makes his own mouth lyric. Senghor went on describing her as a limitless savanna that shudders beneath the caresses of the east wind; a woman who is like a tight, well-sculpted drum that resounds under the fingers of the invader; a woman whose dignified voice becomes the spiritual song of the loved one.

In the third stanza, the oil on her skin is seen by the poet as smooth as on the limbs of an athlete or on those of the princes of Mali. She is almost a goddess-so perfect, a graceful but celestial gazelle. Pearls become stars on the darkness of her skin. The reflections of the setting sun on her skin are delights on which the mind can exercise itself. The poet’s anguish is lightened by the sun-like glance from her eyes, when he is in the shadow of her hair.

Personification is another device used as the poet writes in the fourth stanza of Fate, in a more philosophical way.  The poet here informs the black woman that he is celebrating in verse her beauty, which is passing, and her form, which he establishes eternally in his poetry, before fate can turn her to ashes in order to nourish the roots of life.

In summary, the poet has moved, by means of description, metaphor, and personification, from praise of the black woman herself to an affirmation of the continuation of life. He has saved the best for last as he ends on a note of optimism within the last stanza.

Appendix:

French

Femme nue, femme noire

Vêtue de ta couleur qui est vie, de ta forme qui est beauté

J'ai grandi à ton ombre ; la douceur de tes mains bandait mes yeux
Et voilà qu'au cœur de l'Eté et de Midi,

Je te découvre, Terre promise, du haut d'un haut col calciné
Et ta beauté me foudroie en plein cœur, comme l'éclair d'un aigle

Femme nue, femme obscure

Fruit mûr à la chair ferme, sombres extases du vin noir, bouche qui fais lyrique ma bouche

Savane aux horizons purs, savane qui frémis aux caresses ferventes du Vent d'Est

Tamtam sculpté, tamtam tendu qui gronde sous les doigts du vainqueur
Ta voix grave de contralto est le chant spirituel de l'Aimée

Femme noire, femme obscure

Huile que ne ride nul souffle, huile calme aux flancs de l'athlète, aux flancs des princes du Mali

Gazelle aux attaches célestes, les perles sont étoiles sur la nuit de ta peau.

Délices des jeux de l'Esprit, les reflets de l'or ronge ta peau qui se moire

A l'ombre de ta chevelure, s'éclaire mon angoisse aux soleils prochains de tes yeux.

Femme nue, femme noire

Je chante ta beauté qui passe, forme que je fixe dans l'Eternel
Avant que le destin jaloux ne te réduise en cendres pour nourrir les racines de la vie.


                                                                      English

Naked woman, black woman

Clothed with your color which is life,
with your form which is beauty!

In your shadow I have grown up; the
gentleness of your hands was laid over my eyes.

And now, high up on the sun-baked
pass, at the heart of summer, at the heart of noon,
I come upon you, my Promised Land,
And your beauty strikes me to the heart
like the flash of an eagle.

Naked woman, dark woman

Firm-fleshed ripe fruit, sombre raptures
of black wine, mouth making lyrical my mouth
Savannah stretching to clear horizons,
savannah shuddering beneath the East Wind's

eager caresses

Carved tom-tom, taut tom-tom, muttering
under the Conqueror's fingers
Your solemn contralto voice is the
spiritual song of the Beloved.

Naked woman, dark woman

Oil that no breath ruffles, calm oil on the
athlete's flanks, on the flanks of the Princes of Mali
Gazelle limbed in Paradise, pearls are stars on the

night of your skin

Delights of the mind, the glinting of red
gold against your watered skin

Under the shadow of your hair, my care
is lightened by the neighboring suns of your eyes.

Naked woman, black woman,

I sing your beauty that passes, the form
that I fix in the Eternal,

Before jealous fate turn you to ashes to

feed the roots of life

Gender Talk and Tension- Sociolinguistic view

          One of the important traits that affects individual’s communicative competence in virtually every language; particularly English, and one that has drawn increasing attention recently, is the effect of one’s sex (gender) on production and performance of language. Differences between men and women talk have been noted for some time now. Among English speakers, it has reported that males use assertive, strong expletives showing freedom and deference; therefore, women are not expected to use such language. On the other hand, females use forms that sound polite, indirect, soft and less assertive showing solidarity and cooperation. According to Deborah Tannen (1986), linguistics professor, females use language that expresses more uncertainty than men, say hedges, suggesting less confidence on what they say. Additionally, she believes that men and women differ in the focus behind their communication. Men converse with a focus on achieving social status and conversational interaction, while women focus on achieving personal connection, fulfilling their role as more elaborative and facilitative participants in an interaction; men want to report, women want to rapport.

Differences in men and women’s talk attracted scholars’ attention since the feminist movement in the 60’s and the 70’s. “The very semantics of the language reflects women’s condition. We do not even have our own names, but bear that of the father until we exchange it for that of a husband” (Morgan, 1977, p. 106). This was the high time of women’s feminist movement that targeted Language in particular. Since then, considerable research relating to language and gender has been carried out focusing on different features of language (lexicon, syntax, semantics…) and shifted, later on, to gender differences in discourse. Differences in conversational styles actually turn out to disadvantage women, contributing to women being effectively silenced.

 It is worthy to mention that the subject of mixed-gender conversation has entertained audiences even outside the academic frame in books by linguists such as, You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, by Deborah Tannen (1990). For Tannen, it is un-negotiated to view men in any sort of conversations as vulgar, direct and confident. Men’s driving force in any interaction is obtaining information and avoiding failure. Unlike women who are deemed less confident and soft avoiding social isolation rather, and willing for being more “cooperative and facilitative conversationalists, concerned for their partner’s positive face needs”(Holmes 1991, p. 210). Based her research on Brown and Levinson’s idea of positive and negative face and included in her book Gendered talk at work, Holmes (2006) suggests that the reason behind this stereotypical view is “Exposing sexist assumptions and challenging covert patterns of male domination is important, and the workplace is a significant location for such taken-for granted assumptions” (p.26). She asserts that women use more positively orientated politeness and men use more negatively orientated politeness. That is; men use language as a tool to give and obtain information where women, on the other hand, use language as a means of keeping in touch with others.

With the advent of technology, researches in the field have substantially grown and scholars have studied language and gender in cyberspace proposed that typed text becomes a mask in which gender becomes obscured. She explains because only text is visible in computer-mediated communication (CMC), men and women could become freer to experiment with different gender identities through communication and women could take advantage of this medium to “avoid being harassed sexually or to feel free to be more assertive” (p.130). Other studies have shown that in chatrooms, discussion boards, instant messaging (IM), and emails, that equality in cyberspace is not present (Baron, 2003; Herring, 1992; Soukup, 1999). Typed text is not a mask for gender and online participation is not equal between genders. In short, men are still always dominant and report, women are uncertain and rapport. However, in spite of such hopes, oral conversations between socially distant genders do not yield practically the same findings.

 In her “Language and women’s Place”, Lakoff made her claims based on her own intuitions and anecdotal observation of her peers’ language use, lacking any empirical basis such as collecting corpora of males and females speech. She claimed that there were certain features of women’s language that gave the impression women are weaker and less certain than men. Holmes suggests that the reason lies behind that is ultimately “women and men have different perceptions of what language is used for”. Tannen, as well, has explored conversational interaction and style differences relating to gender and cultural background focused on miscommunications between men and women who were, actually, her friends while working on her Ph.D. 

As stated above, the use of hedges and the focus-genre on communication strongly indicate femininity and masculinity; they are often used to illustrate stereotypical women and men. These different patterns are found in disparate scripted conversations. In those written conversations, women are consistently enforcing their femininity and men their masculinity. However, according to some researchers, gender-related languages are not used as frequently in real conversations as they are in written ones, and some are even disappearing. Moreover, both rapport/report talk and hedge are subtleties drawn from different cultures and form significant tapestry in individual’s "socio-pragmatic" competence. In this sense, different backgrounds of conversationalists, social distance, discourse and context are all to be considered. 

Schooling and empowering future leaders

    

     
      Everyone has a leadership aspiration, or a kind of leadership in daily life. This leadership is practised by different people who possess the ability to move others towards a goal (Wolinski, 2010). It is increasingly debated that good leaders are made through a never ending process of education, training and relevant experiences (Bass & Bass, 2008) by which they develop their leadership instinct through acquiring its skills, as the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said [إنما العلم بالتعلم والحلم بالتحلم]. As a matter of fact, there are many roles that contribute to the making of the leadership personality, and schools have the most crucial role in providing students with leadership skills through the knowledge and experience they provide (Bass & Bass, 2008). However, the success of the school in achieving this depends on the quality of the environment of the educational process, if it is so efficient so it can enhance the skills of students and qualify them to be among future leaders.

   
      Dr. Saad Osman, President of the Cambridge Academy of Higher Education, emphasizes the role of the school in improving contemporary leadership skills through the ability of the school to introduce programs that enhance strategic thinking skills, leadership communication skills, time management skills, presentation and negotiation skills, problem solving skills, and teamwork skills, all of which are leaders' qualifications. He adds :

''School activities play a significant role in the development of  presentation skills.They also contribute to the child's learning, teamwork, acceptance, love and cooperation with others. Raising and hailing the flag teaches young people sacrifice, loyalty and commitment. The school itself as an educational institution contributes to the child's discipline and  great respect.''

      The idea that the school is one of the most important places where the child learns the principles and skills of leadership is further emphasized through three school experiences. One in Singapore, where its philosophy focuses on "School Thinking." Another is Japan’s experiment through a Learning Society, that goes under the motto "Values and loyalty ... the basis of belonging", while the school experience in New Zealand focuses on "An innovative society is the product of an innovative creative school". 

    Educational systems have a key role in building and empowering leadership within future generations. It has certified as Dr. Mona Abu Asali, Department of Languages and Community Culture at the Emirates College for Educational Development, pointed out that education is not an end in itself but rather a means to serve the society and its causes. Teachers all believed in preparing the students adequately for situational problems as to develop their responsibility and loyalty. In addition to suggesting a cooperative learning that strengthens students’ leadership personality besides stimulations and workshops. This is what must be done and cultivated in future generations through more research and community studies. Since any educational process is done in isolation from the community and its issues is difficult to form a leader, because a leader’s quality is to be aware of what is happening around them.

      

      To this end, the effectiveness of schooling in empowering leadership within the new generations needs a quality wake up call for a better reform to the education contexts. One could conclude plausibly that making future leaders might only be the fruit of adopting competitive and cooperative learning as well as reinforcement of modeling, workshops and conferences stimulation in the teaching process to develop responsibility and improve presentation skills. Hence, we wish to propose the appropriate atmosphere in our schools where today’s learners aspire to become qualified leaders.

Time to become a Polyglot!

Everyone dreams of a native-like proficiency in multiple languages. The only obstacle is the HOW issue. Want to do it for free and in record time! This article is your way in...

In fact, this article contains TONS of amazing resources I have never even knew existed, including the best free apps and websites for becoming fluent in record time. Want to find a native speaker to help you for $5 per hour? Free resources and memory tricks? It’s all here.

This is what we all need!! so I hope you enjoy it!

You are either born with the language-learning gene, or you aren’t. Luck of the draw, right? At least, that’s what most people believe.  I think you can stack the deck in your favor. Years ago, I was a language learning girl myself. The worst in my Italian class in college, being only able to read some detached words on sheets, and even after four entire years learning Italian, I could barely muster up the courage to chat to my Dad, or practice with a mate.

But this is about the point when I had an epiphany, changed my approach, and then succeeded not only in learning Italian, but in getting to learn other languages one of which Turkish nowadays.

It turns out, there is no language-learning gene, but there are TOOLS and tricks for faster learning…

As a “polyglot”; someone who speaks multiple languages, my world has opened up. I have gained access to people and places that I never otherwise could have reached. I’ve become able to chat to people easily, read and watch series and movies without subtitles and even grasp words and expressions easily.

Such wonderful experiences are well within the reach of many of you. So! Let’s get Started!

#1 – Learn the right words, the right way.

Starting a new language means learning new words. Lots of them. Of course, many people cite a bad memory for learning new vocab, so they quit before even getting started.

But–here’s the key–you absolutely do NOT need to know all the words of a language to speak it (and in fact, you don’t know all the words of your mother tongue either). Thus, you realize that 20% of the effort you spend on acquiring new vocab could ultimately give you 80% comprehension in a language. For instance, in English just 300 words make up 65% of all written material. We use those words a lot, and that’s the case in every other language as well.

#2 – Learn cognates: your friend in every single language.

Believe it or not, you already—right now—have a huge head start in your target language. With language learning you always know at least some words before you ever begin. Starting a language “from scratch” is essentially impossible because of the vast amount of words you know already through cognates. Cognates are “true friends” of words you recognize from your native language that mean the same thing in another language. For instance, Romance languages like Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, and others have many words in common with English. English initially “borrowed them” from the Norman conquest of England, which lasted several hundreds of years. Action, nation, precipitation, solution, frustration, tradition, communication, extinction, and thousands of other -tion words are spelled exactly the same in French, and you can quickly get used to the different pronunciation. Change that -tion to a -tion and you have the same words in French. For Italian, it is -zione

That’s all well and good for European languages, but what about more distant ones?…

Well, it turns out that even languages as different as Japanese can have heaps of very familiar vocabulary too. This is because many languages simply borrow English words and integrate them into the new language with altered pronunciation or stress.

So to make my life easy when I start learning a language, one of the first word lists I try to consume is a list of “cognates,” or “English loan words,” which can be found quickly for pretty much any language.

#3 – Interact in your language daily without traveling.

Another reason (or excuse, depending on how you look at it) people cite for not learning languages is that they can’t visit a country where it’s a native language. No time, no money, etc.

Take it from me—there is nothing “in the air” in another country that will magically make you able to speak their language. I’ve known countless expats who lived abroad for years without learning the local language. Living abroad and being immersed is not the same thing. If you need to hear and use a language consistently to be immersed, can’t virtual immersion be just as effective? Of course. Technology makes it possible for immersion to come to you, and you don’t even have to buy a plane ticket.

To HEAR the language consistently spoken, you can check out TuneIn.com for a vast selection of live-streamed radio from your country of choice. The app (free) also has a list of streamed radio stations ordered by language.

To WATCH the language consistently, Various news stations have plenty of video content online in specific languages, such as France24, CNN , BBC languages, and many others.

To READ the language consistently, in addition to the news sites listed above, you can find cool blogs and other popular sites on Alexa’s ranking of top sites per country.

#4 – Skype today for daily spoken practice.

So you’ve been listening to,watching , and even reading in your target language—and all in the comfort of your own home. Now it’s time for the big one: speaking it live with a native.

One of my more controversial pieces of advice, but one that I absolutely insist on when I advise beginners, is that you must speak the language right away if your goals in the target language involve speaking it. Most traditional approaches or language systems don’t work this way, and I think that’s where they let their students down. I say, there are seven days in a week and “some day” is not one of them. Here’s what I suggest instead:

Use the pointers I’ve given above to learn some basic vocabulary, and be aware of some words you already know. Do this for a few hours, and then set up an exchange with a native speaker—someone who has spoken that language their whole life. You only have to learn a little for your first conversation, but if you use it immediately, you’ll see what’s missing and can add on from there. You can’t study in isolation until you are vaguely “ready” for interaction.

In those first few hours, I’d recommend learning some pleasantries such as “Hello,” “Thank you,” “Could you repeat that?” or “I don’t understand,”

But wait—where do you find a native speaker if you aren’t in the country that speaks that language?

No problem! Thousands of native speakers are ready and waiting for you to talk to them right now. You can get private lessons for peanuts by taking advantage of currency differences. My favorite site for finding natives is italki.com

If you still think you wouldn’t be ready on day one, then consider this: starting on Skype allows you to ease yourself in gently by having anoother window (or application, like Word) open during your conversation, already loaded with key words that you can use for quick reference until you internalize them. You can even reference Google Translate or a dictionary for that language while you chat, so you can learn new words as you go, when you need them. Is this “cheating”? No. The goal is to learn to be functional, not to imitate old traditional methods.

Many have used that a lot and then were able to speak on TEDex. I consider that a win!

#5 – Save your money. The best resources are free.

Other than paying for the undivided attention of a native speaker, I don’t see why you’d need to spend hundreds of dollars on anything in language learning. But there is great stuff out there. A wonderful and completely free course that keeps getting better is DuoLingo – which I highly recommend for its selection of European languages currently on offer, with more on the way. To really get you started on the many options available to help you learn your language without spending a penny, let me offer other (good) alternative: BBC Languages. But wait, there’s more. You can get further completely free language help on:

• The huge database on Forvo, to hear any word or small expression in many languages read aloud by a native of the language
• Rhinospike to make requests of specific phrases you’d like to hear pronounced by a native speaker. If you can’t find something on either of these sites, Google Translate has a text-to-speech option for many languages.

The possibilities for free practice are endless.

#6 – Realize that adults are actually better language learners than kids.

Now that you’re armed with a ton of resources to get started, let’s tackle the biggest problem. Not grammar, not vocabulary, not a lack of resources, but handicapping misconceptions about your own learning potential. The most common “I give up” misconception is: I’m too old to become fluent.

I’m glad to be the bearer of good news and tell you that research has confirmed that adults can be better language learners than kids. A study at the University of Haifa found that under the right circumstances, adults show an intuition for unexplained grammar rules better than their younger counterparts. Also, no study has ever shown any direct correlation between reduced language acquisition skill and increased age. There is only a general downward trend in language acquisition in adults, which is probably more dependent on environmental factors that can be changed (e.g. long job hours that crowd out study time). Because honestly: “Babies aren’t better language learners than you; they just have no escape routes.”

#7 – Embrace mistakes.

Over half of the planet speaks more than one language. This means that monolingualism is a cultural, not a biological, consequence. So when adults fail at language learning, it’s not because they don’t have the right genes or other such nonsense. It’s because the system they have used to learn languages is broken. Traditional teaching methods treat language learning just like any other academic subject, based on an approach that has barely changed since the days when Charles Dickens was learning Latin. The differences between your native language (L1) and your target language (L2) are presented as vocabulary and grammar rules to memorize. The traditional idea: know them “all” and you know the language. It seems logical enough, right?

The problem is that you can’t ever truly “learn” a language, you get used to it. It’s not a thing that you know or don’t know; it’s a means of communication between human beings. Languages should not be acquired by rote alone—they need to be used. The way you do this as a beginner is to use everything you do know with emphasis on communication rather than on perfection. This is the pivotal difference. Sure, you could wait until you are ready to say “Excuse me kind sir, could you direct me to the nearest bathroom?” but “Bathroom where?” actually conveys the same essential information, only removing superfluous pleasantries. You will be forgiven for this directness, because it’s always obvious that you are a learner. Don’t worry about upsetting native speakers for being so “bold” as to speak to them in their own language.

One of the best things you can do in the initial stages is not to try to get everything perfect, but to embrace making mistakes. I go out of my way to make at least 200 mistakes a day! This way I know I am truly using and practicing the language.