Learning a new language is equal parts stimulating and exhausting, a feeling I’ve experienced acutely since moving abroad. My partner and I moved to Rome in early 2022 and in July relocated to Amsterdam (It’s been a big year). The move from the United States to Italy to the Netherlands has been a series of culture shocks, but more importantly, it’s made me examine language in a new and different way.
How does language interact with culture, or vice versa? How is one’s view on LGBTQIA rights affected by their mother tongue? What if a country doesn’t have a word for nonbinary? I formed hypotheses based on conversations with patient native speakers willing to answer my many questions, but found that my theories weren’t always correct.
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