As we moved forward different members of the team had
different experiences and many challenges arose. The greatest issue is TIME.
Time is the key ingredient in the language-learning recipe and we are lacking
in this spice. If time is not there, no approach will work. The challenge is
finding time in the course of an extremely busy day, not to mention a personal
energy crisis due to change of nutrition and cultural stress. However, there are
not language schools for learning Karamojong and no place to study the language
outside of the language community. The situation is not easy, but neither is it
a true disadvantage. I am a firm believer that any language should be learned
with in the context of a language community. This approach couples language and
culture into one learning process.
Is it possible to learn a language apart from culture? Yes,
this is one of the dangers of language schools. Is it possible to learn culture
apart from language? Yes, this is very common on the mission field due to the
use of translators. However, the goal of any language learner should be to
learn language and culture in complementary progression. For our team, language
learning must be done in the context of ministry and life in Karamoja (the
homeland of the Karamojong). The simplest task can become a day’s chore in the
bush. The demands of life do not afford the luxury of six hours a day dedicated
purely to language study. So what can we do? We can do a lot! I have answered
the challenge by not separating language from life, but by integrating the two.
When my day starts, my language learning starts.
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