Monday, September 5, 2011

Learning to Speak "Globalish" - Sunday, September 4th, 2011


                The intensive program chugged along all week. Combined with the culture shock and jet lag, it’s been exhausting and a little frustrating. Class takes up so much time right now that there is really no time to do anything else. Needless to say, it's not really a situation you want to be in when you’ve just arrived in the brand new country that is going to be your home for the next four months. Nonetheless, I keep coaching myself to simply get through it – the other modules are not the same format and there will be more time to relax and explore the city. In fact, this module ends on Wednesday and then we have a weeklong break starting Thursday. Jessica and I took advantage of the break and booked a trip to Morocco, which I’m crazy excited for it. Right about now, our Morocco trip is the prize at the end of this marathon! 

                As predicted, the varying degrees of English fluency – even among the lecturers – has been very challenging. Last year, at an event sponsored by USF’s International Law Society, I remember a speaker telling us about the importance of learning to speak “Globalish”. She worked for an international corporation and often hosted conference calls with people of different nationalities. English was their “lowest common denominator” language, but, as a native speaker, she often had to consciously simplify her English so that everyone could communicate easier. I keep thinking of that comment here, as I try to communicate with my classmates, and understand what the lecturers are saying. Part of the difficulty, I believe, is that most European countries are taught UK English rather than American, but part of it is also that certain phrases don’t translate very well. I often feel like I’m trying to translate someone else’s English into my English. For example, one of the lecturers today said “corporal communication” and it took me a second to realize she meant “body language”. Another example – we were instructed one day to meet at the University “rolling doors” … which meant “revolving doors”, but I looked at several sets of doors before figuring it out. Certainly these puzzles can be solved, but when the “translation” has to happen every few sentences, and I’m already trying to understand a foreign concept such as European Union Regulations, it adds another layer of challenge. 

                Other than the communication struggles, the classes themselves are interesting. The lectures are about various issues in private international law, the body of law governing private companies working internationally. For example, we talk a lot about Regulation 44, which is a European Union law that governs choice of venue within all EU member states. So, if an Italian company contracts with a Spanish company and the Spanish company does not fulfill the contract, Regulation 44 dictates which countries courts can hear the case. As an American, my instinct is to compare the EU system to the federal system of the US, but these classes highlight the drastic differences between them. Certainly, there are some similarities, but EU member states – who began as complete sovereign entities – have had to give up certain powers in order to become EU members. So, in the context of my Regulation 44 example, the Italian courts have to concede jurisdictional power and let the case be heard only in the Spanish courts, based on the EU’s decision to pass Regulation 44. It’s difficult for me to imagine any nation state willingly giving up such power, but many nations have done so eagerly, which makes me marvel at the modern unification of the European Union.