Polyglot
I love languages. I don’t know exactly since when, but I always love to hear words, phrases, and dialects from other languages. Each of them shows how rich and beautiful our world is. Maybe it’s partly connected to my love of sports, where people around the world compete for a single objective: to win. Some rely on their physical gifts, but others like to broaden their skills to be able to perform better. As I don’t have specific blessings like the first group, I must tend to the latter, especially through the way of understanding languages.
Everyone knows how much I adore Kobe Bryant. On one side, I admire his unbelievable work ethic and great mental strength. On the other side, I also love how he was willing to go the extra mile to win. One of the many things he did was to master speaking in other tongues.
Many people know Kobe was fluent in Italian. That’s because he spent years of his childhood in that country. But, did you know that he was also fluent in Spanish? Apart from connecting to his wife’s Latina roots, the Black Mamba learned the language to communicate with other players. He often spoke in Spanish with Pau Gasol since the Spaniard’s arrival at the Staples Center, starting their unbreakable chemistry that lasts until who knows when. Interestingly, Kobe also spoke Spanish towards his opponents. He used that particular skill to get under his challengers’ skin and overcome them on the court. Just see how he get into Luis Scola’s mind in the 2008 Olympics. His side ended up winning the game by a comfortable margin.
One piece of information that even fewer people know is that Bryant was also able to speak Slovenian. The media spotted this in 2019 after Luka Doncic shared a story about Kobe’s language versatility. Some rumours said that Kobe only learned the language to ‘greet’ the Dallas Mavericks star. But, the truth was deeper than that. The legendary #24 was able to speak Slovenian for many years prior. He practised the language with Sasha Vujacic, with whom he shared the court for six seasons and managed to win two NBA rings together.
I’m currently learning my third language. Not close to the standard required to be a polyglot, but I need to start somewhere, no? Well, the language itself is not easy because it turns out more difficult than I expected. I have to say that I’m still struggling to understand all the genders, conjugations, and intricate details of this language. However, I’m really enjoying the journey. I love the happy times as much as I enjoyed the confusing hours. It really may take forever, but I don’t really care.
Also, I want to be like Kobe. Maybe I can’t play basketball as great as he did, but surely I can be a good speaker of languages like he was. And knowing him, I understand that just speaking three will not be sufficient. Hopefully, I can finish this journey quickly enough, so I can move on to language number four, five, maybe even six. Who knows, eh?
