When I was in the Navy, new crew members reporting to the boat weren't allowed to actually do any work until they had been qualified to do each particular job. The very first "job" everyone had to qualify was Phone Talker. New people were always very confused and frustrated by this. "I have to learn how to use a
phone?" they'd ask. But the Navy doesn't use typical telephone lines onboard ships and submarines, they use sound-powered phones. Many times even radio communication internal to the ship proves to be not as resourceful as would be with sound powered phones. These phones work on the same principle as tin cans tied to a string. This may sound a little unrealistic or low-tech even, but the phones are highly reliable and have been in use for almost 100 years. Using these phones, I could communicate with someone all the way at the other end of the boat or with someone only a few feet away, but on the opposite side of the ship's thick hull. All this versatility without any electricity. Not everyone was automatically permitted to use this convenience though. First we had to learn to communicate with formality and clarity.
Within our Japanese Class Podcast project we have an excellent opportunity to communicate around the world. What's most important in our use of the Japanese language is clarity. My goal for this podcast is to keep clear communications, of course in my own voice, but also in my listening. Japanese has much more subtle differences in enunciation than I have noticed in English. Our language labs really emphasize this easily overlooked aspect of the language. Listening is also important in this project because even though we have scripts to learn, we cannot simply memorize them word for word. During a similar project last semester, these aspects became very apparent to me.
It's a great opportunity that we can do this on an inter-university and international level with today's technology. This age of connectivity and communication shows us that despite its convenience communication is much more than logging on and clicking a button, the same way not anybody can walk onboard a submarine, pick up a phone set, press a button and start talking. Now more than ever we are forced to advance our ability to make ourselves been heard and felt while we maintain our own open lines of communication for others.
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It may look easy, but a good phone-talker is hard to come by!
(photo: fredsplace.org) |
