Grochmal 1

Philip Grochmal

Mr. Hill

ENG3U1-08

Oct 25, 2021

The Language Barrier

The language barrier has always existed no matter the time and place. It is an extremely

difficult obstacle to overcome because you can barely communicate with someone who speaks

another language. I have learnt that this barrier affects everyone differently as I have learnt

through reading through these poems. Whether talking about how hard it is to understand

someone, the hardships of the barrier taking away a language from a person, or the ability of

someone to be able to get around it, the language barrier is something that affects everyone at

some point in their lives. 

The first poem which is by Pauline Harvey is a poem that speaks about how the French

Canadians want to keep Montreal a French city. The author takes an approach that tries to

explain how Montreal is a French city and needs to stay that way. This is important to the time

because the poem was written at the start of the Nationalist movement in Quebec that tried to

separate Quebec from Canada. This poem actively tries to put up a language barrier by saying

that it will not talk in English only in French. This is extremely important for protecting French

Canadian culture and language. Because of this, the solution that is offered in the poem is to

leave Montreal a French city which is an interesting approach. The approach taken is extremely

contradictory to the general message about the language barrier which is that we all want to be

able to communicate and understand each other. The fact that the poem goes against that shows
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how it is a product of its time and does not support the assimilation of the French Canadians into

the rest of Canada instead of choosing to keep it separate. 

The second poem named “Translation For Mama” speaks about an immigrant's

perspective on English in North America and how he sees English taking over everything from

the culture to the language of his people. The message this one shows is how through language

and culture the English people have almost taken over Cuba. How he sees all the changes that

were caused and how there is nothing he can do except say he loves it. It shows the harm of

English taking over and being placed above other languages. The author does not pose a solution

because it is more him talking about his own personal experiences. In the eyes of the author,

there is no solution because the way it is is the way North American culture works. It has been

like this for years and it will not stop being like this.

Language Barrier is the name of the third poem I chose, it is a poem in which the author

shares how she feels when she talks to someone in another language. The work does not have a

time period since it is an eternal message of confusion. This is another poem that does not give a

solution for the language barrier since it is an expression of how she feels when she encounters

someone who speaks another language. It shows that the language barrier cannot be solved

unless someone learns all languages. It shows the main problem of the issue which is that you

simply cannot fix it if you cannot understand what the other person is saying.

The fourth poem by Robert Brixter III is a poem that tackles the theme of love and the

language barrier. The poem, although written in 2005, is another poem that does not fit into a

specific time frame. This poem does not talk about a solution but more of a wish that there was a

solution. It speaks to how the author wishes there was a fix for the language barrier. It shows the
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lack of a solution for the problem and how it cannot change. This shows that this issue is an issue

that will almost always separate us no matter the time.

The final poem is different from the rest of the poems I chose. It talks more from the

point of view of someone who isn’t affected by the language barrier. It gives a solution to the

issue of just being more accepting and trying to learn as much as possible. As much as this is the

only plausible solution right now I do think that it is extremely difficult and not everyone has the

ability to do that. The poem taught me about how people will learn new things in their language

to stay relevant but not learn things about other languages. This shows that this issue isn’t easily

solved but can be taken aback a little through people putting in the effort to learn and try to

communicate. 

Overall these poems show that language is a barrier everywhere you go. Every poem has

a different view on it but most go on the fact that there isn’t a real solution for the language

barrier that we can come up with. The solution to this is not simple, either everyone learns the

same language or everyone tries and learns parts of other languages. This seems like something

that might be easy but is extremely hard to have people learn this since language is a huge part of

culture and expression as I have learnt over this assignment. I think that the language barrier is a

wall that only together we can come up with a solution that will work long-term that has the

support of everyone. 
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Works Cited

B., Rita. “Language Barrier.” a Poem by Rita B. - All Poetry, 2010, allpoetry.com/poem/7303793-

Language-Barrier-by-Rita-B. 

Barnes, Lawrie. “The Function and Significance of Bilingual Code-Switching in English Poetry with a

Special Focus on the Work of Eliot and Pound.” Taylor & Francis, 8 June 2011,

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10131752.2011.574000. 

Brixler III, Robert L. “Language Barriers.” PoemHunter.com, 8 Mar. 2005,

www.poemhunter.com/poem/language-barriers/. 

Davies, Eirlys E., and Abdelali Bentahila. “Code Switching as a Poetic Device: Examples from Rai

Lyrics.” Language & Communication, Pergamon, 8 Dec. 2006,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0271530906000462. 

Doherty, Alison. “15 Moving Immigration Poems to Read Today.” BOOK RIOT, 29 Oct. 2019,

bookriot.com/immigration-poems/. 

Editorial, E notes. “Bilingualism as a Literary Device.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, 6 May 2016,

www.enotes.com/topics/bilingualism-literary-device. 

McGimpsey, David. “The Death of Miron: Public Poetry and Quebec Separatism.” Michigan Quarterly

Review, Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 1 Jan. 2000,

quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mqr/act2080.0039.108/--death-of-miron-public-poetry-and-quebec-

separatism?c=mqr%3Bc. 

Vautier, Marie. “Autobiography, Bilingualism and Poetry: Writing in English and French in Canada to

Address Personal and Political Challenges.” Athensjournals.gr, 2015,

www.athensjournals.gr/philology/2015-2-4-1-Vautier.pdf.