Ep 242: Expansion and Feedback About Language

We're continuing our language vibe this week on #fofcpod episode! First, you'll hear from Juan Pablo Pérez, audio manager of Fare of the Free Child, as he shares his thoughts on Episode 241: Freeing Your Approach to Language Studies (with Marley Richards). He talks about his experience as a Spanish native speaker who, like Marley, taps into language as a way of developing an identity that includes more than the culture he was born into. Juan's interests in music, for example, sit outside his cultural background, and those experiences help Juan Pablo to feel a strong sense of self that isn't limited by location or familiarity.

For the rest of the episode, Akilah gives us some gems about the importance of language and the many ways we can engage it as parts of our unschooling and deschooling practices. And of course, #maddquestionaskin is all up and through the episode.

Is there a difference between a definition of a word and an understanding of a word?

How have words evolved from having a definition to having a meaning?

Akilah refers to language as something that goes beyond the accent and vocabulary, and something we can see as being part of a whole culture and context, and not some isolated thing that we pluck from a culture.

Who is this language tied to?

What are some of the non-verbal cues of this culture? How can I learn more about body language, symbols, and other elements of communication and culture?

Akilah shared some of the conversation she had with Zakiyya Ismail (at the Summerhill Festival of Childhood) about the evolution of these particular words in their unschooling journeys:

Learning

Power

Trust

Community

Resistance

Akilah pulled a card from the Raising Free People practice decks and invited us this activity:

1. Think about these words (that comprise this deck),
2. Choose two or three of them and sit with the evolution of your understanding of that word.

Akilah explains through her experience with Spanish the insights and learning process of making associations. She also talks about words that are very specific to her practices and the understanding of them. She then reflects on the her experiences that came with recognizing herself as both oppressed to oppressor, and how that shows up in her motherwork.

LIBERATION WALK

• Listen and jam along with Miss Lou - Long time Gal on Bajanbloom Bloom's Youtube channel
• Akilah would love to receive some feedback about this episode. Think about the Card Deck words. Go on and press that “Leave a Voice Message” button on the right side or email her at she@raisingfreepeople.com
• Join our