Just One Thing with Elizabeth Erbeznik

Elizabeth Erbeznik’s December issue flash “Sprachstudium (Language Studies)” is far more than a lesson in grammar or vocabulary. Here she shares just one thing about the piece:

“Around the time I wrote this story, I was trying to learn Slovene. It’s spoken by 2.5 million people, most of whom live in Slovenia. I love a good vocabulary list or verb conjugation chart. But more than that, I love the places my mind goes when learning other languages. In addition to Slovene (which I hope to pick back up soon!), I have studied French, Spanish, and Malagasy (the official language of Madagascar). Most of my language acquisition was achieved while living abroad. I only took one semester of German in grad school. But, when writing this story, I found that I needed to use a language that wasn’t tied to any past experiences or memories. Languages, like everything else, come with emotional baggage.”