Introduction
Jhumpa Lahiri, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was born in England and grew up in America. And then at a point in her life, she moves to Italy.
She is a born writer and started writing quite early in her life.
While in college, Jhumpa wrote short stories for Harvard Review, The New Yorker, and Story Quarterly.
She began her glorious writing career in 1999 with the book titled Interpreter of Maladies. For this book, she received The Pulitzer Prize for fiction in the year 2000.
She wrote several short stories and a few novels in English from 1999 to 2013. In 2015, she came up with the first book that she wrote in Italian. It was translated into English by Ann Goldstein. This book has been titled aptly “In altre parole” (In Other Words).
Transition to Italian Writing
With this book, Jhumpa deliberately tried to change the course of her personal and professional life by deciding to live in Italy.
The book, In Other Words, reflects Jhumpa’s endeavor to shape her life and identity in the way she desires.
The author takes us on a journey through her daring and committed attempts to learn and master a new language (Italian) as an adult.
She moved away from the place (America) where she had an established writing career. She distanced herself from the language (English) that she knew by heart.
Jhumpa knew that this was a monumental task. She would inevitably encounter many difficulties on this journey.
“In altre parole” (In Other Words) stands as her first book completely written in Italian, marking a pivotal moment in her linguistic voyage.
The significance of this work lies not only in its creation but also in its translation into English, bridging her two worlds and showcasing the depth of her commitment to embracing a new linguistic identity.
This powerful narrative not only recounts her personal transformation but also highlights the courage required to step away from familiarity and embrace the unknown.
By immersing herself in Italian, Jhumpa Lahiri not only broadened her linguistic horizons but also invited readers to witness the profound evolution of her expression and voice across languages.
Jhumpa’s Determination
The author tried to learn Italian through coaching and on her own when still in America.
Then she felt she needed to live closer to the language to form a deeper bond with it. To fulfill this requirement, she left America and moved to Italy. In 2012, she migrated to Rome to abolish the geographic distance.
In Rome, Italian could be with her every day, every minute. It would always be present, relevant. It would stop being a light switch to turn on occasionally and then turn off. She had always been fascinated by Italy and the Italian language.
Jhumpa’s parents moved from India (Calcutta) to the UK and then later to the US. She grew more proficient in English compared to Bengali, which is her mother tongue.
Her competence in English came through practical reasons. She studied and worked in America for a long time.
The reason behind her migration to Italy was purely an emotional one. It was driven by the desire to immerse herself deeply in Italian culture and language, making it an integral part of her daily life rather than just an occasional interest.
The Onset of Her Journey
In the opening of the book, she uses a beautiful metaphor to describe her dedication to building an authentic connection with the Italian language.
Jhumpa started making efforts in this direction many years ago when she visited Florence with her sister.
On that trip, she decided to carry a pocket dictionary instead of a guidebook. Those were the times before the internet and smartphones.
This dictionary remained to be a constant companion for her in her many more travels to Italy.
It is interesting to read the way Jhumpa talks about the dictionary as if it were a person. The same goes for the language.
All through the book, it feels as if the book is about a person whom she adores.
Jhumpa Lahiri experienced a profound transformation in her reading and writing habits upon deciding to move to Italy.
Six months before her relocation, she made the bold decision to stop reading in English, the language that had previously brought her literary acclaim.
Instead, she immersed herself completely in Italian, dedicating every spare moment to the language—whether on the subway or at bedtime.
Lahiri pushed herself by tackling challenging works by authors like Alberto Moravia and Cesare Pavese, as well as delving into Salvatore Quasimodo’s poetry. She diligently noted each new Italian word she learned, treating them as precious treasures.
Once she arrived in Rome, her commitment deepened. Lahiri began to write exclusively in Italian, despite acknowledging her early attempts were rife with errors.
She candidly confessed to initially writing imperfectly, yet she remained undeterred. This fearless approach led her to fill numerous notebooks with her evolving thoughts, gradually gaining confidence.
Eventually, she even set aside her dictionary, her once-essential crutch, allowing herself to navigate the language independently and grow through the experience.
Her Relationship With the Language
Many times during her learning efforts, she reflects on her relationship with Italian.
Then at one point, she so affectionately discovers her true relationship both with English and Italian.
When a writer has such an emotional attachment to language, you can expect his/her words to have a heart-touching impact.
There are many beautiful descriptions of the exquisite buildings, the gorgeous squares, the great writers, the magnificent art, and the lovely people of Italy.
There are so many things in Italy that intensely inspire Jhumpa.
Jhumpa has thoroughly outlined the struggle that she endured and the methods that she adopted to learn Italian.
Jhumpa Lahiri’s path to learning Italian was fraught with difficulties. Initially, she struggled to grasp complex texts, stumbling over unfamiliar vocabulary which left her feeling bewildered. Each new word was like a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit.
Even after making several trips back to Italy, Lahiri found herself equipped with a surface-level understanding but woefully unprepared for real-world interactions.
She likened her experience to that of a student ready for a test, yet in practice, she could barely manage simple street interactions or request a wake-up call at her hotel in Venice.
Engaging in conversations with native speakers proved particularly daunting, as she found herself lacking the necessary vocabulary and comprehension to hold meaningful dialogue.
She uses a string of meaningful adjectives to write these details. The sentences sound almost poetic.
While reading through some paragraphs, you feel as if she is having a conversation with the language. The language that is the subject of her venture, comes alive in this book.
The true beauty of her journey lies in the understanding that there is no expiration date in language learning. It is an everlasting process, with always something new to learn and discover.
This perpetual cycle deeply enriches her experience, making every day an opportunity for growth and exploration.
While on her linguistic adventure, she comes across many supporters as well as detractors. Her love for Italian proves to be so strong that as a writer she completely devotes herself to writing in this language only. She keeps herself immersed in Italian texts, a monolingual dictionary, and her notebooks where she records her small victories.
This dedication highlights the ongoing, never-ending nature of learning a language, where each new word or phrase learned becomes a stepping stone in an infinite journey.
While on her linguistic adventure, she comes across many supporters as well as detractors.
Her love for Italian proves to be so strong that as a writer she completely devotes herself to writing in this language only.
She keeps herself immersed in Italian texts, a monolingual dictionary, and her notebooks where she records her small victories.
In one of the sections of the book, she narrates how she wrote her first story in Italian just out of nowhere. It just happened without any plan or preparation.
She uses several interesting and striking metaphors and comparisons throughout the book. This style of writing bestows richness and depth in her expressions.
When you read the book you can feel and understand how much she values her work of writing.
Lahiri’s journey is not just a personal odyssey but a testament to the complex yet rewarding path of mastering a new language.
It illustrates how this process can be both an exhilarating and challenging endeavor, akin to nurturing a ‘fragrant rose with many stinging thorns.’
The commitment she demonstrates emphasizes that fluency requires a blend of willingness, effort, and most importantly, time.
Her experience underscores the idea that learning a new language is an ‘everlasting process,’ without an expiration date, where each day presents new opportunities for discovery and growth.
In dedicating herself wholly to Italian, Lahiri enriches her identity and contributes meaningfully to the language itself.
Her story is as much about the personal transformation as it is about the cultural and linguistic significance of embracing a new tongue.
Her Quest For Metamorphosis
At the same time, she desperately seeks to find out a place for herself that offers her much-desired freedom and renewed enthusiasm.
As a writer, she wants to evolve and grow into something new.
At one point, she shares that she is a little shy person, and writing helps her to be more expressive. Through her graceful and vivid words, you can easily see that transformation.
Despite being a successful author who won numerous awards for books in English, she accepts her position as a beginner when she writes in Italian.
It is amazing to see how readily she lets go of her comfort zone and reaches out for something that calls for lots of toil and sacrifice.
A Word About The Book
Every section of the book is like a short story describing events, people, and Jhumpa’s consistent striving.
The headings of the sections reveal the emotions described in the content. A few interesting examples are – The Crossing, Exile, Impossibility, The Wall, The Metamorphosis, and many more.
I feel her incessant fondness for the Italian language has the power to inspire you to learn a foreign language. In case, it seems too arduous a task, you can not but admire her perseverance.
This is an inspiring story to learn today, especially when Jhumpa went to Italy to learn another language with a monolingual dictionary. She is people’s role model when picking up a new language or something new. Her linguistic adventure does motivate me to sharpen all my language skills.
I will love to purchase the book to read the whole story, so thanks for your recommendation. 🙂
Jhumpa’s efforts for learning Italian are indeed inspiring. Great to see that it motivates you. You will enjoy reading the book. Please do drop a word when you are done reading it. Thanks.
I think that I’ve heard of Jhumpa Lahiri before, the name sounds familiar, but I haven’t read her books yet. I can understand her relationship with the Italian language, the full immersion, and the way she described her dictionary as a person, because I love languages and learning a new language is easy for me, it’s like a hobby. Last week I started learning Greek.
To learn a language, the grammar and vocabulary are not enough. You need to be immersed in the culture, country, everything! The language is part of the culture.
It’s impressive that she wrote a book in Italian after having just learned it. She sounds like an amazing person and writer.
Christine, you seem to share Jhumpa’s passion for language learning. Learning languages is an exceptional hobby. You must be enjoying your own linguistic journey with Greek.
We think that is awesome she picked up another language and wrote her book in Italian. She started her career early in the days and continued to make progress with writing in Harvard and the new york times.
We enjoyed this read she seems to be a very noble person who picks up on things fast(foreign languages).
Cheers,
Mathew&Deloris
Thank you for reading the post. Her description of her efforts towards learning the Italian language is amazing. The book is worth reading.