‘The Silent Words’ – a guide for non-native speakers who want to learn Ukrainian poetry.

Language is crucial to how we interact in our everyday lives. This is my personal experience project as an immigrant. I moved to Britain about 1.5 years ago and began experiencing language difficulties that still bother me.

Initiating connections in this unfamiliar setting was followed by the pervasive fear of misunderstandings and potential anxiety. Repeatedly seeking clarification became a habitual response, resulting in a loss of essential content during conversations where words seemed to lose their meaning.

That is why this project is called ‘The Silent Words.’ In our native tongue, words resonate loudly with meaning. However, when faced with a language we don’t know, these same words turn into mere noise, losing their power and importance, rendering them silent.

The project finds its inspiration in the poem ‘Words terrify when they remain unspoken’ by my favorite Ukrainian poet, Lina Kostenko. The poem’s title closely aligns with the project’s core idea. To bridge the gap for those unfamiliar with the Ukrainian language, I created a guide on how to interpret Ukrainian poetry. I use Ukrainian transliteration under each picture to make it possible for non-native speakers to read. Also, this text seems very dry as it is meaningless compared to the English version, where words start to play.

The mouth is a key narrative object in the project. For non-native speakers, attention instinctively fixates on the speaker’s lips for better comprehension. As understanding unfolds, words regain their resonance and significance. Even without knowing the language, we can catch an idea through lip expressions and intonation. This connection between the poem and the images is integral to the project.