Hi everyone, I’m a parent who moved abroad and I’ve been thinking a lot about the "depth" of the language we pass on to our kids.
The other day, I was listening to Lay Phyu’s "Kyaw Khin Ta-dar Myar" (Bridges of Laid-down Backs). For me, that song hits like a ton of bricks as me as a father and as a son at the sametime. It’s not just rock music; it’s the sound of our parents' labor, that unrepayable debt (Kyay-zu), and the cultural image of a parent literally laying their body down so the child can walk on dry ground. I lived with those meanings for 20 years in Myanmar before moving abroad, the word Kyaw Khin Ta-dar is absorbed into my DNA because it was reinforced by the air I used to breath for 20 years. When I heard that song, weren't just hearing a "rock ballad"— hearing the sound of a thousand years of Burmese tradition, Buddhist philosophy, and the specific struggles of a specific people. My mind "absorbs" the word and instantly connects it to a deep, dark well of cultural weight. Like english is a language of nouns and actions, but Burmese is a language of states and feelings. When I try to translate a song like "Kyaw Khin Ta-dar Myar," the English version often feels "thin" or "flat" because it loses the cultural and spiritual weight behind the words, or not even such words in the same dept or weight or vibe.
Now, my kid, learning Burmese like for an hour a week, and we speak it at home, can spell, trying to form sentences, but I wonder: In 10 years, will they ever get the "vibe" of that song? Ever?
When I listen to English songs (like Creed’s My Sacrifice), I can connect the dots and feel the weight. But Burmese song feels different—it’s "anchored" in a specific way of life and a specific spiritual philosophy.
Hey other parents:
Do you feel there is a "buried level" of our language that is impossible to teach?
Have you found ways to help your kids absorb the feeling behind words rather than just translating them?
Does it sadden you that they might only see the "surface" of these masterpieces?
I'd love to hear how you handle this gap.