Through his book “The Jealousy of Languages”, Adrián Bravi discusses language by narrating his personal story and sharing peculiar moments from his life. Bravi, born and raised in Argentina, is a native Spanish speaker. At the age of twenty-four, he migrated to Italy, the land of his ancestors, where he learned and began speaking a new language—one he had never spoken before.

This experience led him to deep linguistic reflections that he had never realized in his mother tongue. One of the first things he noticed while living in this state of "linguistic exile" was that words do not carry the same meaning for someone who speaks two languages. He gave the example of the word "gecko" in Spanish and how it differs vastly in Italian—almost as if referring to two entirely different animals. In Spanish, the word takes him back to his childhood, when he and his friends used to chase geckos, cut off their tails, and stare in awe at the twitching tail. The word in Spanish is infused with all those memories, while in Italian, it is completely stripped of them.

Words acquired in our native language are tied to deep memories. This explains why we may feel awkward using certain words in our mother tongue but find it easier to express them in other languages. In the introduction of his book, Bravi shares a powerful story about his aunt, an Italian woman who emigrated to Argentina. He writes:

“I had an aunt, my father’s sister, who left immediately after the war from Sambucheto, a town in the Macerata region of Italy, and headed to Argentina with her husband and their infant son who was barely four months old. Their ship had just crossed the equator, and they had run out of drinking water. Panic spread among the passengers, and the baby clung to his mother’s chest nonstop. Perhaps he too was scared and remained latched on, as my aunt told it.

On the other side, other children—held by their mothers—cried endlessly. The mothers begged my aunt to help, to nurse their babies. She did what she could, giving them whatever milk she had left. The infants who didn’t survive were wrapped in white sheets and thrown into the sea.

She counted five of them. That number stayed with her as a lifelong burden.

‘Five babies I couldn’t save,’ she would say.

I never saw my aunt cry as she told this story in Spanish—her adopted language—even though it was clear the memory still affected her deeply, even after all those years. But the day I heard her tell it in Italian, I saw her cry for the first time.

It struck me then: some hidden place in memory gives voice to the past in a particular language. Recalling that experience in her native language broke her. It was the language in which she had seen mothers toss their children into the sea. Perhaps, memories can only speak the language in which they occurred.”

This short story speaks volumes about the depth of language and meaning. It shows us that language is not just a tool for communication—it carries emotions, experiences, and memories. When Bravi’s aunt told the story in Spanish, she remained composed. But when she recounted it in her mother tongue—the language in which she lived the experience—she broke down.

Just as language is more than words—it's a vessel of memories and emotions—so too is the workplace more than a physical space, contracts, or job titles. It is a place with its own language—a unique culture and emotional imprint that lingers in the minds of employees.

Even if two workplaces seem identical in structure or appearance, memories can create vast differences—just like the word "gecko" did for Bravi in Spanish vs. Italian.

Words like “leadership,” “trust,” “employee engagement,” “effort,” “burnout,” “neglect,” “recognition,” “belonging,” and “isolation” carry different meanings from one workplace to another. Hard work in a positive environment may be called “passion” and “dedication,” while in a toxic workplace it becomes “exhaustion” and “burnout.”

This is where HR professionals and decision-makers play a vital role: in fostering a healthy work environment and building a strong culture that leaves a positive, lasting impression in the minds of employees.

This is also where WalaPlus comes in with its digital solutions.

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