Hurry, Hurry. Fast, Fast

I'm not a sociolinguist but I find languages fascinating. The other day I was walking past a Ghanaian man talking on his cell phone in Twi (a local language here). Suddenly, in the midst of a sea of words I could not understand, I heard, "Hurry, hurry. Fast, fast."

Why did he need to switch to English to use those words?

In a culture where relationships are valued more than task, where listening to someone is more important than crossing off my "to do" list, where greeting someone before you get to the point of your conversation is a very high value—hurry, hurry, fast, fast is apparently a value grafted in from the West. I chuckled as I walked away and slowed my pace down just a fraction—reminding myself that I can enjoy the journey just as much as the destination.

By Karen Carr of Mobile Member Care Team,
Ghana, West Africa

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.'"

William Penn 1644-1718, Religious Leader
and founder of Pennsylvania