Playing with Language: For the Poet & Writer
Tucked away in a book from 1986, I found this wonderful exploration of how a poet forms. The author notes that it happens, in part, when we “splash about in language for the sheer pleasure of it….” (The Poet’s Art, M.L. Rosenthal, p.38)
Now I love this idea, because it doesn’t imply that we need to become language experts. We’re simply splashing! And that means there’s no particular need to be formal, to learn anything, or to create a special outcome. It can be even more fun to splash about in a foreign language, where the possibilities for discovery compound.
If you know me, you know that I love to splash about in French. Recently, after being a bit discouraged that I may never gain fluency, I was renewed in my desire to just stay in touch with the language. So I started copying out French poems.
In the midst of a Robert Desnos poem, I came upon the word plieraient, which I discovered means would bend. Before leaving the word, I splashed about with it. Wait! A plié in ballet is when we bend our knees. And, oh! The pliers I used yesterday to bend some wire. Could that be a form of the same word? Confession: I’m not always pliant in nature. (Another possible connection!)
Creativity experts note that those who temporarily live in a foreign country, even for just a few years, well… they become far more creative than those who don’t.
Maybe your life isn’t designed for uprooting to Istanbul. But it needn’t be in order for you to gain some of the benefits of seeing life through a different lens: linguistically. And, as Rosenthal suggests, splashing about in words of any kind can help you form as a poet.
Here are five fun ways to get splashing…
5 Fun Ways to Play with Language
1.
Mango Languages
I love to dip into French via Mango languages. Mango is a fun language-learning program which I have free access to through our local library. Check your library system. You might have free access to Mango, too!
2.
Shows on Netflix or YouTube
While French is my darling language, I’ve also been splashing about in Turkish, Italian, and Korean. Once Netflix understands that you’re open to shows in foreign languages, the recommendations start rolling. A few favorites I’ve returned to:
Call My Agent (French)
Instanbul Encyclopedia (Turkish & French)
The Law According to Lidia Poët (Italian)
Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Korean)
Agency (Korean)
3.
Music on Spotify and YouTube
When I don’t want to give much thought to my splashing about, I turn to music. I really do roam all over the world with these, dipping into more languages than I can count. Sometimes dance is included. Which I also love.
Of course, French is a favorite!
4.
Small Translations
When we were working on How to Write a Form Poem with Tania Runyan, we wanted to include a Basho poem, but since we wanted a version that didn’t require permission, my daughter Sara and I turned our hand to translation. What fun! The whole process we followed is worth a post of its own. Suffice it to say, we discovered that the existing translations we located had avoided one little detail: the poet was annoyed and used a word that borders on humorous-crass! While we didn’t make our poem translation crass, we did give it a slight edge that other translators hadn’t. And our knowledge of Basho’s haiku was broadened.
Small translations can be as tiny as translating a single verse of a poem from another language. Remember, you’re simply splashing.
5.
Children’s Books
Your local library is a great place to start with this. We’ve also discovered some excellent resources online. If, for instance, you want to play with an Asian language, check out Let’s Read, where you can download children’s stories (and choose the language you’d like them to appear in). Or, for Spanish and French, visit Free Kids Books (Spanish) and French. The Free Kids Books site also has Farsi, German, and Hindi if you want to take them for a spin!
Poetry Prompt
Splash about in a foreign language and find some words that look or sound good to you. Find out what they mean in a dictionary or online. Then put them in a poem in a way that we can understand without us having to look up the word or words.
Sample Poem
Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps
One swallow. One
hirondelle, watercolor
brown. Does not make.
Ne fait pas. The Spring.
Le printemps.
Nor one seed, a field
of rippling golden wheat.
Or one drop of white-blue rain
the weep of April.
But one glance from you—
a flock, a field, a flood!
—L.L. Barkat
Photo by Harpreet Singh, Creative Commons, via Unsplash.
See all Words to Travel By posts…
- Found in Translation: Gently May It Sing - September 15, 2025
- Learning by Poetry: Vous venez d’où? - September 1, 2025
- 5 Fun Ways to Play with Language! - August 18, 2025
Maureen says
I was asked by a poet on Substack to write a post about my found poetry. I will be running that on Sept 9 (she’ll cross-post it subsequently). I mention you, L.L. and Laura, as well as Tania’s book (shameless promotion), and in my Examples section include one of your poems followed by my found poem. You always inspire me to splash about.
Bethany R. says
Delighted about your found poetry and the upcoming piece, Maureen!
L.L. Barkat says
Thank you *so much* Maureen! In play, we encounter what we hadn’t expected. I do love what you find.
Bethany R. says
What fun! Thank you for opening up these idea-blooms with us, LL! It reminded me that I do enjoy listening to Pink Martini, who sings songs in various languages. I’m glad you introduced me to some more groups to explore. And I’ll have to check out that agent movie. 😀
I love your idea of trying to just find a word or two I like the sound of and see if I can incorporate it in a way the reader can understand, in situ. 😉
L.L. Barkat says
I went to Spotify and discovered I’ve hearted Pink Martini (but I didn’t realize I had). Fun!
So now I’m listening. 🙂
https://open.spotify.com/album/2y2CKDqSlMlPw6trrKwjzC?si=b3d40MWOSfulDzQ85S1-MQ
“in situ” …does that mean “in context”? What language is it? Great fun that you used it!
Bethany says
The phrase is Latin. I’ve absorbed it from medical situations. I think it can be used to mean, “in its original place,” to abbreviate the Meriam-Webster Dictionary definition.
So fun about the music; and that particular album is one of my favs! 🎵
Sandra Heska King says
Language splashing! Oh, what fun! I’ve always wanted to learn a language. It’s always seemed so beyond me. I picked up a handful of Creole in Haiti. I bought a little book on how to read Hebrew in 6 weeks 6 months ago and haven’t opened it. Moving to Florida was the perfect opportunity to learn Spanish–although there are so many dialects, and people talk so fast. French has always seemed beyond me. I did take two years of Latin in high school because my mom thought it would help in nursing school. I’m not sure if it did, but I can recognize some roots and conjugate the word “love.”
Maybe now’s the time to get a little wet.
Bethany says
Hi, sweet Sandra!
Wow—two years of Latin! I’ve often come across words in literature written in Latin and just wonder at them. Now I’m wondering how to say love in that language; would you enlighten me?
L.L. Barkat says
Come on in, Sandra. The water’s warm! 🙂
It helped me to think about it as “staying in touch” with a language, rather than trying to master it.
Sounds like you have some perfect opportunities for splashing around. I hope you do.
Michelle Ortega says
Just as summer is coming to a close, a new way to splash! into the upcoming seasonal shift. While I was once more adept at French, I find myself splashing about with words and phrases in my poetry and needing just a bit of translation help as well. I enjoy listening to French music, as well, and I have translated just one, “Quelqu’un m ‘ a dit” by Carla Bruni. It was so interesting to see how “off” I was in understanding what the song meant! This is going to be *another* fun exploration at TSP!
L.L. Barkat says
For some reason, I love the Jersey shore best in autumn. Splash away! 🙂
I enjoy Bruni’s music, too. Though I’ve never tried my hand at translating. (And I’m sure my understanding of the song’s meaning is probably off too! 😉 )
So glad to have you along for the exploration, Michelle. Looking forward.