Remember Robin Williams as Mork?

Last Friday evening I was invited by some very good friends to have dinner with them. For some personal reasons I declined to attend. Then, one of my dear friends called to ask me to reconsider. After listening to my personal reasons, she indicated to me that I should attend the dinner. That it would be fun and I would forget my problems at least for some time. She was right.

The host, a good friend and comedian in disguise took over the entertainment for the dinner by bringing back the character from Mork and Mindy, a TV show which became famous from 1978 until 1982. Robin Williams played the alien who came to Earth in a giant egg from the planet Ork.

You might say: what does that have to do with languages? Well, if you remember, Mork used to say: Na-Nu Na-Nu as a form of greeting. My friend decided to make us laugh with his interpretation of Mork and his famous greeting. That was really funny and we had a great time. It's amazing that sometimes we laugh so hard for the most ridiculous reasons.

The idea of an alien visiting us and speaking another language is out of character. But, think about it, hasn't that already taken place? They don't say Na-Nu Na-Nu, instead they say Hola, Oi, Salut and many other forms of salutation.

The question is, are we ready to say Welcome in their own language?