Our communication did not consist
of "spoken language",
in the conventional sense.
Indeed, the "body" of the alien
had no "mouth" through
which to speak.
Our communication was by telepathy.
At first,
I could not understand Airl very clearly.
I could perceive images,
emotions and impressions,
but it was difficult for me
to express these verbally.
Once Airl learned the English language,
she was able to focus
her thoughts more precisely
using symbols and meanings
of words I could understand.
Learning the English language was done
as a favor to me.
It was more for my own
benefit than hers.