Me and my Language Story

Language is uniquely distinguished from person to person, region to region and most certainly from country to country. We all have a specific way of using our own language. I know at least a hand full of people who talk the same language but each one of them speaks with a different dialect. Some of us, use language has a means of shaping our personalities where others just use language as a means of communication. I see people everyday speaking English but each one of them says that same word in a different way. Language is such a unique tool that makes out one person from another; it helps us see the obvious differences between one another. Language to me is who I am what I am and how I am. I always thought of language as a means of representing my personality especially for the fact that I haven’t been around one or two but three and now the forth.

Accordingly, I feel that language has been programmed into my DNA or something I seem to be naturally attracted to new languages. A personal experience that I recall very well from my childhood is being programmed on my own to change the language I spoke as soon as I got on the plane, wherever the plane was going was the language I would start to speak and I spoke it well too. I was this little kid who spoke two completely different languages with such great fluency. I always think of that particular experience when I think of language. My dad would always seem to be amazed by my ability to do that. It’s fascinating how children learn much quicker than adults, I experienced that on my own when trying to learn French, and I am struggling compared to learning as a child.

My views towards language are quite distinctive due to the way I was brought up and lived especially because I have travelled a lot and went to school in a different country than the United States. I speak fluent English and Arabic, however Italian I understand it more than I can speak it. My mother speaks to me in English and Italian while my dad speaks to me in Arabic. I know have an odd type of living where I hear at least two or three languages in my house at one time however growing I never seemed to get confused but now I have started to think and raise questions like how have I and others like myself learned to talk two or more languages fluently without confusing the syntax of each. I guess maybe we each have a brain that’s accustomed to changed and distinguish between a language and the other. Another question that I raise is what about dreams, what happens when we are sleeping because I know that I speak when I am asleep, my mother claims I say Arabic terms where my father claims I say English terms.

Before taking this class I didn’t really know and understand why people were able to speak one language but lack another but due to this class especially last week’s discussion board comments I am now starting to believe that maybe it is hard for people to learn a new language because their vocal cords, lips and larynx are set on one language and it would be hard to change that especially if the new language you are trying to learn possess certain sound systems that are not available in your own.