Once, I was given the choice between writing a suspenseful short story, a descriptive narrative about a journey to a beautiful waterfall, or a speech from the point of view of a speaker at a school assembly who is in favor of teaching more languages. Naturally, I chose the path less taken by my peers and decided to write about the importance of learning multiple languages—something that I am very familiar with.
Although I was born in the U.S., English was not the first language that I learned. I am among the large percentage of what some call “first generation”, meaning that I was born in the States to people who immigrated from another country. In my case, it was a Syrian and a Venezuelan who produced a U.S. citizen. As every mixed-race kid in this country, I had to choose at a young age which culture I would identify most with (which would inevitably coincide with what the rest of the world would see me as before they asked me “what” I am).
It was being a Latina and proudly embracing Spanish as my first language, which placed me on the path to forming my own identity. An identity—which I base on the fables from my dad’s home country, the restless nights scouring through history videos and books, the aromas of the fusion cuisine prepared by my mom’s side of the family, and the uplifting melodies that I have found all across the world—is what I am constantly seeking more of.Â
Language is what helped me connect to a homeland that although was not the one I was born into, it was the one that took root in my heart. Likewise, despite the constant feeling of living between worlds, language is what established my identity in the country that I was delivered into.
Language has taught me to be motivated in life. My desire to branch out and chase after the horizon, discovering a new square foot of the earth second by second, is what fueled me to learn more languages than I had to. What was at first necessary to do so I could communicate with my family and the communities surrounding me, became an unwavering passion and a special bond tying me to people all across the globe.
My passion for language learning led to my discovery of another passion of mine: linguistic analysis. I saw the world through the lens of analysis, clearing my view of the world, demonstrating the interconnections, showing me the deeper meaning of the crisis I held inside of myself.
It became a need to read between the lines of every text, to find reasons for a writer’s incorporation of repetitive syntax, and to find the symbolism in every paragraph, in every sentence, in every word. It became a necessity to spot the different accents, slang, and mannerisms belonging to inhabitants of countries that share a language, because even language is rooted in and enhanced by diversity.