Athaiah Deshawn

Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?

When I was a child, I grew up surrounded by American parents. They all spoke English, so I spoke English. Actually it was called Ebonics’ or so they say.

By the time I made it to middle school, enrolling in a foreign language was a must. I took it upon myself to learn French. For some reason or another the language sparked interest in me. I always wanted to visit Paris.

It was small words and conversations within the walls of the classroom. Things like bonjour and Comment t’appelles-tu ?

Nothing major. No true conversations just phrases and small talk.

My brother also took the course. And one day we were at my great grandparent’s house. Somehow the conversation started about us taking up French. It was then that we both learned we had family history tied to the language.

Here it is my brother in conversation with my great grandmother speaking a language that was previously unknown to us. I was as fluent as he was.

Then years later, I took an interest in learning Spanish, Hebrew, and to deepen my French.

I can say those things are still in the works.

I want to travel so learning these things will be beneficial when I go into territories and regions. To speak the language of the inhabitants. Oh, how I long to be multilingual.