Mrinmayee Sama (Week 8) - Trilingualism
Mrinmayee Sama - Week 8
Trilingualism
Wow you are so stupid. Why did you even take AP Spanish?
I hear that line a lot and frankly, I have always said that I have no idea, but I actually do know why. Learning Spanish is really beneficial for the future, especially for people like me who want to become a doctor as it shows the application committee that the student knows another language which can help the student succeed while working. For example, if a Spanish speaker walks into the ER and only speaks Spanish, it's going to be hard to translate especially when it's an emergency. If this situation happened and if I was there, someone who is somewhat fluent in Spanish, it would be easier to treat the patient. Language is the one thing you cannot bs...
Now this is where memory connects with language. Learning multiple languages can give rise to "better skills for solving tasks, better critical thinking skills, more creativity, greater mental flexibility, multitasking, etc." Remembering a language is hard at first, but when you get used to seeing it and understanding it, it becomes a part of your muscle memory. yay language and memory together.
Now for the fun part, anecdotes. In Spanish, we have to write essays and I kid you not that everytime I try and think of a word, I think of it in Telugu (my mothertongue). This goes vice versa and sometimes this is annoying, but it's interesting to see how our brain works because it processes languages in one big pile and we have to sort it out ourselves. Usually when kids go to India to visit and are forced to speak their language, they become "white-washed" because they are not used to speaking like that and this is where muscle memory jumps in again. I am kids...
AW SHUCKS it's our last blog sigh 😔
Work Source: https://itsw.edu.pl/en/trilingualism/
Photo Source: https://ifunny.co/picture/bilingual-trilingual-culture-is-flexing-u-speak-multiple-languages-but-GubLAVxd7
Comments
I found that picture quite hilarious. It really brings me back to the rhetorical analysis essay from the APEng exam that talked about how a place was more unified under one culture, or a separated mixture of different cultures. A lot of people in America are pretty much only fluent in English, like me (except I can understand some Spanish and most Indonesian). I have a lot of respect for people who can speak, write, read, and/or understand more than one language! I also do think that people call you stupid for taking AP Spanish because THEY. COULD. NEVER. And you obviously could! As we are social creatures, communication is a top priority in many occupations, situations, you name it. Being trilingual is super cool and will most definitely help you in future endeavors. Well, I think this is my blog comment of my junior year, so I thank you for making your blog an enjoyable read!
-Angel Susantin
I think it is very admirable of you to take AP Spanish to help your future patients. I believe that one day, it will come in handy. I want to learn more languages, and honestly I should probably start now before I get older and it becomes harder for me. The only bad thing about learning a language is that if you do not practice it regularly, it is very easy to lose it all. My dad was originally pretty fluent in Japanese, however, as time passed, he forgot most of it. Now he is using Duolingo to relearn it. The fear of losing all of my hard work is probably what is holding me back from learning another language.
I’m so proud of you for taking AP Spanish! It is a decision I will probably never make because of my lack of skills in Spanish (currently dying in Spanish 3). I do agree that language isn’t something you can just learn without effort or else you will fail to learn the basics and the grammar required specifically for that language. I hope we can both somehow use Spanish in the future!
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
I wish I had the ability to speak multiple languages. The thing is, learning another language requires a lot of dedication and intelligence, which I have neither. I do think that memory plays a big role in learning another language though. Oftentimes, it is easier to learn a word in another language through association. In my Spanish class, I often associate the vocabulary with English words. This method makes it easier for me to remember the meaning of words. What is your technique for memorizing vocabulary from different languages?
I'm glad we were in a blog group together frfr! Also, ur so cool for taking AP Spanish(I refuse to take AP Spanish because I will actually fail...real core). Honestly, though, I speak another language at home more because my grandma is not fluent in English, so. I speak Cantonese. Not going to lie, I #don't know how to read or write Chinese or speak Mandarin. Yet, I speak Cantonese fairly fluently (but if you asked me to teach grammar for Cantonese, I would not know). Regardless, I would love to learn more languages in the future.