Joseph A. Lusma
Professor Simmons
ENC 1102
Feb 21st 2015
Multilingualism:
??? Being born in a missionary family comes with its advantages. I get to travel to many different countries, learn about their cultures, and learn new languages. My parents fell in love with the people of Haiti and made it their life’s work to help the less fortunate on the island. Subsequently, I was born and raised in Haiti. I grew up learning French, the Haitian native tongue Creole, and English. Being fluent in all three was challenging, and my parents were criticized for not making English as my primary language. They were hit with warnings that came with raising a child as a polyglot. People claimed that I would have a difficulty to learn, adapt, and find myself in American life. Being Multilingual presented itself as a disadvantage after hearing all those negative views on it. But how was that even a bad thing when I could interact with multiple cultures around the world?
It wasn’t until my senior year, when I got a translating job at a U.N base in Cayes, Haiti. That my views on being multilingual changed dramatically. U.N secretary general Ban Ki-Moon was hosting a seminar for the new employees, and surprisingly he was talking about the benefits of multilingualism. Ban Ki-Moon, a multilingual child himself told us of how knowing more than one language helped him throughout his life and got him where he is at right now. He spoke on of the vast array of jobs, and endless opportunities that