Blog Uno

Tyler Gunnin
Over the course of my lifetime, I have been exposed to many diverse languages. I was born in Atlanta and have lived around the area for close to nineteen years now. As a result of this, I have mainly been around the typical “Southern” accent. When I think about my heritage and my family, I really would have loved to have been more open to learning and understanding various languages.
Honestly, I do not know if I had ever heard another language besides my native English and a little Spanish here and there, because of the Mexican restaurants scattered around my town, until I moved into my seventh grade year. When presented with the opportunity to be able to choose between whether I would rather take a course in Spanish or French, I went out on a limb and chose the uncommon subject, French. I did not quite realize how much of an advantage I could have received by choosing Spanish because of the many Mexican-Americans in our country alone. Still, there is no way I regret selecting French to be my new language barrier to tackle. I took the course from seventh to tenth grade year and I became surprisingly fluent in the language. Actually, this may be a little lame, I was entered into contests my seventh and eighth grade year to be tested on my knowledge of the French I had learned. Both years I attended the competition, I received the top prize of being “superior”, and I later went on to being admitted to French Honor Society, and very close to graduating with my foreign language seal. Sadly enough as it is, today I could not sit here and hold a conversation in French. I know multiple words and sentences, but I would sound very much like a novice in learning the great language.
I also really enjoy being around my diverse friends from my high school, considering my entire family is either from Tennessee or Georgia. When going to family gatherings and being around my family’s Southern accent all the time, it gets a little too complacent for me in a way. I am thoroughly satisfied with my family’s great heritage and background, but all of the various accents and languages from my friends at school are great. My best friend just so happens to be Korean. Of course when we talk he sounds just like an average American, but when we get to his house, it is a whole new story. His mom and dad speak very little English, so he must speak to them in Korean. I love listening to them talk and having no clue whatsoever if they are talking about the weather, dinner, or how they don’t want that Tyler kid at their house every single day. He has actually taught me a few Korean words which I use when speaking to his parents, or any other person I see who looks Asian just to throw them off. Other diverse languages I hear from my buddies at school are: British, African, Spanish, German, Irish, Puerto Rican, Northern, and extremely Southern. I definitely have a ton of diverse friends I am around back at home, and they all have a different opinion on how we American people sound.
Language is a huge part of what sets people apart from one another. There are tons of different heritages and cultures throughout the world and all have that certain characteristic of language that brings them together as a whole. The greatest thing about language is that it may in fact bring families and ethnic groups together, but it also makes the entire world become one because of the motive language serves, communicating and expressing ideas to one another.