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Languages

So last week class had some very interesting discussions. The one that stood out to me the most though was our discussion on languages. Before reading last weeks articles I never thought much about how languages came to being. The thought that all languages are somehow related and maybe come from one common language is interesting and it would be cool if we could find out that common language.

What was even more interesting than that I thought waas everyones prospective on languages. In our class I can see how we are all to some degree fascinated by language and wish we could speak them all. It was fun to go around the room and learn what languages people could speak or what languages they wished they could speak. We discussed how languages really do broaden our outlooks.

It was funny how everyone expressed how frustrated they were when it came to learning another language, especially right now in college. Also I found it funny how much we complained about how hard it was to learn, but when Anne asked if we thought that the language requirement should be taken away we all said no. One thing about languages though that poses a mystery to me is why do people that speak the same language speak it differently ? For example when we asked the students from China said what language they spoke most said Chinese the mandarin form and also a dialect native to whatever region they grew up in. Also you can see that here in the United States. Since coming to Bryn Mawr, I have talked to people from many different regions in the U.S and sometime they use words or expressions I have never heard of. Why does this occur?

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