I grew up in Albania, a country where foreign languages were forbidden to be spoken or learned for many decades during the communism, but this changed by the time I was born. My parents always encouraged me to learn other languages. I remember watching cartoons in Italian as a little kid. At the age of three, I could already understand two different languages. I was taught Albanian at home, and somehow learned Italian by watching cartoons. Later I started watching Spanish movies and learning the language. It all happened so automatically. English required a little bit more effort, maybe because I was a little older. My parents enrolled me in private English classes when I was in sixth grade. At the age of thirteen, I left Albania and came to live in the United States. Until then, I did not understand the importance of foreign languages. I remember helping my parents communicate at the airport, and later on when we arrived in America. There is a specific conversation that is stuck in my mind. I was traveling back to Albania and I met an elderly lady. I was with another girl who was going to Albania also.
This is how our conversation started:
Lady: Hello, do you know how to use phone? I don’t speak English well.
Me: I haven’t used it but I can try to help you. Where are you from?
Lady: Macedonia. You girls?
Me: I’m from Albania.
Girl: Me too.
Lady: I travel to Albania. We need a car to take us to Macedonia.
Me: Do you speak another language other than Macedonian and English? Maybe it will be easier to communicate.
Lady: A little Spanish.
Me: Yo también hablo español.Prefiere hablar en español?
Lady: Que bien. Si por favor. Yo aprendí hablarlo donde trabajo.
Girl: Doris, duhet ta ndihmojmë që te marrë në telefon.
Me: Vamos al telefono publico. Si usted me da el numero, trataré de llamarlo.
(Calling the taxi driver)
Girl: La esta llamando.
Me: El teléfono esta sonando. Ya contestó alguien. Aquí tiene.
Lady: Muchas gracias.
(Habla en el telefono y resuelva el problema.)
Lady: Gracias. Mi hijo no me puede recoger al aeropuerto, y teníamos que avisarle al conductor que el vuelo se ha atrasado y vamos a llegar seis horas mas tarde.
Me: Me alegro que pude ayudarla. Hay alguna otra cosa que puedo hacer por usted?
Lady: Si, por favor. Yo no hablo italiano y me avisaron muy tarde sobre el atraso del vuelo, así que quería ver si me podían dar una compensación para la comida.
Me: Claro, yo hablo el italiano. Venga conmigo a la oficina de vuelos.
Flight attendant/agent: Ciao.
Me: Ciao. La signora ha un problema. Ha bisogno di una compensazione, perché he stata avvisata del ritardo del volo molto tardi. Deve mangiare mentre aspetta en el aeroporto.
Flight attendant/agent: Certo. Aspettate qui.
Me: El señor lo va a ayudar.
Lady: Muchas gracias.
Me: De nada. Ahora tengo que irme porque no quiero perder el vuelo. Fue un placer conocerla. Buena suerte.
This experience helped me realize the importance of foreign languages. I only helped the lady with something small. I helped her use the phone and translated for her. Even though it was not a hard task, I realized that I would have not been able to help her without being able to speak the different foreign languages. This experience shows part of the impact that multilingualism has had on my life.
This is how our conversation started:
Lady: Hello, do you know how to use phone? I don’t speak English well.
Me: I haven’t used it but I can try to help you. Where are you from?
Lady: Macedonia. You girls?
Me: I’m from Albania.
Girl: Me too.
Lady: I travel to Albania. We need a car to take us to Macedonia.
Me: Do you speak another language other than Macedonian and English? Maybe it will be easier to communicate.
Lady: A little Spanish.
Me: Yo también hablo español.Prefiere hablar en español?
Lady: Que bien. Si por favor. Yo aprendí hablarlo donde trabajo.
Girl: Doris, duhet ta ndihmojmë që te marrë në telefon.
Me: Vamos al telefono publico. Si usted me da el numero, trataré de llamarlo.
(Calling the taxi driver)
Girl: La esta llamando.
Me: El teléfono esta sonando. Ya contestó alguien. Aquí tiene.
Lady: Muchas gracias.
(Habla en el telefono y resuelva el problema.)
Lady: Gracias. Mi hijo no me puede recoger al aeropuerto, y teníamos que avisarle al conductor que el vuelo se ha atrasado y vamos a llegar seis horas mas tarde.
Me: Me alegro que pude ayudarla. Hay alguna otra cosa que puedo hacer por usted?
Lady: Si, por favor. Yo no hablo italiano y me avisaron muy tarde sobre el atraso del vuelo, así que quería ver si me podían dar una compensación para la comida.
Me: Claro, yo hablo el italiano. Venga conmigo a la oficina de vuelos.
Flight attendant/agent: Ciao.
Me: Ciao. La signora ha un problema. Ha bisogno di una compensazione, perché he stata avvisata del ritardo del volo molto tardi. Deve mangiare mentre aspetta en el aeroporto.
Flight attendant/agent: Certo. Aspettate qui.
Me: El señor lo va a ayudar.
Lady: Muchas gracias.
Me: De nada. Ahora tengo que irme porque no quiero perder el vuelo. Fue un placer conocerla. Buena suerte.
This experience helped me realize the importance of foreign languages. I only helped the lady with something small. I helped her use the phone and translated for her. Even though it was not a hard task, I realized that I would have not been able to help her without being able to speak the different foreign languages. This experience shows part of the impact that multilingualism has had on my life.