Zein Soussou, a senior at NASH, was born across the ocean in Qatar, a small country on the peninsula of the Middle East. Her parents worked jobs that required significant use of Arabic and English, so naturally, they implemented aspects of both languages in her daily life. She attended school in English while taking Arabic classes three times a week.
After she moved to the US, her new friends could easily tell that English was not Soussou first language. The proof was in her accent. Kids would sometimes ask her to repeat words or call out her mispronunciation. She grew up learning English and being spoken to in English, and luckily, she did not struggle very much with that aspect.
“It was embarrassing because everyone always made sure to point out my unfamiliar accent,” Soussou said.
Despite the trouble when was younger, she is very grateful now. Her accent has faded, but Soussou’s appreciation for Arabic has only grown, allowing her to connect back home to her family, especially her grandmother, who she says is a huge part of her life.
Soussou is just one of the many students here at NASH who have a first language that is not English. Roza Korkmaz is a senior who grew up speaking both Turkish and English.
“Growing up with a different language was such a cool experience,” Korkmaz said. “It spans from the simplest things such as talking to your parents in public without other people knowing what you’re saying to more complex things, such as translating important phone calls and texts for your parents.”
Korkmaz’s favorite aspects of her culture are the food and the family orientation. Her favorite Turkish phrase is one her mother has always said to her, “Hayatımın Anlamı,” which translates to “you are the meaning of life.”
Another multi-lingual NASH student is Ethan Ouyang, a senior who speaks Mandarin Chinese.
“It’s cool being able to communicate in a language that most people don’t understand,” Ouyang said. “But it can get annoying when others ask me to say phrases in Mandarin.”
Ouyang hopes that he will be able to go to Taiwan next year to visit his family. Like Korkmaz, he said his favorite thing about his culture is the food.
Brandon Goetz, a senior who speaks Hebrew, shared a similar experience with his language.
“Growing up, it provided me with a unique perspective and appreciation, which shaped the way I see the world,” he said.
So the next time you’re just walking the halls and overhear someone talking on the phone with a relative in a different language, consider that even though there are up to 7,000 different languages worldwide, each one can still link people of the same culture together from all over the globe.
