LANGUAGE FACTS

1. All languages have dialects and accents

Junior Oliver Zhu also speaks Chinese fluently. “I think ancient poems are hard to translate, since their charm comes from the few syllables [or] characters per line that manage to evoke images of the richness of nature and the intricacies of human emotion,” he said. “It’s hard, then, to replicate them in English, since conciseness sacrifices depth and vice versa.”

Unlike English, Chinese doesn’t have a phonetic or syllabic writing system and instead uses a logographic one. “The writing [in Chinese] is difficult, since there’s no alphabet involved, and every word has a distinct character,” Zhu said.

Each language also has unique pronunciations, which is why people develop recognizable accents when learning a new language. Duolingo Blog states that “no two languages share exactly the same sounds or ways of pronouncing them, so there will be new sound

4. All languages are learned by babies at roughly the same rate

2. All languages change over time

3. All languages have grammar

5. All languages are equally complex rules and patterns many have never had to pronounce before.”

Each language is complex in its own nature with the ability to convey our thoughts and ideas. Languages are a part of history, culture, and tradition of a community and

7. All languages have ways of being polite and rude

8. All languages can communicate all ideas and feelings

6. All languages have ways of talking about the past, present, and future

9. All languages have slang

INFORMATION: Duolingo Blog

Julia Taylor finds lifelong friendship through pen pal program

Orion Kim

CHIEF

Visual Editor

In an age of rapid electronic communication, letter writing is a lost art. A few swift thumb movements and a click of the send button can send the same message as the old-fashioned process: writing on a piece of paper, sealing it in an envelope, driving to the post office, and waiting days or even weeks for a response.

While instant communication is necessary in certain situations, there’s more to social interactions than efficiency. Letter writing, for example, shows the recipient that the writer cares about them, since writing a letter takes time and consideration. One fun (and potentially life-changing) way to practice writing letters out is to communicate with a pen pal.

Sophomore Julia Taylor met her pen pal through a school activity back in elementary school when she and her classmates got to request pen pals from a school in Mexico.

“We got to choose our request just based on names and pictures, and I remember we had [similar] names, Julian and Julia,” she said. “I immediately knew I wanted to be his pen pal.”

Their relationship started off small. They each wrote a short letter every six months up to fifth grade, when they were given an opportunity to finally meet in person. “He stayed with [my family] for two weeks, and it was just an amazing experience. I felt like I met a really great new best friend. We had a lot in common and it was so sad having him leave,” Taylor said. she said.

Her relationship changed when Taylor got a random text during the pandemic. “He reached out to me through Instagram, and we… got reconnected,” she said.

Now that Taylor and her pen pal are busy with school work and extracurriculars, they rarely keep in touch via letters anymore. Instead, Taylor values electronic communication.

Unfortunately, Taylor lost touch with him for a period of time following his stay in the U.S. Without phones and a way to easily connect, it was difficult to communicate.

“It’s kind of hard to [send letters] across borders,”

Although Taylor reached her pen pal through social media, her most memorable interactions were either in person or through letter exchanges. “I feel like [pen pals] are a more genuine way to connect with people rather than just texting online,” she said.

Taylor hopes that more students will try writing letters to a pen

pal. “I think it would be cool to bring back pen pals through the school,” she said. “When he stayed

with [my family], I remember we just laughed a lot and had a lot of fun.”