hen William Gore ‘20 was five, his grandmother introduced him to the Greek alphabet. From that moment, his interest in studying other languages grew. Gore’s voracious curiosity led him to mastering several languages at once, creating his own languages and traveling the world for free. “From a young age, he became hooked on sorting through the alphabets and their intricacies,” Jane Gore, Gore’s mom, said. “He wanted to know if there were other alphabets, and we’d show him other ones even if we didn’t know them, like the Cyrillic alphabet.” As he grew older, Gore learned to pursue his love of language on his own. “I started reading the dictionary, and there was a page that had [about] eight different alphabets listed on the page,” Gore said. “I thought that was the coolest thing, and I wrote the letters over and over again.” However, Gore’s hunger for language did not stop with alphabets. He took French in middle school and added Chinese to his class load in high school. “When I applied to Woodward, one of the things I really liked was that they had Chinese,” Gore said. “I decided to take French because my mom speaks French, and I could practice it at home.” Besides studying French and Chinese in school–the two languages Gore considers his strongest–he works independently and with friends to learn other languages in his free time. “I have a collection of books,” Gore said. “Right now, I’m focusing on Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Hindi.” He does not consider himself to be fully conversational in any of these languages yet, but he hopes to become more competent in each of them. Regardless his level of proficiency, Gore’s mom appreciates his willingness to communicate using what he does know. “I was always amazed [by] how he wasn’t afraid to speak to someone in a different language, even if he knew only a little bit,” Jane Gore said. “I was always self-conscious. I studied French, and I would never just walk up to anybody and start speaking French unless I knew exactly what to say. But, he’s never been afraid. It was always amazing to see people when he attempts to speak to others in their language and [to see] how their faces light up.” Gore was first introduced to Chinese at a school he attended in Ohio, and he immediately enjoyed the language. “When I was in first grade, my school switched from Spanish to Chinese,” Gore said. “Chinese was completely different and new, and I thought it was really interesting. That’s what sparked my love of languages.” Gore’s high level of interest in the Chinese language matched his skill level as demonstrated by various accomplishments and
exploring
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From the ABCs to whole grammatical systems, William Gore plays–and adventures–with language. by josie pickett
awards. He received the Star Student Achievement Recognition award from the Georgia Chinese Language Educators, passed the Hànyu Shuipíng Kaoshì (HSK) Chinese Proficiency Test and won the first place Superior Award for the Level II group at the southeast area Jiang-su Cup, a Chinese speech contest for high school students sponsored by Emory University. The latter award led to a huge opportunity for Gore. To prepare for the competition, Gore wrote a speech with the help of one of his Chinese teachers, Cheng Lao Shi, which he had to memorize and then present to a panel of judges from China. He won the Chinese two-division, and the top three people from each division earned all-expenses-paid trips to China.
“I love Cambridge so much that it was worth all the trouble.”
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William Gore
“I just walked in and gave a speech, and all of a sudden, I was going to China,” Gore said. “I was really surprised because all the other kids were really good too.” Gore’s Chinese teacher said she was not surprised at his victory. She has had a couple of students win the competition in the past, and she knew what to expect from William and his talents. Additionally, he was allowed to skip Chinese 3 in order
