Page 184 - PINE CREST 2000

Language for Everday Use

The underestimation of McDonald’s as thought-harvesting sanctuary
was common to me till one fine day. My family and I walked into

McDonald’s, pondering upon what meal we would dine upon that evening.
Once all of us were decided, we proceeded to order, each stating that

night’s preference. The orders were taken, and we waited for our freshly
synthesized food. To our dismay, however horrible yet expected, our order
was undeniably messed up. There were extra fries and blatant lacks of milk­
shakes, complete chaos, etc. My father heroically seized control and

attempeted to explain the problem to our attendant. Unfortunately, our
attendant was not fluent in English or Spanish and we were left gesticulating
wildly and pointing accusingly at certain foods.

As I sat there, dunking my chicken McNuggets into strategically engineered contain­
ers of Sweet-and-sour sauce, I couldn’t help but replay the situation in my head at that very
moment, illuminated by buzzing flourescent lights, crowned in a swiveling plastic chair,
feasting on exotic foods, I became aware of the importance of languages and how they affect

everyday life. In today’s world, everyone is looking to create an impression— to project
themselves in the quickest most efficient way possible. The most direct and used form of

expression is language. There is
power in beling able to use lan­

guage intelligently and comfort­
ably.
Upon mastering a second

language, one finds that several
doors open in expression’s infinite
hallways. In addition to communi­

cation within new cultures and
groups of people, the mastery of a
foreign language allows for the

intrinsically satisfying knowledge
that one can share their thoughts
successfully in more than one
language. Initially, learning a

second language may seem some­
what impossible, but the benefits
are worth the effort. In any organi­

zation or group of people,
communtication is essential. By
knowing more than one language
one expands the boundaries of

Parle vous francais?