“What languages do you speak?”, closely followed by “What is the longest word you know in German?” or “How do you actually pronounce croissant”?

These are all questions that I’ve gotten since my first week at Rice.

I speak a language that most people have never even heard of: Swiss German. If I’m being honest, I don’t even count it as a ‘full’ language because it is only spoken, not written. There aren’t even any spelling rules, so when I text with friends, it’s a complete free-for-all. In a recent text to a friend, I wrote “d Ifüehrigswuche isch mega cool gsi” (O-Week was a lot of fun!). I know you’re probably thinking, ‘what the hell is that spelling?’ and honestly, sometimes I feel that way as well. Swiss German is like a secret language, but the secret is… we never figured out how to spell it.

Coming to Rice, it is literally like my secret language, though. It’s great to be able to talk to my parents without having to worry if anyone is eavesdropping, because no one understands what I’m saying anyway! So if you ever see me talking on the phone, speaking gibberish, that’s probably why. The experience of living in Houston, a place where nearly no one speaks one of my native languages, has been unique. To maintain my level of French and German, I need to put in a conscious effort, whether that be talking to my parents or going to a language table for lunch. Going back home over the semester breaks is always a bit awkward at the start; last winter break, I spoke to my mom in ‘Denglisch’ (mix of German and English) for a solid week. And when I saw my cousins again for the first time in a year, I found myself searching for expressions. It’s strange to go back to your home country to realize that you’re really out of practice with your native language.

But to be honest, this is me complaining at a high level – I’m glad to have learned these languages in the first place. I’m a big fan of learning languages, so much so that I spent a month in Spain without having ever taken Spanish classes before. Spanish and the other languages I speak have widened my perspective, in many ways: if I didn’t learn them, my range of swear words would be pretty limited – you can’t imagine how much better it is to be able to curse in four languages! At Rice and beyond, I think that language is the number one most important factor in connecting with others. Imagine having to pull out Google Translate every time you want to tell someone something; it works, but you won’t build connections.

Yet, learning other languages has been all but smooth sailing for me. I can’t begin to tell you when learning French how many times I asked someone “what their altitude is” rather than how tall they are when learning French. It’s humbling and frankly a bit embarrassing sometimes. But that part is what makes languages so fascinating; you have to accept that you just have no clue initially, and you just have to put yourself out there. Learning how ideas are structured in other languages has given me a different perspective. Simply put, different writing structures change how you describe your experiences. In German, all nouns have ‘genders’ (masculine, feminine and neuter), so every time you talk about a chair, it now subconsciously seems masculine to you.

I remember the first time I met the only other person who spoke German at my residential college, Hanszen – it was so exciting. It’s one of the best feelings when you find out that in a group of people, someone else speaks your native language. Not just because they understand your references, but also because they can relate to some of your experiences. Language is culture, and knowing the ins and outs of a language makes talking to others much more fun. If I told someone that we need to “appeler un chat un chat” (to call a cat a cat), it probably wouldn’t make sense to them. But in French, it’s clear that it’s referring to speaking plainly and describing things as they are. So for you reading this: go out there, take a language class at Rice, work on that Duolingo streak, study abroad, even if it’s in a completely foreign language.

The answer to the question? I speak German, French, Spanish, English (… and Swiss German). But more importantly, I speak in humor, connections and people.