Living In Tongues by Luc Sante

Living In Tongues by Luc Sante Andrea Orozco
Anicca Cox
English 100A
January 21, 2010

After reading Sante’s memoir, a person can instantly connect with what he is talking about especially if they speak in more than one tongue. For instance, I myself speak in two tongues and sometimes have trouble juggling back and forth two languages. This tends to happen to me a lot especially when I’m translating for my parents. The primary language here in the United States is English, which can be a challenge for people who migrate over here because they must enable themselves to learn and to speak it in order to better their lives.

Once Sante began American schooling his parents attempted to preserve his European heritage by tutoring him in French grammar and vocabulary. Sante’s parents have a great appreciation and devotion to their heritage, which is why I can see their desperate need to preserve it. Constructing a version of Belgium for Sante was a way of preserving his heritage, but by doing so they came across some struggles. For instance, the environment was way different from that of their homeland; they also couldn’t get a hold of some foods they desired.

In his memoir, he tells us how he speaks three tongues which are English, French, and Walloon. The Walloon dialect continues to affect him emotionally because it possibly shows Sante how people who have ancestors who spoke Walloon are slowly losing their roots and not putting much importance to the situation. The language Walloon was mostly spoken by his grandparent’s generation, so having to hear people speak in Walloon must bring a sense of satisfaction to his life. Especially if now a day, that language is considered to be rude for modern day people.