When I was younger, I always wanted to have a secret language with my siblings that my parents couldn’t understand. I thought that it would be so cool to be able to prank them or surprise them by speaking with my brothers right in front of them, and they wouldn’t be able to understand a word. As I look back, I realize that I’ve always been fascinated by languages. Whether it was my obsession with Ni Hao Kailan, or my intrigue surrounding coded messages and sounds, language has always been something that sparked my curiosity. All the time, I see people bonding over their shared languages and cultures.

A few months ago, I met up with some students attending Babson College in the fall with me, and two of them were from the Dominican Republic. They immediately hit it off, speaking in Spanish and talking about their shared culture. They talked about their favorite foods, where in DR they were from, and it was nice to see that our group was already becoming closer through our shared identities. Although the rest of us had a lot in common, I could tell that we weren’t nearly as close as the two had quickly become. During freshman year, I had a similar experience when I came to LREI, and met Brianna, who is also Ghanaian. I recognized her last name, and at Ramapo, I approached her to ask if she was Ghanaian. After that, we talked about Twi, and Ghanaian foods, and our families, and it was the first time we both had another Ghanaian classmate. Culture has the ability to bring people together, and language comes with culture. Twi is a language I’ve wanted to learn for a while, and although I already feel very connected to my Ghanaian roots, I often wonder whether that connection would be deepened if I spoke Twi. So through my senior project, I decided to learn Twi, while exploring the connection between language and culture. I’m glad that I’m finally taking the time to learn Twi, and although learning it for four hours a day can feel a bit monotonous at times, I know that my hard work will eventually be worth it.