It’s been a while since I’ve participated in the IndieWeb Carnival. I’m late writing this post. I saw October was on the topic of multilingualism in a global Web *. I’m very excited to write about this topic for various reasons. Exciting might be an understatement. I’m fucking stoked to write a post about languages!

I grew up as a bilingual in Spanish and English. Then, I learned French in school and the whole travel abroad situation. I consider myself fluent in all three languages. I use them often. As someone who speaks multiple languages, I see the world through different lenses. One could argue that the internet itself is another world. This has allowed me to access different parts of the internet that someone who is a monolingual may not ever get to experience much.

When I was growing up and started to learn French: I was very happy to find content so easily. One of the shows, * Code Lyoko * was vital in my learning French. I was able to watch able to watch it in all three languages I speak. It helped make connections and differentiate how the characters expressed themselves in their respective language. Being born and raised in the United States, I have to admit that the multilingual has kept me connected with my roots, and my family and has taught me things. It allows my language skills to evolve as time goes on.

I often use the Mexican version of Google to find the news and look up various things about Latin America. I get more direct to the source. I do this to find more accurate reporting on things happening. When things about Mexico get reported in American media, I often question various aspects of the reporting. American media tends to picture Mexico as this scary place as a whole.

When I was a kid, It was hard to find information about my parents’ hometown in Mexico. Trying to find detailed information in English was next to impossible. Wikipedia in Spanish is always a great place to start! It’s so much more satisfying as the page has more information and a lot more footnotes. What better place than to look at a website by the Mexican government to give me the census data of my parent’s hometown? You can’t find this information in English!

The web shouldn’t be dominated by the English language. I’m aware it’s the lingua franca. The internet is becoming homogenized. A world being homogenized is a terrifying thing to think about. We’re losing so much culture. So much perspective. Think of it this way: the internet is losing its spice. It’s becoming bland. We should be proud of the languages we can present ourselves in. That’s what makes the internet fun! Does everything need to be in English? Absolutely N-O-T!

I must admit that I am guilty of not writing as often in different languages. I do write the occasional post in Spanish or French. At the same time, I feel as if I’m contributing to the situation. This month’s topic has motivated me to continue to write in Spanish and French more. I want to continue to express myself. It’s important to write in different languages other than English. When I write in different languages, I express myself as me but at the same time, it’s a different me. French Pablo presents himself differently from Spanish or English Pablo.

Thank you ~zinricky for hosting this month’s IndieWeb Carnival on multilingualism in a global Web