Daily Lobo: So, what languages do you know so far?
Homero Montoya: Right now, I’m working on French, English, Chinese and Spanish. I don’t know if I’m going to major in all of them, but I will in Chinese and French for sure. In spring 2011 I’m going to live in China for a year and then France after that.
DL: What would you say your favorite language is?
HM: It’s hard to say because I like how different Chinese is, but I really like French, too. I guess Chinese. I really like it.
DL: Do you know any foreign curse words?
HM: I know quite a bit in Chinese. They are really funny. I know maybe three or four in French, and I know most of the Spanish ones.
DL: What language did you start off with?
HM: My first language is Spanish. I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and I lived in southern Mexico until I was 7 years old before we moved to America.
DL: It must have been a shock as a little boy to go from Mexico to America. What was the biggest change for you?
HM: I would have to say the culture. It’s definitely really different. People are more isolated here. In Mexico, people are much more connected to their community. The main thing was that I didn’t know English and they put me in a straight English school and I didn’t know any of it at first.
DL: How long did it take you to pick it up?
HM: Not that long. Within two years I was able to read and write, and, by third grade, I was at the highest reading level in my class.
DL: That’s amazing. It seems like you have a knack for picking up languages.
HM: Yeah, language just comes really easy to me.
DL: I’ve heard Chinese is very difficult to learn. Can you tell me more about it?
HM: In Chinese there are four different tones, and conversation is highly based off of those tones. There is one tone that goes straight down, one that goes up, one that goes down and back up, and then a flat tone — and each one means something different. For example “ma” can mean “old,” “mother,” “horse,” or it can make a question. If you don’t use the correct tone it can get very confusing.
DL: What language do you dream in?
HM: I dream in Spanish, English, and my mom says I’ve actually done signed language in my sleep.
DL: You know signed language, too?
HM: I wouldn’t say that I know it yet. I mean, I know some but I’m not very good at it yet.
DL: With the holiday season coming up, does your family do more Mexican holidays, American holidays or a blend?
HM: We celebrate mostly Mexican holidays just because we came directly from there, but there is a mix.
DL: Do you visit Mexico very often?
HM: Not as much as I would like.
DL: Where do you plan to live when you get your degree?
HM: I have no idea. I was thinking maybe Ottawa, Canada, but it depends where I like. So we’ll see. If I like China after living there I might live there or maybe somewhere in Europe. I like to travel a lot, and I don’t want to be stuck in one place.