Undergraduate / "While learning French..." - Brown University short answer essay [3]

Why are you drawn to the academic fields you indicated in the Anticipated Degree and Academic Interest questions above? (1000 characters max)

While learning French my freshman and sophomore years, and throughout my year spent in France, I spent a lot of my time searching for translations of words. Some words I knew in my head, and others I looked up in my pocket dictionary. To me, the words that stood out the most were the ones that had no direct translation. Gourmand, in French: a person who takes great pleasure in food. In English, there is no direct translation. To understand the meaning of the word is to understand the relationship between the French people and the French language.

The fact that a word like that exists in the French language but not English shows a lot about the cultures behind the languages. Cultures have shaped their languages into the distinct lexicons they are today. This sparked my interest in studying sociolinguistics, or how culture affects language, and vice versa.

Any edits/advice/constructive criticism would be lovely!

cheers,
Lexie