The power of language transcends all cultures
and will allow us, in true TED fashion,
to share ideas worth spreading.
(Applause)
(Chinese) Camilla Lopez Jordan: Hello everyone!
My name is Camilla, and I am 7 years old. Thank you.
(English) Hello everyone! My name is Camilla, and I am 7 years old.
(French) Cecilia Lopez Jordan: Good evening!
My name is Cecilia, and I am 14 years old.
(English) Good evening! My name is Cecilia, and I am 14 years old.
CLJ: I started learning Mandarin, when I was in pre-school.
I kept telling my mommy that I could speak Chinese.
I don't think she really believed me,
until one day she asked me what I wanted for dessert,
and I said, (Chinese) "I love icecream."
That means "I love ice-cream."
Two years later, I was standing all alone
in front of my whole entire school,
singing a song in Mandarin to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
To be honest, not many people understood me,
but I still felt powerful.
(Laughter)
I know you all are expecting me to tell you that language is my passion.
Well, actually it's not.
I like it, I love it even,
but, honestly, I'd much rather be standing in front of you
as a Broadway star, singing a song from "Wicked" or "Matilda",
or as a future scientist building a robot,
or I'd love to share with you what I know about abstract art;
these are all things I'm passionate about,
but in order for me to spread the ideas and messages that I love
to people around the world, I need tools,
and the most powerful tool is language.
Cecilia LJ: In this room, I bet, we mostly speak English and Spanish.
Miami used to simply be known as the gateway to the Americas,
but today, it is one of the top 5 global cities in the world.
Many people from different countries and states can understand us.
330 million people can speak English and 400 million can speak Spanish;
that's definitely a lot.
But guess, how many can speak Mandarin?
Over 1 billion and 1. (Laughter)
CLJ: I don't what great ideas I'll have in the future,
but whatever it is, I'll be able to spread it with almost 2 billion people.
That's the power of language.
Cecilia LJ: I'll never forget the words spoken at my 6th grade orientation,
"This year you will learn 12 new languages."
I thought to myself: are they serious?
I've already got 3 other languages on my plate.
How can I manage 12 more?
Well, I've made it to freshmen year in high school,
and, while granted, I don't speak those 12 languages fluently,
I will always carry the power to get along in most places in the world,
thanks to that 6th grade class.
Following 7th grade, I dove into a melting pot of language
and culture that I will always remember.
I begged my parents to be alone for 3 weeks
in an immersive French camp in Normandy,
and with an Argentine father,
who spent the majority of his youth studying abroad,
and an Italian mother, who loves culture,
it wasn't a hard of a sell.
When I arrived in France,
I was met with a group of students from all over the world.
We all spoke our native languages and shared our love for French,
but we all were rather green with our conversational skills.
Needless to say, it took us a few baby steps
to figure out how they communicate it.
Try saying, "I'll take the top bunk" or "Does our charger work here?"
or "Where in the world is our classroom?"
to your Russian, Turkish, Hispanic, Korean, and Italian roommates.
You know the saying, "Sink or swim"?
Sure enough, we came home 3 weeks later speaking French
and made lasting friendships that span continents,
and still have a group chat 3 years later.
Language is an intimidating barrier for many,
but it doesn't and shouldn't have to be.
My little sister Camilla is right: we have to invest in tools
that will help our passions in the long run.
Take a minute to think of the sheer potential
language creates within us
to reach masses of people we never thought possible.
In an ever-changing world, it's important to be diverse,
prepared, fluent, and willing to commit to bring people closer together
by knocking down our barriers.
CLJ: Language is also important for me and my sister in our daily lives.
Like, when I'm trying to pronounce French words in my "Eloise in Paris" book
to when I talk to my great grandma;
whenever I use my language skills, I feel powerful.
Cecilia LJ: We're fortunate enough to live in an international community
that is home to so many languages and cultures.
Like my sister and I,
many of our peers growing up in Miami are first generation Americans.
We've grown up in households
where we help our parents perfect their English
while we keep close to our families' native languages.
CLJ: The idea of more than one language under our belts
is common around here,
and we must continue to embrace history
and encourage our neighbors all around the world to do the same.
Cecilia LJ: It was over 50 years ago
that Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester B. Pearson
has spoken a truth that has never been truer than today.
He said: "How can there be peace without people understanding each other?
And how can this be, if they don't know each other?
So, we invite you all to explore, collaborate, engage
and plunge yourselves, your children, and your friends
into the giant pool we all share that is language.
Let's get to know each other,
and let's spread ideas worth spreading
using the power of language.
(Applause)
Thank you.