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KIDS UNITED
It is so much fun to belong to a circle of friends. It lets us share ideas and find out how we all live.
Sometimes we live differently, but that's part of the fun.
Sometimes we talk differently, but that's how we communicate exciting ideas.
Sometimes we look different, but underneath our hair and clothes and skin, we're really all the same.
We're a circle, and whether we're boys or girls, we're friends. And that's the most important thing in the world.
You talk funny
It was Friday afternoon and the sun was shining very brightly. It was warm on the backs of the kids in the park as they kicked the soccer ball around the field. Birds were chirping happily in the trees, all except for the hummingbird who was busy buzzing near a beautiful white flower. The bees were buzzing too, and somewhere off in the distance, a dog was barking as if he had just discovered his voice for the first time. Bark, bark, bark!
He's talking, someone said.
Well, he talks really funny, someone else said as he kicked the ball.
So do you, said another girl as she kicked the ball toward the goalie.
Do not, said the boy, kicking the ball.
Do, said the girl, kicking the ball back.
Donít! yelled the boy as he kicked the ball high up into the air where it flew toward the sun and the stars that were just beyond the blue sky. It kept going and the kids just watched it fly, sure that it would become a star of its own.
I donít talk funny, said the boy, suddenly embarrassed by his accent. I talk like everyone else in my country.
Then everyone else in your country talks funny, too, said the girl.
The boy thought about that for a minute. He sat down on the grass, and crossed his legs under him and he thought about it for a minute longer. He thought so long that all the rest of the kids came and sat down next to him.
I guess we do, said the boy. I guess we do talk differently, but thatís because we speak a different language. In my country, we speak German. In other countries, like where Natasha is from, they speak Russian. Chehnís country speaks mandarinó
Like the orange? somebody interrupted.
No, like Chinese, said the boy.
In the country where my grandmotherís from, they speak French. And my neighbor is from down in South America where they speak Spanish, said the girl who had brought the whole thing up to begin with.
Just because people talk differently doesnít mean theyíre different than you or me, said the boy.
How many languages are there? someone asked.
Nobody really knows, said the boy. Some people think there are as many as 5,000.
How did you get to be so smart? asked the girl.
The boy shrugged.
Isnít that language, too? someone asked. You know, like when you just shrugged?
The boy nodded.
Hey, that is too! the same someone said.
Language is communicating, the boy said. Some people actually think certain languages sound romantic. Sometimes people also think that just because a person speaks a certain language that means theyíre not as smart as other people. I think whatís important is that people talk and tell each other how they feel. People talk in all sorts of ways, and it might sound funny to people who donít speak the same way, but it doesnít make it wrong.
So people hear funny, too? asked the girl.
And they all laughed because there are two languages that everyone speaks exactly the same way: laughter, and friendship.
This is how the Circle of Friends say friend:
Pang yau is how you say friend in Cantonese; pÈng youv is friend in Mandarin.
Tomodachi is how you say friend in Japanese.
In German, freund is a friend who’s a boy, and freundin is a friend who’s a girl.
In French, un ami is a friend who’s a boy, and une amie is a friend who’s a girl.
In Spanish, el amigo is a friend who’s a boy, and la amiga is a friend who’s a girl.
Drug is friend in Russia.
Fraynd is friend in Yiddish.
In Italian, amico is friend who’s a boy, and amica is a friend who’s a girl.
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