Since English is essential in getting by in America, people are more likely to judge a person by his/her English mastery. If you speak English well and fluently, you are quite respected. In other words, if you speak “Broken” English, they may subconsciously think of you as less intelligent than people who speak Standard English. However, does a person’s language mastery reflect complete personality? Since it has not been officially approved that language reveals complete personality, it is inaccurate to judge a person by his/her language mastery.
The dangers of linking one's worth to his/her language mastery are obvious as it promotes racial discrimination and the loss of identity. Racial discrimination, which actions against equality and the fundamental human rights of another simply because of race or other factors of identity, is by far the biggest issue result from the linkage between language and personality. Since English becomes essential worldwide, people who don't speak English well are often discriminated against by people who do. An example is Chang-Rae Lee’s mother, from the article “Mute in an English-Only World”. As a Korean immigrant who only speaks a little English and mostly Korean, she goes through a huge humiliation and embarrassment because of her "Broken" English. While she goes to a market to buy oxtail, she acts like a mute because she doesn’t know how to speak “Oxtail” in English. Because of that, the male server acts rudely and impatiently to her, which makes her furious and go mad later in the parking lot. However, at the end of his article, Lee indicates that his mother is an enthusiastic English learner who keeps studying English till she dies of cancer. She turns out to be a person th...
... middle of paper ...
...e a person? The true judgment comes from interaction. By interacting with individuals, you will acquaint their behaviors and content of their characters further. As for language, there is little that it can reveal about a person. Thus, in order to make our multinational society more acceptable, we should avoid the linkage and be understanding in any circumstance.
A person's language mastery does not reflect complete personality. A person’s accent, tone and style do not really tell a great deal about him/her. We can’t learn much about a person just by talking to him/her for a few minutes. Despite it is Standard English or not, it’s time to be a bit more open-minded. Hopefully, there will be the day that people would not think something negatively when they hear someone’s “Broken” or “Limited” English. Instead, would give them a kind hand
and smile.
The documentary do you speak American hosted by Robert MacNeil is profiling of a journey across various geographical locations of the United States with a primary objective of how it is easy to define people based on their language. As revealed from the documentary, a finding far from the usual assumption that all people in the United States speak English is nothing further from the truth. The reality is that there exists is that not every citizen in the country is able to speak English and those who have the capacity of speaking it have varied versions based on their location, whom they are addressing and the social groups regarding age to which they belong. Another finding from the documentary is that there are Americans who completely cannot
Language can be a difficult task to foreigners who have already achieved a first language. In “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, “Mute in an English-only World” by Chang-Rae Lee, and “Leave your Name at the Border” by Manuel Munoz, the authors explain how people are judged by their “broken language”, and their lack of understanding the English language. Tan, Lee, and Munoz admits that by not being fluent in English, it was hard to adjust to the new world that they lived in. The authors explained that throughout their life-time, English was very important to them; they also felt embarrassed in front of others who could not understand what they were saying. By having an accent in America can be a burden on individuals whether it is due to a feeling of being unwelcomed or alienated by others.
Sometimes by giving something up, a person gains something more valuable. For example, those who speak English as a second language often struggle in public. They mix up words, mispronounce them, and use wrong grammar. In result, those with bad English skills often get discriminated and taken advantage of. It is hard for them to get hired because people just assume they are not smart enough. Therefore, learning English and letting go of a private language is a solution to an easier life because fitting in means being accepted by people and being accepted by people means success.
“I think my mother’s English almost had an effect on 5) limiting my possibilities in life as well. Sociologists and linguists probably will tell you that a person’s developing language skills are more influenced by peers. But I do think that the language spoken in the fa...
Not knowing how to speak English can be the worst possible thing a person can experience in his or her lifetime. Not being able to understand and speak makes very difficult for a person to express his or her thoughts and feelings. Some individuals might think that these individuals are uneducated because of the way they pronounce certain words, but that is not true. They are treated differently; they are not appreciated because of the way they speak. Some people do not even take the time of their day to try to understand these individuals. They do not know how it feels to not being able to speak another language properly because they never tried. Individuals that are trying to speak English should not penalize by others, for not learning how
Due to the certain accent’s stereotyping images, other “original English speaker” think they are uneducated, rude, and ignorance. TV comedy shows increased this negative image to audiences as making fun of their accent and laughed. The video introduced some words which are unfamiliar to us: cabinet is milkshake, gum band is rubber band, schlep is to carry, and pau hana means work is done. Those words and phrases are noticeable if they are native English speakers. On the other hand, I hardly notice those accents and dialects as a foreigner because I don’t have enough knowledge to judge what “standard English” is. In fact, we normally learn “standard English” in school as a foreigner, but we have a great chance to hear mixed dialects and accents everywhere because of mixed race society. Nevertheless, standard English accent is easier for me to understand. I easily distinguish and guess people’s hometown if they are foreigners by their accent. Still, it’s hard to recognize accents and dialect within states. Moreover, this video was difficult to understand because of the
Growing up in a bilingual family, Tan can hardly escape from encountering phrases such as “limited English” and “broken English” for countless times. She dislikes the phrases as she mentions, “it has always bothered me that I can think of no other way to describe it other than ‘broken,’ as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as it lacked of certain wholeness and soundness. I’ve heard other terms, ‘limited English,’ for example. However, they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of limited English speaker” (634). People raise and teach their children the definition of “limited” as imperfect, “damaged and nee...
Language has provided many people with opportunities within society. In Eudora Welty’s “Listening”, the main character became a writer because she fell in love with the aspects of language. She fell in love with how the letters made a specific sound and how a person reads in a specific voice when reading a passage. Her love for language influenced her decision in becoming a writer, even if she was not the best at writing throughout her childhood. In Sherman Alexie’s “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, he refused to be the dumb Indian that society wanted him to be. Sherman Alexie even says,” We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid” (Alexie, 13). He continued to read everything within sight. Since he read so much,
When it comes to languages- language is a major role that helps us communicate. Whether it's solving an issue or informing one another. In society, language can either make you feel as if you're apart of a civilization or it can make you feel isolated if you don't speak it the proper way. In the article, Se Habla Español, by Tanya Maria Barrientos, Barrientos talks about how growing up Hispanic and not being able to speak her native language (Spanish) was very challenging. Barrientos came to America from Guatemala in the year of 1963 at the age of three. Since then, Barrientos wasn't able to speak her language due to her parents assimilating into the American culture. Back then, America wasn't the most accepting country. Anyone who identified themselves as Mexican American or Afro American was viewed and considered dangerous radicals. Barrientos parents just wanted Barrientos to grow up, living outside of the American stereotype of minorities. Another writing that supports my accusation about how language and physical appearance can make a person feel isolated is Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. Tan expresses that her mother is Chinese and she speaks what Americans called "Broken English". According to http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=broken+english "Broken English is a "Incorrect or awkwardly structured English, usually spoken or written by non-native speakers." "Broken+English." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Although some people try to not judge other based on their language choices or dialect it is very instinctive for most to do so. As soon as someone begins to speak to you,without even thinking, some of the first things you realize are the dialect, tone of voice and word choice of the speaker. I agree with the statement from the African-American writer James Baldwin where he states that language is the most vivid and crucial keys to identity.
“Lately, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or ‘fractured” English.’” (Tan 380) Amy Tan like many others uses the term broken, fractured and sometimes limited to describe her mother’s English. “Broken” when being referred to the way one speaks a language, means that one does not speak a proper or well-spoken language. Amy’s mother’s English, due to it not being considered proper, limited her mother in ways that are not surprising. Growing up, Amy on many occasions had to pretend to be her mother due to others not taking her mother serious. This experience is what made Amy realize her advantage in life being able to speak proper
My parents didn’t want me to be made fun of for being mexican like they were when they were in school, so they didn’t teach me how to speak spanish. If only they knew how different our country is now as opposed to when they were in school. Spanish is America’s second language, making it an extremely valuable skill to have. In the poem, I Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes, it says, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed -- I too, am America.” This poem shows how in the past, the hate against other races was extremely visible, but people knew their worth and they knew that people who treated them wrong would regret it in the grand scheme of things. Knowing multiple languages opens up a wide range of job opportunities. When employers see the skill set that you have, speaking multiple languages and coming from a culturally diverse background is desired and often looked for. These traits can show that you have to ability to bring them new perspectives, thoughts, and ideas, based on where you came from. Knowing your story is an important part of knowing what makes you an
Nobody’s born with the language they speak today. Everyone is born with a clean tongue that is transformed to make sounds and words that are native to their homeland and people they were raised by. Language can’t be described as a trait, like the color of your skin or the width of your shoulders. When society discriminates against individuals that speak differently, they are judging them based on how they were raised and how they were taught to speak, people don’t see them as just a person that didn’t have a choice of how they wanted to communicate, and conformed to fit into a puzzle of a whole area of people that sound the same way. I believe that people are molded by experience and adapt to the environment they were placed in. Life is based on survival and if you want to survive people have to absorb in their surroundings, including the way the human beings communicate with one another.
Language is a powerful tool and manner on how we, as people, live and socialize. It is a gateway to communication and how to interpret things. As humans, we often distinguish ourselves as individuals through language, creating a sort of identity through linguistics among our fellow peers. In present times, it is just as significant how we say things as to what we say. It has become the norm to categorize others based off how they speak. This act of divergence is powerful, the judging prematurely of and setting standards to certain social groups leads to stereotyping and cultural bias. Linguistic determinism
English skills are vital to succeeding in life, in terms of education, career, and personal relationships. There are immigrates that come from all over the world to the United States and the hardest thing for them to learn is to master English language skills. When being in a country whose people speak another language it is difficult to understand it, but important to master it. The ability to master English language skills is one of the most important things that foreigners need to do, so that they can gain employment. Those with strong English skills will be able to get employed much faster than those who only have basic English skills. There are some jobs where English skills are not as important, but they tend to be jobs that will not pay a very high wages. Mastering English language skills is also the key to communicating with other people. There are many different steps to mastering English language