Significance of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism
My decision to do parts of my web page in Russian and English represents the value that I place on bilingualism and multilingual cultures. Before studying other languages, I had admired such cultures because I felt that their knowledge and understanding of the world was much broader then my own because they could to communicate with more diverse groups of people. These values concerning the importance of language are shared by the Puerto Rican historian José Luis González. In his essay "Puerto Rico: The four Storeyed [sic] Country," he discusses the effects of US colonial rule on Puerto Rican culture. In discussing the relationship between language and cultural hegemony he claims that: "We Puerto Ricans have to learn English, not as the route to cultural suicide whereby we become dissolved into the turbulent mainstream of American life, assimilated to that ‘brutal and unruly North that so despises us,’ to quote José Martí, but so that we may with greater ease and profit integrate ourselves into that rich Caribbean world to which we belong by historical necessity" (30). In these concluding remarks González challenges the traditional nationalist notions of the use of language in the study Puerto Rico, in order to show the value in bilingualism.
The Spanish language has traditionally been regarded one of the major symbols of Puerto Rican culture. Above, González challenges traditional forms of Puerto Rican "language nationalism" which holds the Spanish language "as a rallying point for Puerto Rican identity, in direct opposition to the English speaking United States" (Morris 162). This philosophy has led to a rejection of the English language by many sectors of the Puerto Rican...
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...oric Puerto Rican community enriches our American culture as well as the diverse opinions in our class. The web pages of our Latino students strongly reflect the fact that these students have not lost their identities. Thus, if Puerto Ricans living in the United States have not lost their identity why should one fear that becoming a state will make Puerto Ricans on the island loose their culture.
The Spanish language is already a multicultural reality in the United States and Puerto Rico. Language nationalists cannot impede this natural process. The US must learn to embrace the Spanish language if not out of respect for multiculturalism, but the necessity of dealing with such a large hispanohablante population. Puerto Ricans should also learn to speak English just as other Americans should learn Spanish because that is true multiculturalism and it enriches us all.
As Rodriguez is looking back at the rise of his “public identity”, he realizes that “the loss implies the gain” (Rodriguez 35). He believes that losing a part of who you (such as your “mother tongue” is permitted since
Throughout Richards early childhood development he quickly understood that in order to succeed in America he would have to learn to confidently speak in English. Richard is Hispanic American and although he was born in America, Spanish was the only language that he was exposed to as a young child. He grew up in a home where Spanish flowed freely, but he soon realized outside of his home the language that he primarily knew was foreign. His parents spoke fluent Spanish along with all of his relatives. The brief encounters he experienced of his parents speaking English were only in public places and the proficiency was very poor. Rodriguez’s home was as a safety net for him and his Spanish speaking family with they are his only real connections to the outside world. It wasn’t until Richards encounter with his teachers that he and his family was heavily impressed on the importance of developing a public language. After the encouragement of the visit home from a teacher as a family
In this story, the reader can see exactly how, many Puerto Ricans feel when living on other grounds. Throughout this time, the boy that Rodriguez presents us realizes he has his culture and that he wants to preserve it as much as he can. “Because I’m Puerto Rican”. I ain’t no American. And I’m not a Yankee flag-waver”
Richard Rodriguez offers an alternate yet equally profound truth: While our heritage and culture may remain forever tied to and expressed in our native or "home" language, only through the dominant language of our country (English in most cases) can we achieve a place in society that gives us a feeling that we belong amongst everyone else. The only way we can truly become a part of our community and fit in is to dominate the current spoken language. In the United States, the dominant language is Standard English. In this excerpt from "Aria," a chapter in his autobiography entitled "Hunger of Memory": The Education of Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez discusses public and private languages, and agrees that his achievements in English separated him from his Spanish family and culture but also brought him "the belief, the calming assurance that [he] belonged in public." We as human beings want to feel we belong. We search for that place in society where we are most comfortable all our lives. One should consider the benefits of mastering the dominant language of the society they live in, but should also take into account the harm of taking your native language for granted. I will attempt to explore both of these considerations and examine Rodriguez place in life now, by stating the facts of who is now by the childhood decisions that were made.
Another struggle for identity with Latinos is their struggle with the Spanish and English languages. While some Latinos may speak Spanish in their homes, the language may not be conversationally used in their schools. Some Lat...
Language is an important value for the nationalistic identity of a nation. Hispanic culture is the way of life of people from Latin America and Spain, and their main identifying factor is the fact that they speak Spanish as their main language. Therefore, Hispanics are not necessarily Spaniards but other groups like Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans who speak Spanish are also part of this group (Shaw and Dennison 207). American culture on the other hand is mainly comprised of the people who speak English as their main dialect. Therefore, the Spaniards have Spanish as their native language while the Americans use Englis...
Boats were first used in very ancient times. The earliest boats were log boats, or dugouts, that were made from a hollowed-tree. These boats date all the way back to the Stone Age, nearly 10,000 years ago (History of Boats and Ships, n.d.). Around the year 3000 B.C., the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were using boats for travel along the Nile River. The Egyptians made cotton sails to harness wind energy to propel the boat. This took some of the workload off of the hardworking oarsmen. In 1200 B.C., the Phoenicians and Greeks were the most seafaring people along the Mediterranean (Jake, n.d.). The Phoenicians constructed massive cargo ships and put two large masts on them. The boats were around 100 foot long and could carry 150 tons (“History of Boats and Ships”, n.d.). The Romans become the dominant rulers of the sea in 100 B.C. The Romans constructed merchant ships nearly 200 feet long that could carry 1000 tons, as well as human passengers. These boats were often overcrowded because the lower level was usually filled with trade, wh...
In order to understand the current situation of Puerto Ricans one must look at their history and retrace the sequence of events that led to the current formation of the Puerto Rican people. An important component of this history is the time Puerto Rico spent under Spanish rule. Studying this portion of Puerto Rican history forces us to acknowledge the contribution the Spaniards, European immigrants, and African slaves had on Puerto Rican identity as we consider it today. This also addresses contemporary debates on Puerto Rican identity. An example of this is evident in an essay written by Jose Luis Gonzales entitled "Puerto Rico : Th Four Storied Country". In the article Gonzales points out what he feels is a disregard toward the African contribution to the Puerto Rican identity. He argues that the first Puerto Ricans were black , based on his interpretation that Africans were the first group to come to Puerto Rico and reproduce who did not have ties to a "motherland" because they were slaves. This is unlike the Spaniard elites and Criolles that demonstrated their commitment and loyalty to Spain. Since they had no other place to go, Puerto Rico was their motherland. Gonzalez also points out that the culture of a region is always the culture of the elite, not the popular culture.
In the article, “Public and Private Language”, Richard Rodriguez argues that bilingual education delays learning a “public language” and developing a public identity”. I can relate to Richard’s story because my family and me moved to America when I was young and we also had the same struggle learning a new language. I agreed with Rodriguez when he expressed that he didn’t feel like a true American until he mastered the English language because English is the first and main language in America.
While reading this article one of the most shocking sections were when the students were talking to Monzó and sharing their outlook on their place and their language’s place in society. These students even at this early age are feeling how devalued their first language has been. They feel like they have to speak the right* English, only use English in public places, never their first language, and that they must assimilate to the American culture as much as possible. This reminded me of a chapter in Lippi-Green (2012)’s text. Within this chapter Lippi-Green (2012) discusses how in the United States Spanish speakers are not only expected to learn English but they are expected to learn and utilize the right* English determined by the majority and assimilate entirely to American culture. Throughout Monzó and Rueda (2009)’s text the children in conversations expressed their observation of the social order in relation to language and race. This was surprising to me since they are only in 5th grade. During a conversation with one of the children Monzó and Rueda (2009) recorded an alarming statement, “He said that his mother could not be considered American because she did not...
Richard Rodriguez commences, “ Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” recounting the memory of his first day of school. A memory that will help support against the use of “family language” as the child 's primary language at school. Rodriguez is forced to say no: it 's not possible for children to use the family language at school. To support against the “family language” used at school, Rodriguez uses simple and complex sentences to help achieve the readers to understand that to only accept the family language is to be closed off by society; to not have a “public life” is to not share one 's life experiences with society. Bilingual Educators state that you would “lose a degree of ‘individuality’ if one assimilates. Rodriguez refutes this statement through his expressive use of diction and narration educing emotion from his audience building his pathos. Rodriguez also develops ethos due to the experiences he went
Repeat customers can be a company's most profitable customers. One possible objective of a sales team is to increase the number of sales made to existing customers compared to first-time buyers. Customer-relationship management or CRM strategies can help to achieve this objective, strengthening relationships with customers and turning repeat customers into champions for the brand.
Customer Relations Management is defined as methodologies and tools that help businesses manage customer relationships in an organized way. For most business’ CRM helps “target customers, generate quality sales leads and plan marketing campaigns with clear goals” (about.com). CRM also helps create customer satisfaction and provide the best service that one could possibly provide to their most profitable customers. CRM uses software and browsers that collects and organizes customer’s information. The system also helps employees stay organized, and provides them with the information needed to provide the best customer service each time the customer come in and out. Also helps employees with customer needs and keeps an updated profile.
In ancient marine times people built boats out of bamboo, bundles of reeds, air filled animal skins and more. One of the first boats was made out of sticks and put together with sewn hides. Also at the time then didn’t have oars invented yet so people would use their hands to make the boat move. And to move the rafts they would push poles against the bottom of the rivers or lakes. Then they came out with sails which would replace the action of the humans and sail boats could take on longer trips and heavier loads rather than just the boats make out of sticks. Then they came out with the Viking long ships, those would be about 30 meters long made out of overlapping planks of oak wood, held together by iron rivets. Each ship would carry about 60 oarsmen who rowed the ship. Next they came out with the Chinese junks which were constructed out of softwood and had a horse shaped stern. And their sails weren’t like most, instead of squares they were more built pointed on the top and squared at the bottom. Then they had the three and four masted sailing ships which were in service for several centuries and these wooden ships were used for battling. Then we came out with the clipper ships which were fast sailing ships with long slim hulls and tall masts. Next they came out with the steamships so instead of sails and oars to power it, it was combined with wind and wind power. Then they had the ocean going liners which were driven by a propeller and made of iron. And they came out with the steam driven boats which had paddles on the side of them. Next the sailing ships were converted to diesel power so that they would use oil instead of steam. ...
the hull is called friction. This slows the boat down. If a boat hull is designed