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What is the importance of interpersonal communication in communication skills
Communication and interpersonal skills
Communication and interpersonal skills
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When thinking of language, in its most basic definition, it could be seen as a form of communication. Anzaldúa’s chapter “How to tame a Wild Tongue”, she brings up the way language placed into a hierarchy by explaining that in the Rio Grande Valley standard English is at the top, Spanish is placed lower in the order and Tex-Mex has placed event further down (Anzaldúa, 2007, 78). The hierarchy of language serves as a means to suppress by deeming those who do not speak the dominant language as inferior even as less than capable. It is utilized to categorize individuals into, once again, a hierarchy where the dominant language users are at the top. In addition to language being a form of communication, it is a fundamental part expression; therefore to censor an individual’s language is to infringe on someone’s form of expression. In the same …show more content…
chapter, Anzaldúa gives an account of a personal experience that occurred when she was in grade school where she received physical punishment for speaking Spanish, her native tongue, instead of speaking English, the dominant language (Anzaldúa, 2007, 75). This is an example of how the dominant culture uses language to infringe in the cultural expression of an individual.
This often leads to those who speak “imperfect” English to believe they are inferior to those who speak fluent English. An example of those who believe they speak “imperfect” English includes individuals who have an accent. Many individuals feel that if they are to be successful in the United States they must first lose their accent and in extreme cases even lose the language they were raised in. If they lose the language they were raised in it might create dissonance, interior conflict, when it comes to their self-identity. In contrast, there are individuals how rebel against the dominate language by utilizing slang, another form of “imperfect” English, in their speech. Anzaldúa mentions in “How to tame a Wild Tongue”, that she describes a group of individuals, referred to as the zoot suiters, that refused to use standard English or standard Spanish to communicate and instead created a form of communication that was comprised of slang words created from the two formally mentioned languages (Anzaldúa, 2007,
78). In a way, slang is used to empower those who are suppressed by the dominate language. In Anzaldúa’s example there are two languages that can be seen as the dominate one since both are used to stop an individual form expressing themselves in a way that is comfortable for them. Language can be an agent that can facilitate the suppression of a subservient culture is the non-dominant language is denied. But is the repress language is embraced it can be used to empower those who are subjugated.
Language is our power and expression is our freedom. Through a puff of air, we are able to communicate and influence the environments that surround us. Over the course of time humans have evolved, but by the means of language, humans have matured into humanity. The possibility of thought and emotions such as empathy show the ability to think with complexity. A crucial element that helps Suzanne K. Langer’s illustrate the essence of humanity throughout her essay “Language and Thought.” Langer thoroughly depicts what sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom by explicitly stating “The line between man and beast […] is the language line” (120). Consequently, this implies that if a person is declined the freedom of language they are hardly considered human. Many people around the globe have had their voices silenced due to corrupt governments and the oppression of their culture. These individuals are subjected to the devastating effects of the loss of language, which in turn, translates to the loss of power. Language is our foundation for hopes and opportunity, for with out it a person is shell of possibility that is subjected to a passive existence.
In Gloria Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, an excerpt from her book Borderlands/La Fronter in 1987, she demonstrates that identity can be asserted through language. You can tell a lot about a person by their language. Language is your way of representing who you are as a person, and most importantly, your culture. Culture defines the most about a person. Anzaldúa shares her aggravation of not being able to speak her language, “until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself" (Anzaldúa 378). Being seen as an individual of English as Second Language (ESL), Anzaldúa does not appreciate how she has to assist in translating to English or Spanish, where she would rather speak Spanglish. “[A]s long as I have to accommodate the English speaker rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate” (Anzaldúa 378). Talking bad about her language severely impacts her identity, “I am my language” (Anzaldúa 378). A person’s identity should not be seen less because of the language they speak. Anzaldúa states that she will have her voice, though she cannot express her passion for her language with the restraint of no freedom act to embrace it, she will. Her audiences that she is reaching to are those who share the same struggle of their identities just like her, and also speaking out to people who do look down upon people like her because of where she is form and what language she speaks.
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
The author’s diction heightens the confusion and difficulties the English language evokes, as her simple method of communication progressively becomes more complicated. Words are “sifting” around solely as “vocabulary words” it becomes difficult for her to connect and understand this “closed” language. The author learned Spanish during her childhood through past memories and experiences which helped her form a closer knit bond to the language as a whole; however, English does not root any deep connections for her causing her to doubt the importance of words. The negative connotation when she refers to vocabulary words and closed is due to the fact that she is frustrated with her inability to communicate exactly what she perceives as they are not connected to experiences. Similarly, the language seems “frail” and essentially “bottled up” as she is unable to express her thoughts in a manner other than exclusive “translations”. Unlike Spanish, English seems to have a complicated and confusing aspect tied to it where the author is feels trapped because she cannot convey her emotions or relate to it culturally. The repetitions of these words that have a negative connotation draw out the significance behind communication and the true value of connecting to a culture. Overall, the dictio...
Language has the power to influence and reshape our thoughts and actions. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there is a society which controls the language of everyone in it. Under the World Council, everyone is to follow the many rules put in place and no one even tries to break them. There is no “I” in their language, there is only “we”. With the power to influence and reshape people, language has a big impact on our thoughts and actions.
Throughout the span of the past few weeks I have traversed the globe, visiting several countries and regions, only to realize that although new methods develop, language as a way of expressing ones self has remained the most effective. Despite this fact, language still has its pitfalls. Neil Postman, in his essay “Defending Against the Indefensible,'; outlines seven concepts that can be used to aid a student in better understanding the language as a means of communication. He describes how modern teaching methods leave a student vulnerable to the “prejudices of their elders';, further stating that a good teacher must always be skeptical. He urges teachers of all subjects to break free from traditional teachings as well as “linguistical tyranny';
Anzaldúa's main point in the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” is that Language is important and part of who we are. People should not be forced to speak another langue or criticized for speaking their own language. Anzaldúa says “So if you want to hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity - I am my language”. (pp.416) Language defines who we are. and when we are forced to change out language we are forced to change who we are.
Another difficulty cultures deal with is language and the way people speak. In some cases, people struggle to belong by making changes in the way they speak the English language just to be assimilated. They attempt to use words and letters, as well as body language that fit in the norm; all in an attempt to denounce their original intonation and style of pronunciation. One ...
English is an invisible gate. Immigrants are the outsiders. And native speakers are the gatekeepers. Whether the gate is wide open to welcome the broken English speakers depends on their perceptions. Sadly, most of the times, the gate is shut tight, like the case of Tan’s mother as she discusses in her essay, "the mother tongue." People treat her mother with attitudes because of her improper English before they get to know her. Tan sympathizes for her mother as well as other immigrants. Tan, once embarrassed by her mother, now begins her writing journal through a brand-new kaleidoscope. She sees the beauty behind the "broken" English, even though it is different. Tan combines repetition, cause and effect, and exemplification to emphasize her belief that there are more than one proper way (proper English) to communicate with each other. Tan hopes her audience to understand that the power of language- “the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth”- purposes to connect societies, cultures, and individuals, rather than to rank our intelligence.
In the essay, “How To Tame A Wild Tongue”, by Gloria Anzaldua and the essay, Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, the ignorance shown by many people is highlighted. Amy Tan’s essay focuses on how some people look down on others who do not speak English without an accent. Anzaldua’s essay focuses on how people do not have a broad view of language and often look down upon others who do not speak the language that they speak. Both of the essays address language, but the broader topic that they acknowledge is more important. The essays both acknowledge how humans feel uncomfortable around people that are different from them, and often demean others. People demean others due to people wanting to look more powerful by giving their views correctness while discrediting
In the essay “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan, the author, gives a different, a more upbeat outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing which helps the audience understand what is being presented at ease. Her mother plays an important role in her outlook of language, because she helps her realize that language not only allows one to be a part of a culture but create one’s identity in society. Amy Tan shares her real life stories about cultural racism and the struggle to survive in America as an immigrant without showing any emotions, which is a wonderful epiphany for the audience in realizing
It isn’t merely a love letter to language. It is a passionate first-person account of why language is so much more than a means of communication. Language is part of ourselves. And for some people, language is gradually dying. Anzaldúa refers to the forceful destroying of language as “linguistic terrorism” (2950). A quote by Ray Gwyn Smith, a Welsh painter and art educator, acts an epigraph before later introducing linguistic terrorism. Smith questions “who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war (2947)? She revisits the reality of her childhood where she was told her language was wrong. “Repeated attacks on our native tongue diminish our sense of self,” Anzaldúa asserts (2951). This just reaffirms the meaning of the chapter as a whole. Language isn’t just how to communicate with someone; it is someone. It truly makes someone who they are. “If a person, Chicana or Latina, has a low estimation of my native tongue, she also has a low estimation of me,” illustrating her point further. She distinguishes her culture from other cultures, specifically that of Anglo-Americans, by emphasizing that there is “no one Chicano language just as there is no one Chicano experience.” She does this to identify with her fellow Chicanas. This chapter reads kind of like a powerful oration, something that would be given a rally for
Reading a variety of stories is great fun in which we get to know the different viewpoints of different individuals. Looking at a variety of articles allows us to better connect to the article by either agreeing or disagreeing with the articles. Miguel, my partner’s life story is similar to two stories that we read and discussed in class. First, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” by Gloria Anzaldua and “Why Schools Don’t Educate,” by John Gatto are relevant to Miguel. Miguel’s story would disagree with, “Why Schools Don’t Educate” since he believes that schools do educate us students. Going to school not only allows a student to be book smart but advanced in different activities that are offered at the school. On page 99, Gatto mentions that, “The
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explains the implications of living under the influence of two cultures. She begins with a story of how she was punished by a teacher for correcting the pronunciation of her name. She explains that Chicana women are taught to be ashamed of their language.
Language is the basis of human communication. It is a cultural and social interaction, and the way language is used is influenced by the circumstances in which it takes place (Emmitt, 2010, p. 49; Green, 2006, p. 2). Children become aware that there are different types of language, including languages used at home, at childcare and at school, as they observe and participate in various language situations (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014, p. 39). Some of these languages may be unfamiliar, and children will need to learn the different roles and uses of language. The different roles of language in a child’s life are, therefore, part of their growing understanding of how to behave in society and in a particular context. As they experience different types and uses of language, children develop an understanding of how to use language appropriately for any given situation.