Is Being Normal Really Being Normal? (Response to Ted Talk) In “Why I Keep Speaking Up, Even When People Mock My Accent,” Safwat Saleem(2016), in an inspiring Ted Talk, emphasizes that maybe normal isn't really normal, Saleem talks about his life and growing up with a stutter and learning confidence. Although as a kid Saleem was bullied such as this example; “After some awkward silence, he goes, "Have you forgotten your name?" (Saleem 2016)And I'm still quiet. And then, slowly, all the other people in the room begin to turn toward me and ask, almost in unison,”(Saleem 2016) with this experience, he, later on, he found comfort in doing voice overs in his videos and disguising his voice to help him except his voice. As to find a norm in his voice …show more content…
He identified his accent and justifies his accent as “I don't have an Indian accent, I have a Pakistani accent, OK? And number two, I clearly have a Pakistani accent.”(Saleem 2016) Saleem is seen as different due to his accent but not just that also the fact he had a stutter. Though with these differences he begins to inspire people with differences and make the statements that being different is normal. As an example “color blue for Ancient Greeks” (Saleem 2016) was different and seen as unusual until they began to make the color blue that the color became normal. Such as why Saleem states “minorities are not a part of what we consider normal because normal is simply a construction of what we've been exposed to, and how visible it is around us.”(Saleem 2016) So normal is different for everyone, different cultures, different communities and different places. Normal to Saleem doesn’t really make up a person but their differences …show more content…
Saleem states that he’s seen in statistics that normal maybe seen in color and gender. Which in a way are very many schools and jobs use “normal views.” We know that reviewers will find more spelling errors in your writing if they think you're black. We know that professors are less likely to help female or minority students.And we know that resumes with white-sounding names get more callbacks than resumes with black-sounding names.” Why do we, use the norm to see the “difference” in people that have. Different in a way is good to be around, you get to learn new cultures and new ways of life. So why is normal so judged? Well “ Because of our expectations of what is normal.” (Saleem 2016) our expectations are what we see as the norm is, which is what we live around. “But studies also show that discrimination of this kind, in most cases, is simply favoritism, and it results from more from wanting to help people that you can relate to than the desire to harm people that you can't relate to.” (Saleem 2016) What if we don’t mean the norm in people? We need to start becoming one and enjoy each other's differences. Other than all the differences in the world, Safwat Saleem continues to show and I agree with Saleem, that even if you’re different be yourself. Yes, there will be people that’ll judge you, but different is the new normal. So show off your differences and inspire people to be
In the film, Transcending Stuttering: The Inside Story, produced by Schneider Speech, the viewer was brought into the lives of seven individuals with a stutter. These individuals described their experiences with stuttering and how they have transcended the obstacles they have been faced with throughout their lives. The viewer was also given the opportunity to understand the powerful reality of both the low and high points that can be accompanied by stuttering.
Communication is the very first thing one learns as soon as he or she is born, crying when something upsetting happens or laughing to show contentment. However, as one ages, they begin to realize that using words to express thoughts and feelings is a great deal harder than manipulating sounds and actions. Author Toni Bambara of “Raymond’s Run” and Lauren Tarshis of “Stuttering Doesn’t Hold Me Back” have similar views on the difficulty of speaking up. Bambara writes about a boy called Raymond who has Down Syndrome and communicates with others in a special way, as he cannot utilize his words. “Stuttering Doesn’t Hold Me Back” is an inspiring story regarding a young student facing the challenges of her disorder. Both writings consider the idea that we all have our own methods of conversing, and we need to accept and understand that it is normal.
As highlighted by the author, Mary Louise Adams in her article, “Excerpts from The Trouble with Normal”, ‘a norm’ “can be defined as something that is usual, typical or standardized” (Hacking, Adams, 2003). Norms are often already so established that most individuals do not realize how much they have shaped society and the people who live in it. Audrey Lord tells us that being a “White, thin, young, heterosexual, Christian, male” defines the characteristics of being “normal” and “privileged,” in which she calls “the mythical norm” (Perry, 2011). We use our sexuality, race and class as a way of giving ourselves an identity for the world to see. This identity will ultimately allow us to understand our place in the world and give
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 ...
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.
People aren’t allowed to be different because if they’re different they could potentially be better than everyone else making them more important in society.
Most people want to be normal. The definition of normal however, depends on the culture of the person making the judgment. Far too often, normal is defined in America by looking at the actions and beliefs of the average white middle class family. This definition of normal fails to let other cultures to be accepted, creating distance and misunderstanding.
In the articles, “Obama’s English” written by H. Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman and “Speaking in Tongues” written by Zadie Smith, the writers inform us of, the consequences of voice adaption and how it can result in scrutiny and a loss of identity. On the other hand, the articles asserts, the advantage of having a “double voice” and the way it allows one to connect and empathize with people from different geographic areas. Based on the premise of the writer’s argument, modifying language to conform to the expectation of society can have both positive and negative effects.
Language is a primary distinguisher of social groups, of regional variation, and of attitude towards others; as such, a speaker’s language use is an emblem of their social identity. Phonetic accommodation, i.e, when a speaker varies their pronunciation with respect to an interlocutor, is a tool by which speakers can minimize or emphasize linguistic difference. Through phonetic convergence, this can highlight a shared social identity, or, through phonetic divergence, can designate contrast between one identity and another. Some have suggested that phonetic accommodation is an automatic, inevitable process, surmising that identity is subsequent to it, and not its cause (Trudgill, 2008). However, I will present evidence towards the contrary,
In today’s society it is not okay to look different. No two people look exactly alike, not even twins. Everyone has differences separating them from the next person. Worldwide issues such as discrimination and racism only rely on the color of a person’s skin. Racists and those who discriminate against people due to
Then sudden silence, as though a heavy blanket had fallen over their heads. They all stood looking up at him with their white faces. He stared back. And suddenly he thought, I'm the abnormal one now. Normalcy was a majority concept, the standard of many and not the standard of just one man (pg. 93).
One of the most obvious things that we are noticing in our everyday lives is that people are distinctly different. There are 7 billion people sharing the earth. But how many are considered “normal”? When are people considered abnormal? To be normal is to adhere to a standard or norm, but unfortunately, normality is an impossible and unlikely dream that we will continue to strive for all our lives. We strive for it because it gives us that sense of self that we need to reassure us that we fit in. While undefined, depending on your upbringing, generation and culture, what you consider normal may not be normal for someone else because other countries and cultures have different traditions and practices that they view to be routine; and what in the past has been viewed as normal has evolved throughout the course of time.
Living in a diverse world should be something a person should be proud of. Getting to know a person’s culture and their beliefs should be a wonderful ability. Respecting one another is important, even though a lot of people still disregard that, which should discontinue. We should all start to learn how to make this world a better place,
‘Mother Tongue’ a story by Amy Tan tries to take us through the different events one should change the manner in which he or she uses language with the listeners. As the speaker, one should use the appropriate language for the right audience so as to avoid circumstances in which language barrier can occur. The language which Tan uses with her mother is quite different from the one she uses with her listeners when engaging in public or official talks. It is quite evident that when Tan was confronting the stock broker who wanted to con her mother she changes her diction which matched a sophisticated language from the one her mother used. Language becomes hectic when one is trying to fit in a language he or she can hardly talk (Diyanni 633-639).
The world as a whole is becoming more diverse. There is diversity in schools and in the workplace. People should understand that diversity is what makes the world go around. If all people had the same characteristics then the world would be a very boring place. Even though all human beings are the same in some ways, we are still culturally different. Cultural diversity lets us appreciate our differences. Different cultural groups have varying beliefs, customs, values, and a wide variety of characteristics that make them special. Cultural influences make people see the world differently and cultural diversity should be appreciated.