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More handpicked essays just for you.
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To Mock or not to Mock: Cristian Ortiz APECHS To Mock or not to mock? The answer would be nothing less than a simple don’t. Mocking can ruin someone's confidence and drastically affect them especially if they have a hard time speaking for whatever circumstance. Whether they are speaking a second language or simply have problems with stuttering or any other linguistic problems, speaking from experience when I was more self-conscious it was hard enough without any jerk mentioning it. However, every now and then I still get a hard time for my accent even if I may have a better vocabulary and overall English knowledge than whoever that brings it up. However, after a couple of years, as I've become better at English, I've stopped listening to anyone who tries to mock me as similar to Safwat Saleem, an artistic, independent animator, from Pakistan, have learned to overcome those who bring up our problem. Don’t try to be normal and change instead be yourself and ignore the rest, is the theme for Safwat Saleem’s Ted Talk (2016), “Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent.” By elaborately using Pathos and imagery, Saleem (2016) used his personal experience as a strong stand for his argument by …show more content…
Things such as expecting; “a black student has spelling errors,” or “We think it is normal when a female or minority student does not succeed. And we think it is normal that a white employee is a better hire than a black employee” Saleem (2016) began to come towards a conclusion that one can accept how society sees normal which is; “normal is good, and anything outside of that very narrow definition of normal is bad.” or one can; “challenge that pre-existing notion of normal with my work and with my voice and with my accent and by standing here on stage, even though I'm scared shitless and would rather be in the
For example, it has been said many times in multiple different ways that academic success is typically associated with certain races and not others. This is a very stereotypical comment and it is sad that these types of judgements are present in the educational system. In Beverly Daniel Tatum’s essay entitled, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” she discusses how self-segregation occurs in the education system today. Tatum touches on that the possible reasons that students tend to socialize with students of the same racial identity as themselves are cultural stereotypes. It is understandable that a student in order to avoid judgements would want to be around others who understand them and know what they are going through at school. A possible and very hurtful example of judgement that may cause students of color to flock together is that “doing well in school becomes identified as trying to be White,” (Tatum). A student in today’s education system undergoes enough stress as it is and they should not have to be worried with racial protocols. Why is being advanced and thriving in school only to be considered a White characteristic? I know plenty of White students who are struggling with passing classes and I also know several overly intelligent latinos, black and Asians. I am sure that I am not the only student to think that this unspoken rule that you
Throughout history society has created many stereotypes and assumptions based on race and nationality to confine us into categories. The reality is, not every individual fits a specific category because we are unique even within the same ethnic group. In “On Being Told I Don’t Speak Like a Black person” Allison Joseph illustrates some speech stereotypes that come hand in hand with her racial background and how even people from the same racial background and house hold don’t all sound alike. The author portrays that race and linguistic has such a huge impact on our daily life and how society sees her differently to others when they see she does not fit in the stereotype of sounding “like a black person” and feels frustration to being compared
“The Contact Zone”, is defined by Mary Louis Pratt as “the space in which transculturation takes place – where two different cultures meet and inform each other, often in highly asymmetrical ways.” Pratt describes what she calls ‘contact zones’ and elaborates on the pros and cons of these cultural interactions. She sees the contact zone as a place that allows people to exchange cultural ideas and break down the dividing cultural borders. When a contact zone is started, people are able to interact on new levels gaining a new perspective because they are able to collaborate with people from foreign cultures. If you are always with people of the same culture as you, you become used to hearing everything from the same perspective. With a new perspective, you can see your culture from a different point of view and reanalyze the logic behind your cultural traditions. Every ethnic/ religious/ regional/ cultural group has its high and low points, and it is just as important to learn about the low points as it is to learn about the highs. Gloria Anzaldua’s essay, “how to tame a wild tongue”, focuses on the ideas of losing an accent or native language to conform to the dominant culture.
Have you ever been to another country, state, or even city and realized how different your accent may be? Have you been asked to repeat a word or phrase that you may say differently? Sometimes we were asked for a good laugh, but that’s not always the case. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, both authors use personal narrative to demonstrate how their lives and identity are affected by their language and culture.
In today's society, stereotyping is a very typical thing people do. It’s normal for us to
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
Saleem had said “I’ve come to understand that normal has a lot to do with expectations.” What Saleem means by this is that if you’re normal, people will have solid expectations for you. This goes back to how color is important in ancient Greek culture and how it’s a part of their normal. This being said that ancient Greeks would only use certain colors in their writings or drawings, if they were able to make the color then they were able to use it in their art, but if they couldn’t make the color they wouldn’t use it. Saleem had said that the ancient Greeks couldn’t make the color blue because it wasn’t a part of their normal, if the color wasn’t makeable then it’s not normal to make that color other than if you can make that color then you as an individual are
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
"Why did she sing when she can’t even pronounce the words right? Haha that F.O.B. is so stupid!" These were the haunting words that I overheard my classmate utter to her friend as I was walking off the stage from my solo singing performance, cold sweat trickling down my face and warm tears welling up as my vision got blurry. These words remained etched in my memory as I was constantly reminded of the fact that I needed to improve my American accent to conform and assimilate into the American society.
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
The first and second year after moving from China to the United States, I was afraid to talk to strangers because my English was not very well. I had to depend on my husband for dealing with my personal business, such as making a doctor’s appointment, calling to the bank, or questioning to DMV officers. Douglass says, “being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart” (62). For myself, being a dependent and helpless adult is a shame. Moreover, I lacked of extra money to go to school to improve my English. Thus, I stayed home all the time to avoid embarrassment of talking to strangers. After a while, I realized that improving English speaking skills are the essential to gain my self-confidence. So, I spent time to read various articles on the internet and watched English dialogues’ videos on YouTube. As a non-English speaking immigrant living in the U.S., I inevitably encountered a series of difficulties to integrate myself into a new
Being born into a social class is something that every person should be proud of. You see it in all types of classes. People take pride in who they are and where they come from. Nobody is normal, because their is a uniqueness in all of us that separates ourselves from each other. Although a lot of times we look at the middle-class as being normal, the same can be said for the lower and upper classes. In our own eyes we are normal, but to others, we are always going to look somewhat different. As long as TV continues to run programs depicting "all-American" families, and the majority of our nations population remains in the middle-class, we will always look at the hard-working man, his wife, kids, dog, and cozy house as being the definition of normal in this country.
Brown believes that if a person does not open up himself, then he will not connect with other people on level passed the surface. As I have learned through my Ethnographic Research course, vulnerability has the power to transform an embodied text and to knock at people’s perception of themselves. I have continued to notice when an ethnographer is distant from their text and hesitant to connect on a deeper level. As a result, the ethnographic text lacks the ability to evoke response or limits the influence of the journey on the audience. While there a lot of risk and even pain with exposing one’s emotions through vulnerability, there is even more rewards. Brene Brown is inspiring as a speaker because in addition to developing a strong argument on the power of vulnerability; she has the unique quality of perfectly models her message. Brown expressed in her Ted Talk that she spent a whole year struggling with vulnerability. Speaking about her journey Brown openly admitted, “vulnerability pushed, I pushed back. I lost the fight but probably won my life back… What are we doing with vulnerability?” If she was talking about vulnerability, but was unable to show something of herself, her message would have fallen short. However, Brene Brown not only shows us with her words and her research how influential authenticity is, but she demonstrates it to us on a human level. While I was already aware that vulnerability is an important characteristic to tap into, Brene Brown is an inspiration for how anyone can challenge himself or herself to become even more
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.