“Foreign” Language A different language is a different vision of life. In Sista Tongue Lisa Kanae discusses the social history of creole languages, specifically “Pidgin”. She intertwines a personal story about her younger brother Harold, who was a later talker and stigmatized for not speaking Standard English. Within Sista Tongue is the excerpt “Some Light on the Problem of Bilingualism As Found from a Study of the Progress in Mastery of English Among Preschool Children of Non-American Ancestry in Hawaii” written by Madorah E. Smith in 1939. Smith claimed children of Non-American ancestry in Hawaii are “retarded” in language development. According to Smith, none of the racial groups studied attained the use of sentences at the age of six years old compared to Caucasian children. Kanae utilizes Smith’s excerpt to connect the social history of creole languages and Harold’s story. Although the excerpt clashes with Kanae’s argument of unfair stereotypes forced upon “Pidgin” speakers, she challenges Smith’s research and proves her claims are ignorant assumptions. …show more content…
The excerpt written by Smith is the complete opposite of Kanae’s argument, and it perfectly fits in Sista Tongue.
It supports her argument of “Pidgin” speaker stereotypes. Smith insists the Non-American children were underdeveloped because they were bilingual. Kanae states people assume bilingual individuals are lower in intelligence than Standard English speakers. She discovers flaws in Smith’s study and uses the social history of creole language to refute her claims. The excerpt also adds perspective on Harold’s story. People assumed Harold was retarded because he could not speak English properly. It gives readers insight on their experiences as society ridiculed Harold’s
speech. Smith’s research concluded ethnic children’s language skills were underdeveloped compared to Caucasian children. She did not take into consideration the native children were not exposed to Standard English. The children were taught their native language and interacted with people who spoke similar languages. Kanae uses Smith’s mistake and explains how “Pidgin” was a result of working class ethnicities attempt at solidarity. During this time period working class ethnicity’s first language was not Standard English. Overtime they encountered different cultures and learned their native tongue rather than English. Kanae uses Smith’s excerpt to her advantage. Instead of allowing Smith’s research to overpower her writing it enhances Kanae’s argument of stigmatizations against bilingual individuals. Throughout Sista Tongue she proves Smith’s research is biased and non-factual. The excerpt is an important component to the book. It provides insight on bilingual individuals’ experiences as Non-Standard English speaking citizens and allows readers to connect with her on an emotional level.
“Standard English was imposed on children of immigrant parents, then the children were separated from native English speakers, then the children were labeled “inferior” and “ignorant” (Hughes 70) because they could not speak Standard English. In addition to feeling inferior about their second language skills, these students also felt inadequate in regard to speaking their own mother tongues” (qtd in Kanae)
The writings of Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez’s depicts a bilingual story based on two differing culture. On Mother Tongue, “Tan explores the effect of her mother’s “broken” English on her life and writing” (506). On the other hand, Richard Rodriguez “recounts the origin of his complex views of bilingual education through Public and Private Language” (512). From a child’s eyes, Tan and Rodriguez describe each joys and pain growing up in a non-English speaking family. Hence, may be viewed that cultural differences plays a major role on how one handles adversities.
Many people because of their heritage or culture are stereotyped as being uneducated, uncultured, unmannered and many more negative things.. An example of a race that is often stereotyped as uneducated are Hispanics. In Always Running by Luis Rodriguez, he writes, “I'm writing a book”.... It took me forever to finish a page, but I kept at it in between my other activities. By then I actually had a quarter of a ream done...in my case though I didn’t know how to write or paint... ”
Lisa Delpit’s book, “The Skin We Speak”, talked about language and culture, and how it relates to the classroom. How we speak gives people hits as to where we are from and what culture we are a part of. Unfortunately there are also negative stereotypes that come with certain language variations. There is an “unfounded belief that the language of low income groups in rural or urban industrial areas is somehow structurally “impoverished” or “simpler” than Standard English” (Delpit 71). The United States is made of people from various cultures and speak many different variations of languages. As teachers we must be aware of some of the prejudices we may have about language and culture.
Language is an important part of who we are. It influences the way we think and behave on a great scale. However, sometimes it is forced upon us to go in different directions just so we can physically and mentally feel as if we belong to the society in which we live in. Just as we see in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, both authors faced some challenges along the way by coping with two different languages, while still trying to achieve the social position which they desired.
Language Matters. Third ed. Southlake: Fountain Head, 2010. 148-58. Print.
The author began the story by using a metaphor, she compares the process of acculturation to a painful dentist visit where the dentist is trying to control and hold down her tongue, which is a representation of her language (Anzaldua 8). She appeals to the readers by using a clever metaphor comparing her tongue to freedom of speech or language, and the dentist to the oppressors of her culture and language the people who are apart of the dominant culture. Anzaldua also discusses how different cultures and influences determine which language people use to speak to one another. Anzaldua herself writes, “ Often with Mexicanas and Latinas we’ll speak English as a neutral language” (Anzaldua 8). Anzaldua’s point is that it is difficult to know which language to speak when feeling afraid or ashamed of what others may think. Moreover, Anzaldua discusses problems such as not being allowed to speak her native language. She writes about remembering as a child how during school speaking Spanish was forbidden and being caught speaking it would mean you would be reprimanded. Anzaldua writes “ I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess--that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler” (Anzaldua 5). In making this comment she is showing us that throughout the school day you’re
In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to those who were unable to understand her mother’s broken english. She tells about her mother’s broken english and its impact on her communication to those outside their culture. Her mothers broken english limited others’ perception of her intelligence, and even her own perception of her mother was scewed: Tan said, “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mothers ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.” (419) The use of standard english was a critical component to Tan’s assimilation into American culture. Standard English was an element she acquired to help her mother but more importantly is was an element that helped in her gain success as a writer. Tan changed her ‘Englishes’ (family talk) to include standard English that she had learnt in school and through books, the forms of English that she did not use at home with her mother. (417-418) Tan realized the ch...
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.
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.
Tan’s essay does more than just illuminate the trouble with language variations; her essay features a story of perseverance, a story of making a “problem” harmonize into a “normal” life. Almost like a how-to, Tan’s essay describes an obstacle and what it takes to go above and beyond. Mirroring Tan, I have been able to assimilate “the [world] that helped shape the way I saw things” and the world that I had to conform to (Tan 129). Life is a struggle, but what makes it worth it is the climb, not what is on the other side.
The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan’s primary care giver, her mother was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan’s writing style. Being raised by her mother taught her that one’s perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people’s perceptions of one another are based largely on the language used.
Many educational psychologists believe children from segregated ethnic groups perform poorly in school because of verbal deprivation. Verbal deprivation is a theory stating that Negro children do not receive verbal stimulation. It is a common belief that Negro children “cannot speak complete sentences, do not know the names of common objects, and cannot form concepts or convey logical thoughts” (Labov). Unfortunately, individuals did not take into consideration that educational psychologists are not well versed in the study of language. They also are not familiar with Negro children and the quality of their environment. In William Labov’s article” The Logic of Non-Standard English”, he critiques methods used to understand the language and the
...rough language after being unable to become multilingual due to apartheid, and de Houwer mentions how children become bilingual mainly because their environment is bilingual. For Noah, his world forced him to be monolingual despite being raised by multilingual parents. The credibility of this source is questioned since a comedian’s job is to make the audience laugh, not necessarily to tell the truth. It would help if these stories came from a biographical source to see if they are factual. The stories may be suspicious but the ideas presented in his performance are reasonable and not farfetched. More than anything, this primary source gives me a more personal account of the impact of language. I intend to use this source with de Houwer’s to show how raising a bilingual child is much easier and effective than letting one search for his or her identity as a grown man.
...ents go on addressing them in their natural language, but the children reply in English. What the children of immigrants end up with is not a compromise, not a blend. They end up pure and simple with the language and culture of their peers” (pg. 30).