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The effects of cultural assimilation
Examples of assimilation in america
Relations between culture and education
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In the current landscape of culture in the U.S.A. many ethnic minorities find it difficult to give up their native languages to speak the English language, because they feel that they are losing a part of their culture. However, what they should realize is that by accepting the English language into their lives they are not losing a part of their culture, they are gaining a new identity for themselves and their culture. The most common reason for ethnic minorities’ fear of giving up their languages is fear that they are losing a part of their heritage and identity. They feel that without their native language they are not able to maintain their identity as well as they could have had they not forsaken their heritage. Gloria Anzaldua, a Spanish speaking ethnic minority, in her essay, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, claims that her language defines who she is. She states that “robbing” her of her language is comparable to war and is a violation of the constitution’s first amendment rights. Anzaldua attempts to convince the readers that their language directly impacts who they are. Thoughts such as these are hardly uncommon, but what the bearers of the ideas fail to realize is that their unwillingness to give up their native tongues creates certain inevitable problems. One of the biggest problems that a refusal to adapt to the English language brings is a significantly lower chance of success in America. While many would agree that a man’s culture and heritage in life are important, it is clear there are things of far greater importance in life. It is indisputable that a man’s life will be remembered mostly for the legacy he left behind, this includes how he looked after his family. If the man’s family were found to be lacking in ... ... middle of paper ... ...tions a desire to not adapt to the American culture and language. Fortunately, he states, thoughts such as these were forced out of his head by his teachers, and even there, instant success did not occur. What happened there was the reality of attempt and failure; steady growth is the only way to success in the American culture for ethnic minorities. Adapting and growing into the culture of America is essential for ethnic minorities, although the process may not be easy or appealing, it is the right thing to do. Becoming intertwined with the American culture is not reasonable just because it is beneficial but because it is the moral responsibility of immigrants to do everything in their power to be successful in this foreign and unknown land and to provide for their families. What may seem to be a loss in identity may prove to be the opportunity of a lifetime.
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
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.
Most people who grow up with a foreign language spoken in there house grow up with an advantage in society. This advantage can only occur once the individual learning that foreign language also learns the dominant language spoken in that country. Once both of these languages are learned and mastered, the individual has now placed them se...
It is true that the more people from different cultures that are in a given area, the more the cultures are diversified. However, with all realities, some claim that immigrants dilute the American culture. Indeed, they cause some changes to the culture. Nevertheless, these changes can bring a wealth of attraction and a source of beauty for the country that everyone should be proud of. It is obvious that every single immigrant in the US has his own culture and way of life. When all these are added together, they form a very rich culture. In addition, they bring various interesting aspects such as food, music, literature, etc. That makes the Americans rich in cultural knowledge. The importance of cultural diversity is that it teaches the people to understand each other’s views, interests, and ideas and helps people view the world in different ways. This would finally lead the society to work towards each other’s interest, mutual goals, and objectives. Tamar Jacoby in his article “Are Today’s Immigrants Assimilating in U.S Society, Yes,” he said that, “Those who are coming now are people who understand cultural fluidity, understand intermarriage and find that a natural, easy thing. This maintains unity and balances in the society” (411). Once this stage is reached, all the problems would be solved. Then it can be said that America has reached a true democracy, echoed by
While growing up, Drew watched his immigrant parents struggle to provide for his family. His parents worked hard to ensure Drew and his sibling received a good education. Drew never imagined living a lucrative life because of the struggle his parents endured. Drew’s parent was not able to speak fluent English. Due to this, Drew could feel obligated to make sure he learned English so he would not struggle like his parents. While in undergrad, Drew minored in Sociology. As a sociology minor, he took courses that primarily focused on race, class, and other aspects of sociology. These courses encouraged Drew to crave more knowledge about his culture and
...y to learn another culture, another language, to make themselves grow. We may lose our accents and regional dialects but allowing yourself to accept the dominant dialect may be the only way to share minds, cure society’s many problems, and embrace its advancements. The decline of the way of speaking can die out without sacrificing one’s culture and the ability to progress and realizing this guarantees success.
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.
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.
How to tame a wild tongue is an essay by Gloria Anzaldua. This essay focuses on the different types of Spanish people spoke, and in this case, Anzaldua focuses on losing an accent to adjust to the environment she was living in. The issue that was applied in this essay was that the Spanish she spoke wasn’t exactly considered “Spanish”. The essay was divided into different sections as where the author tries to let people know, her Spanish speaking language should be considered valid just like every other Spanish speaking language out there.
For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author describes the social, cultural and linguistic difficulties encountered in America as he attempts to assimilate to the American culture. Richard Rodriguez by committing himself to speaking English, he lost his cultural ties, family background and ethnic heritage.
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” author Gloria Anzaldua portrays all the negative aspects of having to dispose of her hispanic roots and taming her wild tongue to do so. She begins the article by describing her
While reading this article, one of the most shocking sections was 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.
In this interview, my respondent is a second-generation male immigrant, meaning that he has parents who immigrated to the United States while he was born and raised here (Feliciano Lec.1/4/16). I will be referring to my respondent as Geoff for the sake of his identity protection and I will be talking about how his parents came to the United States and I will be analyzing his assimilation process based on if there is any culture retention using lecture material and readings as a guide to explain this process.
In the article he wrote about how he was embarrassed by his parents because of the way they spoke. They did not speak English fluently or had much of an education. He did not want to be like them. He worked hard in his studies and blocked out the world. He wanted to be better. I remember a time in my life where I too was embarrassed to be seen with my parents and have them speak English. I am not sure why but I was. I guess I did not want people to associate me with them, my parents, and see me as less. I have always tried hard in school and try to do my best. A lot of the time is because I have the opportunity to, and my parents gave me
...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.