Frank Smith once said that “a language sets you in a corridor for life. [But acknowledging other] languages open every door along the way.” If thought deeply, you’ll realise that the languages in our presence aren’t just built grammar structures. And it’s more than just the use in our everyday lives. It’s the amount of benefits that we receive from such an ability. Asides from “work ethics” and “minimised travelling issues”, it also develops a reflection of one’s mental state; of the way we determine a certain person who speaks it.
If the Earth’s total population are all monolinguals right now, will we still have an economy that runs as triumphantly as our current economy? Luckily for us, the world’s ‘thriving economy’ continues its astonishing
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If we travel into an unfamiliar country with no acknowledgment of their particular language, will we still be able to arrive at our designated location with ease? Our map will become useless when we’re considered lost. Then, we’ll reach the point to where we will have to ask for directions from people who are likely to only speak a different language. Encountering the right person is the first objective, and it’s like finding the right fish from the right sea. And inside a ‘foreign’ speaking country, we would think that several people would have the ability to speak English fluently? We will likely receive natural reactions of being ignored, pointing fingers in all directions and essentially, indistinct speeches that’s difficult to understand. If we’re the ones who are local, we take for granted when an unfamiliarised tourist asks us for directions in English. When we hear poor accents and grammar, it could cause us to cringe frustratingly. However, if we’re a tourist in another country, people will be obliged when we have the ability to speak their foreign language, and we will receive more assistance than we are required. This makes traveling to destinations easier. When we get to destinations with more insight of how we should travel like a local bus or a person met that agrees to drive, the less money that we will have to spend compared to a taxi or a train. Especially
Language plays a huge role in everyday life- connotation, denotation, etymology, idioms- all of these things come into play. We as English-speakers sometimes have trouble understanding certain expressions or accents- imagine the Price family trying to decipher French and Kilangan.
Language is more than words and the ability to communicate. It allows the world to express thoughts and ideas, but along with that comes influence and authority—matter that run society. Language impacts society in various ways, both bad and good. Everyday life, even texts and films, portray the effect of language. Whale Rider, “The Myth of the Latin Woman”, and The Crucible demonstrate that language is power.
If we only knew and spoke English that would be all we would be able to study about. In our future all of the only English speakers would not be able to communicate with their families, due to the fact that they would only be able to speak English. The United States is a nation that is built by immigrants. Many argue that what makes America America are the different mix of cultures. If we bilingual speakers would approve it as our official language we would be selfish. We would just be thinking of about us and not the others surrounding us. If we sat down and though about all the difficulties they would have to face in the process of learning it; they would not be able to read anything so they would have to get help. They would not know if what they are doing or saying is right.
There are many bilingual and multicultural people in the world today. For many, the choices of which language they use, and how they use it, correspond to what social or cultural community they belong to. Amy Tan, a Chinese American novelist, portrays this well in her short essay "Mother Tongue." Tan grew up in two vastly different worlds, using different "Englishes." The first world, which consists of her close family, she speaks what we may call "broken" or "limited" English. The second world, which is her business and professional world, Tan speaks and writes perfect standard and academic English. Having to "shuttle" between these two communities with very different languages has had many different positive and negative effects on Tan, and many other multicultural Americans who deal with similar things. I myself speak different "Englishes" as I move back and forth between my family and society.
The American society is a melting pot of different cultures, race, and languages. Living in America does not mean that someone is a natural born American or a perfect English speaker. Many people who migrated to America face discrimination due to their inability to speak proper English. In her essay, “Mother Tongue,” author Amy Tan examines the various struggles she faces with her identity through language and the perspective American society has on Asian-American immigrants.
Marquez states in her article that, “It’s not meant to be rude to others… We know that, to get ahead here, one must learn English. But that ought not mean that somehow we must stop speaking in our native tongue whenever we’re in a public area, as if we were ashamed of who we are, where we’re from”(512). While most immigrants know that English is the common language of this country and one of the most common language used in international business, many kept their language through the first and second generation. Bilingual people speak in their language so that their cultural roots would not vanish and so they can show respect to their ancestors.
The word language is most often associated with speech, yet it is also closely related to power. While many see language as a tool of unification and empowerment, it is also used to silence others. Society gives advantages to individuals that speak the dominant language, and those who are not fluent, are victims of social pressures such as ridicule, harassment, and isolation. Language gives individuals the power to manipulate and oppress others. Oppression occurs when one group has power over another group, and use that power to manipulate. Language gives dominant groups the power to oppress minority individuals through segregation, assimilation and hierarchies.
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Have you ever wondered who taught you to talk the way you do? People learn to talk and express themselves everyday of their lives. Starting from the day you were born you used language or some form of it to communicate with those around you. As a baby you usually show your displeasure with your new surroundings by crying, and if you don’t the doctor will make sure you do. Everyday we express our point of view to others in some form of language. Whether it is through verbal communication, written discourse or through body language, you can tell if a person is upset, angry, or happy. We as human beings don’t realize how much language has to do with our lives. How can you determine if one of your friends is angry with you? Is there a different tone to their voice? Do they have a stern look on their face? Of course they do, your friend feels the need to express their anger to you by these different forms of language. Where do we learn to use these different forms of language? How are our uses of these languages shaped? The three main contributing factors to how we express ourselves through language come from our schooling, our friends, and most of all from our families.
An individual is constructed through many aspects , whether it be their likes/dislikes, personalities, goals or self assigned origin(s), etc. One of these aspects that help build up and sketch an individual is the language they choose to speak. This does not simply include choosing between English or French but choosing or learning to speak high/low language, or the type of slang one uses, and even the rules that are set up with that language the individual has obtained.
Having the ability to speak multiple languages can give people the upper hand when learning and experiencing new cultures; however, being monolingual can help in today 's society. Although having the ability to communicate in different languages can be helpful, being monolingual is not a disadvantage due to the ability to communicate in today 's new and modern global world through the language of English.
Language shift can happen for a number of reasons which include economic, political and social factors. Also, the attitudes of the individuals using the language play a crucial part in why a language shift may happen. Individuals within a community may decide to learn another language to find employment. There may be a dominant language present within a community that will benefit individuals when looking for employment. An example of this would be, Maniben whose first language was Gujerati. However, in order to get a job she needed to be able to speak English. She then started to use English more often than Gujerati. Maniben was fluent in two languages which means she is bilingual. Therefore, Maniben faced an economic factor as to why she shifted language (Holmes, page 53). The opposite of bilingual is monolingual. This is when people are only able to speak one language. Britain is an example of a country that is mostly monolingual as the there is only one dominant speaking language. There is also multilingual. This is when individuals within a country can speak two or more languages. This is becoming more popular around the world with many people being able to speak more than one
...countries where we are physically noticeable as foreigners, I believe that by knowing how to speak the local language, we could prevent the locals from isolating themselves from us too much. This shows how we take action in respecting foreign languages as well (Hudson, 1984). I believe that gaining knowledge of foreign languages is a part travelling too, as we are venture ourselves to experience a part of their culture.
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.
In order to visualize the “global” as an adjective in the collocation “global language”, a study has shown the numbers of people speaking the language. According to them, there are about 6000 languages in the world and not surprisingly English is at the top of the list of most dominant. In the world there are 375 million first-language speakers, approximately the same number of second-language speakers and about 750 million foreign-language speakers (David Graddol, The Future of English? A Guide to Forecasting the Popularity of the English Language in the 21st Century. British Council, 1997). According to magazine Economist, more than one billion people speak some form of English. These numbers could make people think that English is really conquering the world which can be both positive and negative.