Language is not just a way we communicate; it is part of our cultural identity, and having the right to choose the language we wish, as a user of personal social services in essential to our basic rights. A country that has made steps to preserve its national language is Wales, through government legislations and incorporating the language into all public sectors successfully. As to be discussed there is extensive research that exists explaining why it is important to be able have the freedom to use a language of choice and how much it can affect people. Social workers work alongside the council and government to try and ensure the best results for the people of Wales. Both social workers and their employees have an important role to allow people they engage with to have a choice of language, as they have specific roles and responsibilities to uphold professional and ethical practice.
The welsh language has been kept alive with critical changes such as the rise of a strong community movement in the 1970s, passing of essential legislation such as the Welsh Language Acts of 1967 and 1993 and the establishment of a Welsh-medium television channel (Crystal, 2000, 129). Both English and Welsh is spoke in Wales and statistics show 20.8% of the population aged 3 and over could speak welsh in 2001 showing an increase from 1991 when the percentage stood at18.7% (Jones, 2012, 13). These statistics are encouraging for the continuation of welsh language for years to come.
The Welsh Language Act (1993) states that the English and Welsh should be treated on the basis of equality. It also states that all public sector providers are to prepare a Welsh Language Scheme and a Welsh Language Board is established, which has the duty of regulating th...
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...lsh Language Act 1993. Cardiff: Government Legislation
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In today’s society where an abundance of resources exists, social workers are often the entry point for people to access services. Therefore, it is imperative for social worker professionals to have a clear understanding of themselves in relation to the client from a cultural perspective. While the social work profession has always focused on social justice and oppression, it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that there was a conscious shift in the social work pedagogy to focus the social service practice on race, racism, and training the workforce in cultural competences. Later in the mid 1980’s, the tone of cultural competence would shift from race and racism to a more inclusive language, which includes a more robust list of all types
Wigglesworth, G., Simpson, J., Loakes, D. (2011). NAPLAN language assessments for Indigenous children in remote communities: Issues and problems. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 34(3), 320-343.
In “Why I Choose to Write in Irish, the Corpse that Sits Up and Talks Back”, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill argued for the survival of minority languages, especially her own Gaeilge (Irish) language. She compared the issue of preserving minority languages as important as the issue of the “preservation of the remaining rain forests is for biological diversity”. She fears that the death of minority languages and the dominance of English would “reduce everything to the level of most stupendous boredom”. (53) The author did not bash on the English language, only that if all other minority languages died and it was the only one that remained then the lack of diversity will just be plain dull.
West College Scotland [WCS] (2010). governmental influences, funding & the mixed economy of care [PDF] Available at West College Scotland, Education Care and Sciences, Health and Social Care Moodle Site; moodle2.reidkerr.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=9566
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Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.
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 is a means of communication and it varies from one community to another. Everyone has a mother tongue which depended on the family’s upbringing. A second language can be learned along the way. There are also instances where a person is born in a community that speaks two languages and therefore, had to learn both languages. The quality of the languages learned will be affected by how well the community speaks both languages. This can later develop into a new form of language. The essay describes the frustration of the author who felt rejected by different groups for speaking a different form of language. Her essay aims to gain sympathy from readers by seeing the issue from her point of view. Anzaldua attempts to achieve this in her essay by raising issues on identity and discrimination. She wanted to highlight that language is not determined by a country’s physical borders.
Social injustice is present in LADO work; however, linguists who work for LADO are not the perpetrators. An individual’s origin cannot be solely determined based on their language use. Lexical can be influenced from various reasons and easily adapted into an individual’s lifestyle. Linguists should not be given the burden to determine if a refugee is being truthful about one’s origin. For instance, in the guidelines it mentions how linguists should not be asked to make determinations about national origin, nationality or citizenship (414). In addition, linguists follow a folk linguistic mindset where applicants can be perceived as uneducated, based on their language usage. These conclusions have no evidence to support their analysis. For example, reports tend to give no indication on how an applicant speaks ungrammatically. Hence, linguists utilize these notions due to being pressured to carry out the role of distinguishing between whether a refugee is telling the truth or
Thompson, N (2003) Communication and Language: A handbook of theory and practice, Basingstoke; Palgrave MacMillan.
The world is filled with diverse people that have many different cultures. Throughout the years, culture along with many other factors changed the way linguistics evolved. This created evolved versions of how we understand language today. English changed to Englishes, literacy changed to multiliteracies and variation in languages is major. It’s important to note that the evolution of language was important for teachers to understand and connect with their students. Creating pedagogies that suit specific children and show students the importance of learning Australian standard English to be able to function well in Australia but also to keep any cultural English they may have and make sure they feel comfortable with their culture.
Ethnic minorities seeking services should have access to culturally sensitive social workers, who acknowledge and confront practical dilemmas when working with increasing numbers of culturally diverse people in the community. Professionals working with minority groups, “must provoke moral sensibility, political consciousness, and social action” (Aponte, Rivers, & Wohl, 1995, p. ix). It is imperative f...
Language plays an important in our lives, for children this is a critical time for them to learn how they can use language to communicate effectively from the when they learn through school and into adulthood. While a child goes through school they are exposed to Standard English, but there are diversities that appear in the classroom for example culture plays a part in language development. Gee and Hayes (2011) stated that there are many things that language can be including; a set of rules, a cognitive experience, a social tool or an object, but overall language is something that changed based on culture and social context. Acknowledging and accepting diversity in the classroom in relation to language and language learning is important