Language today is a very misleadingly complex subject. Many people do not tend to see how it can be complicated; rather they think it is just the way we communicate and not much more. However, as any anthropological reader knows, it goes far deeper than that. One of the many other aspects of language is that it causes people to be brought together. A lot of international freshman tended to congregate with people from their own country when they first arrived at the University of Michigan, partially because they felt more comfortable speaking their native tongue and felt a sense of similarity in their group. This can be seen in any place where diverse groups of people are thrown together. It provides a sense of home, a way to make them feel less awkward and bring their culture to a new place.
While language sometimes brings people together as above, another aspect is that it can actually be a barrier. When attempting to relocate to a foreign nation, if a traveler does not have a good grip on the respective language, than they can be immediately outcast as a tourist. Every local who starts speaking to them will recognize that this person is an outsider. The stores, malls, and even menus at fast food restaurants will all be incomprehensible and make traversing the country extremely difficult. Travelers such as this can fall prey to stereotypes which lead to a troubling experience if they happen across the wrong crowd.
Two books where these and many other aspects of language can be thoroughly explored are Guests of the Sheik:An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Black Mecca:The African Muslims of Harlem by Zain Abdullah. Fernea comes to Iraq with her husband (Bob) on their honeymoon. Bob had lived there...
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...rted and people nodded. I was obviously slow-witted as well as lazy.” They take her silence during conversations not only as a fault in her ability to speak the language, but in her intellectual capability to follow their jokes and teasing. Their response to her food and her struggle to make good conversation is both cruel and unnecessary. It serves as a paradigm for the typical close-minded responses anyone with a language barrier encounters. Unfortunately, not everyone is as friendly and open as Mohammed.
On a related note, Abdullah has had his own brushes with those impatient to the linguistically challenged. He asserts that:
Black residents often read this reluctance or hesitance to respond, not to mention other avoidance strategies such as Africans averting their eyes when passing Blacks on the street, as not only rude but also demeaning. [Abdullah 2010:61]
Sedaris’s inability to speak the language is also subtly hinted in Genetic Engineering where we are shown the distance between his world and his father’s world. His father, an engineer, speaks the language via a technical lense, while Sedaris does not. This irreconcilable difference led to the situation where Sedaris “tried to creep by unnoticed” (36) which goes show how disconnect in communication led to avoidance or social isolation. A similar event also occurs in Go Carolina when Sedaris mentions that his fellow speech therapy classmate “were all a little quieter” after realizing the “problem” with how they speak (12). In Jesus Shave, the language barrier became the main obstacle for Sedaris to convey his beliefs to someone different from him. This not only shows his inability to connect with others around him due to language but how it leads to conflict with his teacher in accepting French culture. Ultimately, it is impossible for an individual to have a sense of belonging or connection with others if he or she does not speak the language as it is one form of identity that is communicable to
There are two forms of languages; public and private. The "private" language only spoken with family and close intimate relationships. The "public" language used in society, work, and school. Both of these help form two identities, that help us connect and communicate with one another. In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and also in the article “Speech Communities” by Paul Roberts ,we will see how both private and public language demonstrate how we view, and grow from each language.
...er to question their sense of language superiority and adaptability. The reader is introduced to a huge variety of characters, all with their own attitudes about language. The issue of language, however, is not simply a matter of English, French, or Kilangan. Age plays a role in understanding certain aspects of language, as does attitude- towards others or one’s self.
The biggest difficulties Tan described in her reading are the ones related to her mother’s “broken English,” Tan felt ashamed of her mother’s English. She believed that “[her mother’s] English reflected the quality of what [her mother] had to say.” Native English speaker pretended not to understand nor even one word from Tan’s mother. In her reading, Tan describes a situation where her mom went to the doctor to pick up some test results and the doctors told Tan’s mother they lost her results, the doctors didn’t even apologize to Tan’s mother. After a while asking the doctors to call her daughter, Tan’s mother made Tan ask for the results, and magically the doctors apologize and told Tan they were going to do their best to find the results. If Anzaldua would have a chance to read Tan’s essay, Anzaldua would described Tan’s mother situation as a “linguistic terrorism.” According to Anzaldua “linguistic terrorism” is the “repeated attacks on our native language diminish our sense of self.” Again, tolerance and immigrants seem not to fit in the same sentence, but what is interesting is that Domenico Maceri, a U.S writer, in his essay “America’s Languages: Tower of Babel or Asset?” he claims that “Learning English is important
Language is part of the few benefits that immigrants bring with their culture. United States benefits from cultures of the many immigrants that migrate to the U.S. the variation of different languages brings great benefit to the U.
When it comes to languages- language is a major role that helps us communicate. Whether it's solving an issue or informing one another. In society, language can either make you feel as if you're apart of a civilization or it can make you feel isolated if you don't speak it the proper way. In the article, Se Habla Español, by Tanya Maria Barrientos, Barrientos talks about how growing up Hispanic and not being able to speak her native language (Spanish) was very challenging. Barrientos came to America from Guatemala in the year of 1963 at the age of three. Since then, Barrientos wasn't able to speak her language due to her parents assimilating into the American culture. Back then, America wasn't the most accepting country. Anyone who identified themselves as Mexican American or Afro American was viewed and considered dangerous radicals. Barrientos parents just wanted Barrientos to grow up, living outside of the American stereotype of minorities. Another writing that supports my accusation about how language and physical appearance can make a person feel isolated is Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. Tan expresses that her mother is Chinese and she speaks what Americans called "Broken English". According to http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=broken+english "Broken English is a "Incorrect or awkwardly structured English, usually spoken or written by non-native speakers." "Broken+English." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
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.
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.
The influence of our inherited cultural and linguistic heritage is perhaps less influential than the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the society we live in. The societal forces of our personal micro-environments largely impact who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we speak.
The difference in languages can cause different perceptions of various cultures leading to distinctions or possible clashes. When I lived in France I faced some of the problems a language barrier can cause. The most common and at the same time most irritating problem of language is the inability to translate word for word as some words just don’t have a direct translation into another language. These are normally colloquialisms for example “up the apples and pears” does not translate into “monter les pommes et les poires.” This would cause people to look at you in a very strange manner wondering what on earth you were talking about and it’s not only verbal language which creates different perceptions of people. Body language, such as hand movements and voice intonation can determine or change someone’s perception of a culture. The following paragraphs will illustrate the way language can be misconstrued.
Language is the main way to communicate with others, and when a foreigner comes to a new country, the communication is the major thing he has to deal with. According to the text, “the first is so obvious it hardly needs mentioning-language. Vocabulary, syntax, idioms, slang, dialects, and so on, all cause difficulties, but the person struggling with a different language is at least aware when he is in this kind of trouble” (p. 69). Language is an obvious blockade in a cross-culture communication, because of the different grammar, words, slang, and so on. If a person knew the language of that country, at least he could know when he is in the trouble and what kind of the trouble, and I perceive this as the most important thing, to be able to understand. The difficulty of learning a language, is not only know the vocabulary and syntax, but the actual meaning of the sentences. I totally agree with this stumbling block of cross- culture communication, due to my experience of being an international student who studies in another country. When I wanted to come to the
Stagni (1987) Slips of the tongue in Arabic. In M. Eid (Ed.), Perspectives on Arabic linguistics: Papers from the annual symposium on Arabic linguistics, volume I, Salt Lake City, Utah. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
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.
Therefore, this is able to encourage the ability to communicate and appreciate the depth and diversity of the world. Communication with two different countries, or three, or four, will further bring the world closer together, in hopes of closing the divide between some countries. By learning a second language, it can significantly broaden your native language as it gives you stronger vocabulary skills, improved literacy skills and a better understanding of the grammar and construction of your own native language. Furthermore, this can help you in other educational studies. Though it is possible to travel to another country without acquiring the native language, the experience you will have is greatly diminished as you will not see beyond the surface of their culture. Additionally, knowing the native language makes travelling easier, by being able to order meals in restaurants, ask and understand directions. Additionally, it makes it easier to find accommodation, it’s more enjoyable, informative and more satisfying. You are able to further understand and appreciate international literature, music and films, by being able to understand word plays, innuendoes, cultural references, metaphors and further improve your ability to speak the
It’s hard to deny that multilinguals tend to make more friends than unilingual people do. Multilingual ability allows people to make not only local friends, but also foreign ones. To multilingual speakers,