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comparing american and spanish culture
spanish culture vs american culture
spanish and american culture
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Language is a mean of communication in any given society. It represents the ability to evolve and progress through the ongoing process of living with other human beings. Many can perceive this instrument as tool of liberation and transformation but others as an instrument to enslave, manipulate or oppress a group of people. Whichever the case one need to acknowledge that it is necessary and not a waste of time the many different discussions about this ongoing topic regardless of the time period or social context any country might have. In Puerto Rico, there has been an ongoing dilemma about languages; Dr. Alicia Pousada examines on her essay what many might define “the language madness on the island”. Throughout this paper some of her most interesting ideas will be shared and discussed so that this already extended topic might find another page to take place.
Dr. Pousada starts by examining the historical development of English in Puerto Rico prior to 1898. Interesting as it is one might think that English language controversies started with the United States invasion to the island, but being able to explore further in a history not much talked about one can see that in fact “there was a long history of cross influence” between the U.S and Puerto Rico. Going way back to 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries when our very own “American Pirates” made illegal dealings with Puerto Ricans. Even at that time it is mentioned that a small elite group used the language in international affairs. It is very interesting noting that many native Puerto Ricans also fought for Spain in the war with England to defend the island. All those things apart, the sole purpose of the trading activity that took place between Puerto Rico and the United States b...
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...s all she says pointing at the idea that English teachers have the power to remove the unwillingness and resistance from their Puerto Rican students by being models of successful avid English language learners and users themselves. This is done by inspiring a proud feeling to their students for their first language, Spanish, and promoting the use of this language first so that they can appreciate and better learn a second not because of a hidden political agenda, but because it would add more to their overall knowledge. This is a great way to see English, not in the political sense but in a broader enriching and fun way that can expand further more outside of what is Spanish and add a feeling of self fulfillment given the idea that the individual is more prepared to communicate to an even bigger amount of other human beings.
Gloria Anzaldua, wrote the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” communicating and describing her adolescence in a society brimming with sexism, cultural imperialism, racism, low self-esteem, and identity formation. The reason one comes to America is to finer themselves academically, and intellectually. One must learn to speak English to live among the American’s, because that is the language they speak. Though, no one has the right to deprive you of your familiar tongue. At a young age, Anzaldua was scolded, even mistreated for speaking her native “Chicano” tongue. Anzaldúa described this ignorance, cruelty, and discrimination when she states: “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” She overcomes this hostility throughout her life.
In his essay, Rodriguez, a Mexican, reasons that when he is learning the new language, English, he faces the difficulty to balance his own native customs with the new culture he’s absorbing, causing him to slowly forget his own Mexican traditions. Since Rodriguez and his family now live in the United States, he decided that he should
The United States of America is regarded to many foreigners as the "land of opportunity". To many Puerto Ricans that still live on the island they view the mainland as just that. While other Puerto Ricans can't wait to return to their homeland. Many Puerto Ricans came to the United States because they believed they would not only find better jobs but a better education than on the island.
When we first start reading the poem we notice that all the Spanish words are surrounded by parentheses. This shows how the speaker is clearly not allowed to mix both languages together. Since she could only speak English outside and Spanish inside the house, the author adds these parentheses to show how her father does not like the mixing of both languages. “My father liked them separate, one there, one here (alla y aqui,) as if aware…” (386) According to LA Times, Maria Torres only allows her children to also speak English outside of the house, “If I hear them speak English in the house, I tell them no; only Spanish.” She also states that “It’s important they have a grasp of both languages.” This can show us that not only did people back then did not favor mixing both languages, but how many still have that same belief.
In the histories of Colonial Latin America there is one common aspect and that is the importation of slaves as a labor force. The resulting consequences for the territory are vital if we are to understand the development of the society. In Puerto Rico these consequences deal mainly with African influence on the peasantry, the corrective measures taken thereafter to negate the African influence, and the results of these corrective measures.
Puerto is a mixing pot of cultures that include a history of Native American roots, Spanish conquest and oppression. Puerto Rico has been the property of another nation for most of modern times creating a vast amount of unique cultural elements. All these facets contribute to its brief history.
The excerpt from “First muse” by Julia Alvarez is a story about her Dominican cultural background. Alvarez has been looked different based on her ability to speak English. Due to Alvarez not have a “Dominican education and her ability to speak English” bullied and teased. As a child Alvarez had told her mom that she does not want to just be the stay home wife who just cooks and cleans like every other wife she wants she does to be different, she wants to be more than just a stay home wife when she get older. It’s ok to know more than one language, but at the same time to should always stay truth to your cultural background/inherent. Just because Alvarez knows English does not make her a different Dominican girl because she knows Spanish too.
According to census research at Lehman College (1), during 1945 to the 1950’s more than half a million Puerto Rican natives migrated to several parts of the USA, originally from their own homeland, Puerto Rico. Several of the locations that Puerto Ricans migrated to include Chicago, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. One of the cities that experienced a large boom of Puerto Rican population was New York. This period was known as the “Great Migration” and had several factors that led to the mass migration. Some of these major events include the 1917 signing of the Jones-Shafroth Act by Woodrow Wilson, and the Great Depression. Afterwards, Puerto Ricans were permanent citizens of the US From these events. This still poses the questions as to why did a large portion of Puerto Ricans decide to migrate to the US, how did Puerto Ricans develop their identities in New York after the migration and what effect it had towards New York.
The Basques have struggled to keep language as the cornerstone of their culture. However, under Spanish rule this has been greatly challenged, especially in the 20th century. In the first decades of the last century, children caught speaking Basque in schools were beaten as a means to discourage the use and growth of the language. And while the majority of the...
Language is a fascinating tool that humans created as a means of communication. There are hundreds of different ones throughout the various cultures and regions around the world. Unfortunately, at the same time, language can cause separate borders between many various cultures. A great essay demonstrating this is How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldúa. Anzaldúa describes her feelings about the many cultural and social difficulties Mexican immigrants face in the United States. One brutal example is one of the author’s earlier experiences, “I [Anzaldúa] remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess-that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler. I remember being sent to the corner of the classroom for “talking back”
When island inhabitants first heard that Americans were planning on invading Puerto Rico and driving out Spain's rulers, Puerto Ricans welcomed the North Americans to their home. (To view an in-progress work dealing with the Spanish-American War from a pro-colonial expansion point of view, visit this site/ For an objective historical account view this site). The Puerto Ricans were tired of not having a voice in politics and government and with the knowledge that America was a democracy, there was hope that this status quo would change. Although Puerto Ricans felt sentiments of fear at the arrival of the Americans, this did not curb their welcoming and enabling the American invasion. Unfortunately, the outcome of the invasion was not as positive as was thought it would be. During early U.S. rule, Puerto Ricans still were not included in the majority of governmental relations, and as with Spaniards, Americans who were sent to rule in Puerto Rico had never been there before and were ignorant about the history, culture, Spanish language, etc. Basically, Puerto Rico continued being ruled by foreigners who sought to complete their own interests, as opposed to looking to what are the interests of the nation they are invading and ruling.
My parents decided to immigrate to the United States when I was six years of age. As we established ourselves in the United States, my first language was only Spanish. Spanish was the language that I was taught at home, and it was the only language to be spoken at home. Rodriguez describes when he first entered his classroom where he was introduced to a formal English-speaking context, writing that, ?I remember to start with that day in Sacramento-a California now nearly thirty years past-when I first entered a classroom, able to understa...
So I set out to learn the language people assumed I already knew.”. Continuing her education with spanish was not easy, it took a lot of effort and hard work. She benefitted a lot from doing so , she was able to speak spanish , not perfectly , but just good enough for those around her to understand. The only drawback was the looks those fluent speaker would give her when she stumbled over a construction. She then makes an interesting point that if she were a white man/woman, who was attempting to speak the language , they would automatically start applauding just for the amount of effort given.
The increased concern with different languages was obviously related to the World War but also to the major shift in the quantity of immigrants to America. For centuries, the United States of America has been considered the ultimate country where dreams are made and a place where everyone wants to migrate to for better living standards. It is argued that dialectally diverse nations need a standard language to permit mutual understanding and in a global society, for instance, it is the whole world that can benefit from a national language. French as well as Latin once took on this role as an international medium of communication and in this era, as well as the future years, English is and should be the global voice.
Languages have the ability to create concepts of self and the world around through exposure. People use languages in order to build upon cultures and cultural identities that then are used to define themselves as well as how they view the world. Multiple languages allow speakers to process the information in different ways, this can either enforce the belief of the individual or shatter them. Ander was a young man from the Basque region of Spain that I came to know over the summer from an exchange programme from my Spanish class. Ander spoke three languages, his interpretation of himself and view of the world through his Basque heritage remained the same in Spanish and Basque, but when he spoke English in America this heritage was of little consequence and not even worth defending. However, the ways in which different languages shape in their speakers different concepts of themselves and the world is limited due to the impacts of others perspective's and cultural influence. Ander had pride in his language due to the strong personal connections he held with the culture and the strong cultural pride that is ingrained in Basque speakers. Ander possessed bias about the Basque region and its independence as he was Basque. The Americans lacked this bias and their cultural exposure to the area was weak so when they expressed perspectives to Ander about his culture, th...