If you’re an American and want to sound like one, learn the language. Gloria Anzaldua was told to go back to Mexico if she did not like speaking Spanish. Gloria Anzaldua was not the only one to experience language discrimination. Minorities of ethnicity and language in America often face daily challenges due to their accent or language. We’ve seen how many US schools and other establishments strive for diversity in culture, but when the staff do not follow through on their goals, it’s hard believe. In one the most multicultural countries in the world, it’s shocking to see cultural diversity used to mask individualism. But in a multicultural-driven society that promotes the self-improvement of its members, accepting minority languages can help prevent feelings inferiority.
First, we are not defined by our language. The language we use does, however, play an important role in defining our personalities. Even those who speak the identical dialect have different cultural experiences and identities. Our language is viewed more positively by us than any other. It’s easy to say this, but not so easy to make someone feel less than because of their speech. Although people might make strong arguments regarding which languages sound better or are easier to learn, none of them allow people to effectively communicate.
She believes, going back to Gloria’s words, that language is important in our identity because it helps us unite and identify with each other. A melting-pot is a place where majority and minority groups are treated equally, but America has more of an enclave. Still, we must all value the language in which we communicate. We decide which language we will speak. It is not up to anyone else to tell us how to speak. All languages are able to express the beliefs, ideas and desires of the speakers in an expressive and formal way.
American schools provide a unique perspective on the strain caused by discrimination in terms of language. Language discrimination is a reality that will also affect the leaders of tomorrow. Gloria’s story is not unique. Linda Christensen who is an English professor and creates curriculums based on the lives of students and their voices, is also worried about this crisis. According to the students, those who are studying the linguistic history, her teacher is accustomed to “whitewashing” students of color and students with linguistic diversity. The fear or anxiety that arises when students are asked to complete tasks in a language they do not know is called Language Anxiety. Imagine that, a teacher is setting high standards for their students who are linguistically diverse.
The moment we start to understand our language, it becomes a part. How can we act as though it didn’t exist, when it is part of our lives? How can we ignore an important tool for our learning in order to understand something new? We aren’t sponges that can soak up everything. There is tension when we try to adapt our framework so that it will work with a different system. It takes time to learn a new language. No one should expect us all to be fluent in a day. We’ve worked hard to reach where we are.
The acceptance of people of different cultures is a better proof that multiculturalism would not have been possible if we had not accepted them. How can one accept the people of other cultures and be open to incorporating their culture into your own? If you do this, you are only able to befriend people you don’t like because of their money. Not for what they stand for or values that you may share. This is antipathy at its worst, as it’s contradictory. While it’s important to be able to listen and understand someone else, you also want other people’s opinions based on your ideas, not the accent. Empathy is a key factor in our lives. It helps us to grow and develop. When we are not supported by others, we can feel like we’re lost. We all need to feel empathy at some point in our lives.
Gloria and Linda are encouraging minority people to accept their differences and be proud of them. They encourage them to embrace the challenge and become bilingual. They also encourage others to accept people regardless of their speech. It is harmful to try and control the tongues of minorities, especially those who are still learning the language. Accepting each other’s personal differences and identities is important because we are all trying to be accepted.
Languages are the most effective way to understand the world. They give different ways of structuring thinking, solving problems. They contain a wealth of information, including geography, mathematics, astronomy navigation, pharmacology botany and meteorology. David Harrison, cofounder of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, says that no culture can claim to be the source of all human genius. Cherokee, for instance, was developed over many years of living in southern Appalachia Mountain. Cherokee words are available for each and every berry in the area.
George Steiner said: “When language dies so dies a method of understanding the universe, a manner of viewing it.” The future generations also lose the vital cultural component that they will need to understand a dying language. Languages convey unique cultures. We don’t distinguish between maternal and paternal grandparents in English. Swedish uses a different word to describe each grandparent. The words are: farmor for the father’s parent, farfar for the mother of that father, and mormor for mother’s parent.
Cherokee has its own unique expressions. In Cherokee, oo-kahhuh-sdee is used to describe the pleasant, sweet experience of a cute animal or baby. These things all convey a cultural aspect, a unique way of understanding human behavior and emotion. Without a language, the culture might be in danger of tumbling, or even worse, disappearing. We would never be able to recover languages like Cherokee.
It is therefore clear that we need a language if we want to survive as a culture, continue to grow and exist in the future. Languages carry human culture. In our history, the writing of words is relatively new. In my Western Civilization class, I discovered that only about a third of the world’s language have written systems. This means that the language is the most common way for a community to share its songs, stories, and poetry. The Odyssey and The Iliad were oral stories before they were written. How many more oral traditions do we not know about, because they were never recorded before the languages disappeared?
You can’t tell us that our language isn’t important. Our culture has made us the person we are. It is the responsibility of each person to respect their own language. We are responsible for deciding what language to speak. We shouldn’t let anyone dictate to us how we should speak. We have to accept that different people speak in different ways.