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Eldren Sparks

Professor Relerford

English 104

28 October 2017

Essay 2

What are some of the things that make you different from everyone else? Regardless of

the answer to that question, your culture had a gigantic influence on shaping you to be who you

are today! According to Live Science, culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a

particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and

arts. Language and culture need each other like flowers need bees. Without language, culture

wouldnt even be able to be passed down from generation to generation.

Language and identity go hand and hand for many reasons. Humans use their language to

communicate things such as emotions and beliefs. The importance of this is backed by the first

amendment that gives freedom of speech. My belief is similar to that of John Edwards, personal

and group identities embrace one another; I believe speaking a certain language puts you in a

select group (2). Since languages tend to come with certain phrases, people that speak similar

languages may share comparable experiences. Lena Ampuda reflects back on a memory that she

has and puts an emphasis on her grandmas language (94). As well as the identical experiences,

people that speak the same language tend to also have similarities in race, beliefs, diet,

experience and so on, just because often times relation helps to make people feel closer. This

connects those people and also defines them individually. In addition, language is one of the first

things other people use to identify you. Simple things such as misuse of a word or poor grammar

can leave someone with the impression that you may not be very intelligent. Language, often
times is how people assume where race and homeland. How other people perceive us is part of

our identity as well.

The first language that I learned was English. I was raised in a household with parents

that practiced two completely different forms of English. My mom mostly speaks as she would at

a business meeting, always calling me out when I make a grammatical error while speaking.

Then completely on the other side of the spectrum, there is my dad, he is most likely where I

picked most of my grammatical errors up from. When my dad talks around the house he says just

enough so you can understand him but it isnt a complete sentence and he makes sure to throw

slang in there as well. Whenever having a conversation either one of them I would speak how

they would and in doing so my ability to code improved. The second language I learned or my

heritage language is Spanish. I am not completely fluent in Spanish but I read, write and

comprehend at an above average level. I owe this to my mom and aunts, who speak Spanish, and

school.

When it comes to language the school system has several responsibilities, one of those

being to teach students academic English. Students should use academic English for

educational purposes because then they will get in the habit of writing in a professional manner.

It is the students job to balance the language that he learns at school and his culture. It is a

constant struggle to classify the appropriate times to use one or the other in professional and

unprofessional settings. In most cases, what is taught is already what the student is accustomed

to but in some cases, it isnt. For the students that have to balance both, it is asked if those

students can success academically without compromising their culture. The key in doing so is

being confident in who theyre. As well as teaching writing using academic English, schools

teach students how to communicate using a standard English as well. I personally believe that
everyone in America should learn standard English. This isnt realistic for many reasons one of

them being that everyone will not agree that this is true but if there was a standard English in

America, everyone would be able to easily communicate with each other. The difference in

language is also what makes America special, you have the freedom to advertise their culture

through different languages.

Cultural identity isnt forgotten while maintaining dominant culture. As previously stated,

there are certain places in the US where you can be more submerged in your culture than others

such as China town. Even if you arent completely submerged in your culture, that doesnt mean

you completely lose yours. Theres always things you can do such as listen to music of your

culture, dress in garments of your culture, eat the foods of your culture and still speak the

dominate language of your culture when with family and friends that speak it too. In some cases,

due to oppressive language people may want to forget their cultural identity. Oppressive

language is using certain words or phrases with a negative connotation to group people. An

example of oppressive language would be stereotypes. Stereotypes are just a reflection of the

hate, against certain cultures, that is in America. It isnt necessary to change who you are to be

successful in America but since English is the main language, it is important to understand how

to properly speak. Someone that is under the medias microscope, that has handled success and

stayed true to their culture is, Cardi B. Even with her recent success with song Bodak Yellow,

that peaked Billboard number one, she made a Latin version. She is a person in the public eye

that is a good example of staying true culture and handling success for many reasons other than

dedicating a song to her culture by changing the language

In conclusion language and culture are tied together because of the simple fact that

language is a part of cultural background, it adds to your beliefs. Identity is shaped by the
language you speak, what values you hold, religion, upbringing and personality. Your family

heritage is a huge part of who youre because the people youre raised around, affects how your

lifestyle is. As you grow older, you become more individually stable but even still, you either

hold belief in what you were taught or the opposite. For foreigners, it may feel as though theyre

being forced to assimilate but to Americans, it is simply helping them accustom.


Work Cited

Edwards, John. Language and Identity: an Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Green, David F. Gumbo Ya Ya: Tapping Cultural Stories to Teach Composition. Visions and
Cyphers, Inprint Editions, 2016, pp. 93104.

Zimmermann, Kim Ann. What Is Culture? | Definition of Culture. LiveScience, Purch, 12 July
2017, www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html.

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