Language And Bias In Language

All languages are important and realizing it will make you become a stronger, more diverse human being. We need take make an effort not only for ourselves but for other citizens living in the United States who don’t speak English; we need to make them feel welcomed into our country. Marjorie Agosín described that,”here in the United States, where I have lived since I was a young girl, the solitude of exile makes me feel that so little is mine, that not even the sky has the same constellations, the trees and the fauna the same names or sounds, or the rubbish the same smell. These are the dilemmas of one who writes in Spanish and lives in translation”(Agosin 599). Agosín has lived in the United States for quite some time now, yet still feels like she is living a life through “translation”. She should not feel this way, Agosin should feel apart of our country and feel as if she is a citizen. It is important for us to take a stand now to make language become apart of the curriculum within our school systems starting in Kindergarten, so that our children have a more diverse life filled with opportunities. One thing we know about the future for sure is that we will still have our knowledge about language, but it is how we use that knowledge that will depict how we will succeed in life and as a

Language plays a significant role in defining who we are. It is a method of communication in a structured and conventional way. “Language reinforces feelings of social superiority or inferiority; it creates insiders and outsiders” (p. 242) states Robert MacNeil (2012) in his article “English Belongs to Everybody”.

People who are different are consequently viewed differently. It is human nature to judge others by the stereotypes that have been ingrained into our minds for however long. Stereotypes, however, may not encompass the whole story. Sometimes, you are only getting the discriminatory side of the story--a single story. Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” focuses on the discrimination towards broken English compared to Standard English and the stereotypes that evolved from such discrimination. Similarly, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” presents the idea that the “single story” is the reason for biased stereotypes that, more often than not, are untrue. Tan’s life in America was seemingly difficult due to the fact that her life and education were dependent on the language barrier between English and her “mother tongue”--the latter being seen as inferior and embarrassing. She initially felt that her mother’s fragmented English was something to be ashamed of since that was the “single story” that her peers have been spoonfed their whole lives. Adichie, however, denies these views by explaining that such stereotypes are incomplete and do not relay the person at hand’s true identity. In both “Mother Tongue” and “The Danger of a Single Story,” the speakers express how a person’s native language influences their identity through rhetorical devices such as ethos, diction, and metaphors.

Although bilingual education has some merit, avoiding the implementation of the more popular language of a community is detrimental to the incorporation of mostly you people in society and hinders their ability to develop a keen sense of identity. For example, "language gets learned as it gets used (7).” In other words, one masters the language as he speaks it. Speaking and language skills tend to sharpen if they are used regularly. Rodriguez argues that learning both languages and using them rather than leaving one begins to lead to a better sense of identity and freedom. But according to Rodriguez it makes one become insecure, growing up

Language has clearly become a powerful force in many countries where different communities actually want to split apart on the sole basis on the language they speak. An article about Spain’s language diversity explains how people feel so passionate about their native languages that the country had to create autonomous regions for each of the major languages, and people are still fighting to have their language become the dominant dialect (Berdichevsky 276). This is also seen repeatedly in America’s history where immigrants to the country struggle to keep their languages alive. These immigrants realize the important role that language plays in keeping a community together, and many immigrants from the same country will choose to live by each other in America and are resentful when they are forced to learn English. My own great-grandparents chose to live in an Italian neighborhood in Ohio when they first came from Italy so that their culture would not be lost. This allowed my grandma to learn Italian as well as English, and even though she was going to an English school she was still taught the morals of her culture because she was able to talk with the older Italian people who did not speak English. My grandma says that this has helped her throughout life because even though she lives in America she says, “I respect my Italian heritage,” and that it has helped “build my confidence” (12 April 2003).

Much like many immigrants are ridiculed for speaking broken English. John Baugh (2000) tells of a story from his childhood where he would mock students in his class who did not speak English as a first language. He would repeat what these students said with a mocking tone. As he grew older he began to realize that the way he teased many fellow students because of their broken English, was similar to the way he, and many of his fellow African American community members, were teased (p. 7-8). Baugh (2000) goes on to say that the mocking and false-sense of superiority he felt over the students learning English as a Second language was the same feeling many feel about those who speak Ebonics (p. 10). The reputation of Ebonics being a lower class dialect of Standard English, especially within the academic world, has created an academic disadvantage for many African American students (Baugh, 2000, p. 6). For these students, who are native AAVE speakers, there is no extra ESL or bilingual help to strengthen their Standard English, because Ebonics is not considered a language, but rather a dialect (Baugh, 2000, p. 3). This causes many African American students to never speak Standard English proficiently, and in turn do not read or write at grade

In the article, How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua describes how a person is judge based on the speak they have. The people that have English or other languages as a second language are more likely to speak a different way. Therefore, people make fun other those who cannot pronounces words right. Those people are the one that do more have a harder time speaking to people with can lead to mental trauma. These people tend to lose their identity to please others that are persuading them to speak the American language. The author discusses how people that have their second language be the common language is harder to get work that pays good. The author has experience this kind of thing where we are judged base on the way you speak a language.

UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://www.mikemcmahon.info/ell.pdf Gandara, P., & Rumberger, R. (2009). Immigration, language, and education: How does language policy structure opportunity? Teachers College Record, 111, 750-758.

Having a “standard” for a language such as English, creates a set of biased and unrealistic expectations because connecting language mastery with intelligence, ultimately degrades and oppresses those who speak differently from "the norm." Tan, Anzaldua, and Sedaris all bring up these points of bias and tie together one central idea that intelligence and ability do not directly correlate to language mastery.

In the lecture “Public and Private Language”, the author narrates the discrimination he experienced when he talked in Spanish language and one of the terribly striking works found is that he felt a socially disadvantaged child. He concluded, despite his early age that Spanish was the private language, the intrinsic language and that he needed to learn the required language, the language of public society, the English language. Furthermore, there are several talented people in the world who are rejected and who cannot develop their careers because they do not have the English language. What really matters is the knowledge, the ability to create things. Why does society discriminate so much against a person who does not have the English language? It is unfortunate that society discriminates and criticizes people who do not speak

This article speaks of different cultures and how different cultures have different languages. It talks about how many different languages affect the students. Students may speak Spanish at home and then once they are at school their teacher is speaking English. It takes time for these students to adapt to the change. It is harder for them because they have to learn both material and the language at the same time. “This language barrier has presented unique educational challenges to Hispanic students that African American students generally did not face” (Donnelly 2015). This article supports education for everyone and talks about how it is difficult of people of Spanish decent because they have to learn two languages. The article thinks

In the past few years, the news media has become more competitive, more extensive, and more globalized than ever before. Reporting occurs in near real time from almost any location to the consumer’s television or computer screen. With so many news agencies now vying for precious minutes of a consumer’s time, it is common for a story to undergo slight alterations that make it more emotional or sensational. Several consequent transformations of the same story can lead to extreme misreporting on the actual content, and oftentimes it is difficult to ascertain what the original story was without looking at multiple versions from different sources. The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of a news story across a 24-hour period,

Going to college in the United States may be extremely difficult and stressful for ethnic students. These students have to learn and speak English in order to understand their professors and assignments. Paukert, Pettit, Perez, and Walker (2006) examined how ethnic college students

Bias is a discernibly human quality; like all things human in nature, there lies deep in our consciousness values, axiology’s, and prejudice. These ‘biases’, rather worldviews, create within each person their own rose coloured lenses with which they perceive, and more importantly, influence the world. To look at how bias can occur both blatantly and subtly in writing, three distinct forms will be analyzed; Linguistic Biases,

From my readings to research from Edutopia to literature courses, I have gained a deeper appreciation for language. In order to understand what one is speaking, a person needs to spend time listening to one’s language and before responding must reflect and analyze what the other said and how to respond. If a person wants to love another person they have to listen to their language in order to speak their language, and the core part of learning another language is by listening. According to Joan Blaska, author of The Power of Language: Speak and Write Using “Person First” the language people use shows one’s bias and prejudices.  Beliefs and another’s performance fall under the influence of language. Blaska claimed “ the degree to which children are able to perceive themselves as competent and worthy, or the opposite, is heavily influenced by the verbalizations used by their teachers...Studies have found that labeling of students does affect teacher expectations which in turn affects student progress”. People have heavy influence with their words, because of this, our language must be intentional in a way, that breaks down negative stereotypes and helps one gain empathy as well as seeing others capabilities. Communicating and reading others comments and inquiring others has helped me to accept