Language Effect On Identity And Identity

If you have a company in the United States, many people from other countries would like to collaborate with you and do business. Therefore, having one language will limit your chances of growing your business and contacts. Currently, many workers in small and medium size stores in the United States do not speak English, and that is doing more harm to the business than good. Moreover, knowing more languages will significantly assist you when traveling international(something is wrong) for business or vacation, and will open the doors for your to learn about other nations and

I am very fluent in Spanish now and I my young children are as well. So even speaking another language is helping us grow. Diversity in society helps us grow as individuals and opens our minds to different ways of life.

If people maintain their native language, then they can represent their culture and linguistic needs in government. This way of thinking about multilingualism breeds acceptance and appreciation of other cultures and languages. Finally, I agree with and enjoyed Benjamin Rush’s commentary on multilingualism. He, “expressed his concern that, “narrow-minded people,” fearful of retention of the German language among Pennsylvania’s citizens, would not recognize the benefits a German college might provide the nation. The spread of learning among citizens, no matter what their native tongues, was crucial to the cause of the government” (23) by promoting democracy through freedom of speech and freedom of language. Additionally, multilingualism works to make stronger foreign relations, advances in science, math and all other research and allows America to communicate its success to other countries, The presence of multiple languages makes America the accepting, culturally diverse mixing pot that it is

​The United States is a nation filled with a multitude of different cultures which come alongside with a variety of languages. These languages are what help society to communicate with one another and to expand their horizon of thinking. As the United States progresses so does the culture. The culture of the United States is no longer what it once was. A nation of a predominately Caucasian race, who only speaks one language, is now a thing of the past. The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (English Language Learners) states that from the 1997-1998 school year to the 2008-2009 school year, the number of English Language Learners in public schools increased from 3.5 million to 5.3 million which comes to be a 51 percent increase. They also reported that the overall student population grew to a 7.2 percent increase during this time. A huge generation of a multicultural society is rapidly growing and it is our responsibility as a nation to educate this new generation to its fullest potential. We as a nation can wither choose to ignore the reality of this new generation by forcing one language on students classified as English Language Learners, or we can choose to cultivate the knowledge of language so that this new generation may prosper in more ways than one. We do not want to become a society that promotes, as R.A. Berman summarizes in his statement from his article The Real

The United States needs to be bilingual. Being bilingual open doors to more opportunities. According to Robbins, the number of bilingual speakers has gone up since the 1990s. At the same time, the number of foreign-born millennials has gone down. In other words, more people in the U.S. are learning a second language at home or in school. It is evidence that people who speak two languages have more opportunities for anything they try to do. Those people help to others to communicate each other.

As a matter of fact, multilingualism is usually an unavoidable reality in most countries where English is used as a second language. In Nigeria, for instance, due to colonial origin, every educated person, or any other person who regularly interacts with people from other ethnic groups usually speak two languages: his mother’s tongue (ethnic language) and English. That’s why different ethnic groups in the country have found in English a common means of communication and identity.

In the novel Americanah written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, it can be agreed that the author has used characters such as Ifemelu and Obinze and the issues that they face throughout their lives in order to discuss certain situations that society faces. Situations that affect ones relationships and identity in terms of how you see yourself as a person with the status that society has given you.

Some people ask why learn Chinese if students in China are learning English? Well that doesn't mean everyone knows English. Most adults and elders have no time to learn english. If Americans learn english there will be more job offerings. Bilingual people have a better chance at getting a job than someone who just speaks english. In addition, you can be amazing if you learn another language.

The disadvantages described by Sternberg and Sternberg (2017) are that individuals who speak more than one language have a smaller vocabulary for each language, resulting in a slower ability to identify the meaning words. In addition, if an individual never learns any language fluently, the person will have difficulty distinguishing between the languages, resulting in a degradation of performance in school and the job

Growing up as the son of an American father and a French mother in the United States, I spoke English in public but French at home. This bilingual and bicultural upbringing has become an inextricable part of my identity, influencing me to pursue linguistic and cultural experiences of all forms.

We can sit here going back and forth on how to address this and what to do if you ever face this situation. However until you aren’t faced with the circumstances it doesn’t become a reality. Just a few months ago one of my coworkers made his identity official “as a transgender “ going from man to woman. Meetings were held in where we were made aware of the changes which were very well accepted by our Human Resources department. This person made official his transition to a woman and we all needed to adapt along with him. I am basically forced to use feminine pronouns towards this person. Share the lady’s restroom and pretend that everything is ok. In the meeting, I made the person and everyone else aware of my stand and beliefs and I have to

“Migrants need a high level of motivation and a good deal of ingenuity to get started. Migration often requires learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. [Ember, 482-486]. The statement above truly depicts the circumstances surrounding new immigrants. As soon as they enter into the host country, negotiation of identity through language starts. In order to communicate and get access to opportunities and resources, they would have to speak the existing the language. This is a good example of multiculturalism, although they learn a new language they do not unlearn their native language and still continue to speak it to each other or the members of their community. Mama brought up an interesting narrative about circumventing this apparent problem faced by new language learners, by learning how to code switch. This is reiterated by this statement “It was as though there was white and black people English. I could not understand because when I spoke proper English my neighbors teased me as being fancy, many of my friends saw it as proper. I had to learn to switch back and forth with ease.” More so, she recollected times when people would make their mouths rounder and slowed down their words because they thought they had to “dumb” down in order for her to understand them. Now as a French, Soninke and Bambara speaking child in Mali, Mama learned some English in school and taught it to many kids. However, as an immigrant in the

First, knowing more than one language expands one’s global perspective and communication. Multilingual speakers are able to converse with a broader network. One might say that the United States is already advanced with languages since it is a melting pot. However, In 2014, it was discovered that only 21% of the United State’s total population that speaks more than one language (“Not Lost in Translation: The Growing Importance of Foreign Language Skills in the U.S. Job Market”). This is a small number compared to the 56% of Europeans, 35% of Canadians, and 66% of the world’s population that are fluent in another language (“Benefits of Multilingualism”). More people learn languages so that they can become more globalized and communicate. What is the use of becoming globalized? When communication increases, so do opportunities. My dad, for example, has been offered jobs in different countries for being able to speak in another language. A further example is if a person is trying to find a solution to a major problem. The only barrier is language, but

“Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self”. B.R. Ambedkar, in Develop with Fact: Neutralizing the Catalysts of Downturn, p. 57. There are many different languages spoken around the world. Sometimes it can create a barrier when trying to communicate. Other times it may cause you to be judged because you have a different accent, or you use different terminology. Language can play a small role in how people’s identities are formed., The language variety that you speak as a native language is closely tied to your geographical identity.

At a young age, people develop their own ways of speaking. One’s language begins with one’s family and continues to develop and become a part of you. As people become older, they realize their language is not the same as some people. The relationship between language and identity plays a huge role in our lives and occasionally it can have a negative effect as well. In Alyssa Lyons’s essay, “It’s Not Only What You Say, But How You Say It: On Language and Class,” she believes one should not listen to the world’s linguistic standards and be true to oneself. P.L. Thomas essay, “My Redneck Past: A Brief Memoir of Two’s,” explains the background of growing up as a “redneck” and how one’s past affects the way people perceive them. And how his language stayed with him, even with his best abilities to hide them. Gloria Anzaldua used her past and personal experiences to get her point across about language being one with the soul. Also in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” she made sure to explain the depth language meant to her identity. Lyons, Thomas, and Anzaldua all share the insecurities of not being able to speak freely due to social and English language standards. Each of these essays discusses how their upbringing affects their language, how they can only talk freely when with family or friends, and the ways they chose to deal with their linguistic downfalls and overcome them as they became older.