Languages and Dialects of Spain

The connection between language and identity are our expressions, how we are able to show our ideas and feeling which parts of our ethnicity are. For example, in the reading “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” the language was an important resource for the kids to communicate with their Spanish culture, show affects to their parents and have communication with their families. Nevertheless,

Scholar, Gloria Anzaldúa, in her narrative essay, “How To Tame A Wild Tongue’, speaks her many experiences on being pressured on what language to use. She then expresses how the discrimination made her to realize the ugly truth--that people reject languages that aren’t their own. She adopts logos, ethos and pathos in order to appeal toward her audience who is anyone who is not bilingual. One of the perspectives she takes on in her piece clearly expresses the relationship between language and identity and how it creates a conflict between her and the world.

In Richard Rodriguez's essay , “ Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood ” he writes about how he struggled as a child who only spoke Spanish language but lives in a society where the “public” language is English . He believes that speaking proper English will somehow help him fit into society and find his “true” identity. Throughout the essay he contrast the Spanish language identity and English language identity. As a young boy, Rodriguez finds consolation and safety in his home where they only speak Spanish. He feels that he only has a true identity when he is at home surrounded by those who speak the same language as him . On the contrary , he becomes trapped and disoriented when not being able to speak / understand the English language . He feels as if he is not part of “their world” and has no identity in society. By comparing and contrasting Spanish language identity and English language identity . Rodriguez's essay is an example that speaking different languages should not make anyone choose an identity . In fact being able to speak and understand multiple languages in his case Spanish and English makes the language a part of his identity, but with two different sides .

In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua discloses her true feelings about societal and cultural imbalances encountered by minorities by successfully utilizing pathos. Based on historical context, Gloria Anzaldua was raised in the 1940s in the south where racial discrimination was more prevalent than in most parts of the United States. She reveals that Latin Americans, in spite of their distinct languages, are coerced to forgo their heritage and conform to Anglo society. Language, which is taken for granted here in the United States, is fervently cherished by Anzaldua, expressing “I am my language” (39).

By welcoming the diverse languages and religions of the world, America is considered a melting pot of both cultural and ethnic identities. In the essay about bilingualism “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa she writes, “So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity - I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself” (172). Anzaldúa believes that her ethnicity and language are what make her who she is. Therefore, by insulting her language, she is insulted as well. Her identity is “twin skin” with how she speaks. Linguistic identity is the ability for a person to speak freely in any language and ultimately their identity is shown through shared language. The things that define a person are their actions, their behavior, the way they walk, and the way they talk. A person’s culture has a heavy influence on their identity throughout their lives. To disrespect an important part of their culture, their language, is to disrespect the person on an extremely interpersonal level. The person would be, therefore, discouraged from speaking their native language. Anzaldúa shows that her language constitutes who she is; it binds her to the existence of her identity therefore a person’s language defines his/her identity.

Anyone who studies Spanish will tell you it is an interesting foreign language. Not only because of the sound of it, pronunciations and the articulation but also because it is new to them. Spanish people do not study Spanish if they already know it. However, Spanish like other foreign languages has advantages and effects that are desirable and essential to a learner that one dare not ignore. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the entire world. It has millions of native speakers and more in different continents.

Right now, the United States has no assigned authority dialect. In spite of the fact that it is seen as an English talking country, there has been a running open deliberation among the voting open in respect to whether English should be the official dialect. While there are many people that communicate in English or Spanish, there have been calls for multilingualism. This open deliberation has produced contention and political changes among both English and non-English talking groups. While English-talking groups have been in a backing of a brought together method for correspondence, the non-English talking groups have provoked this recommendation as a method for isolating minority bunches. This later gathering feels that in an area termed as free and reasonable and where all fantasies materialize, no specific dialect should be received to the detriment of different dialects. In this paper, I will contend out that English should be the official dialect of the United States.

Language and identity are two things that are very closely related. In the excerpt of “How to Tame a wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, the author does an excellent job of explaining how identity and language blend right together. By hearing someone speak their language one could determine a person’s cultural values and their identity. In the excerpt Anzaldua says, “For a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard Spanish or English, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language?” By this quote, author is trying to show that it is very important for a person to connect with their language because the way someone speaks a language will reflect their identity and their value in a society.

Language plays an important role in communication by bringing people together and enriching their relationships. Language can also alienate those who do not speak it properly, or at all, from those who do. The essays, Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, best known for her book, The Joy Luck Club, and Se Habla Espanol, by Tanya Barrientos, delve into the many powers that language holds. These essays reflect how by not speaking a language in proper form and by not speaking a language at all, affects the lives of the subjects of the stories.

When visiting Latin America, many are surprised with the diversity in the Spanish speaking world. Visitors are captivated by the richness of the culture and the beauty of the streets. They hope to find the richness, and maybe even riches, of the culture and country. They do not realize, however, what exactly they’ve stumbled across. They are not ready to comprehend the shades of brown that pass by them as the walk along the streets of Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, etcetera. Here, they are looking at the hidden faces of Latin America. It is here that they find that there is an unwritten rule in Spanish speaking countries.

The study of San Marcos’ linguistic landscape helps us to understand el contacto de lenguas and the use of the spanish language. It is no surprise that spanish within San Marcos has an affect on society

It may have begun in the late 1800s to early 1900s and become strong in Picasso’s time, but it still runs deep for the locals. But, a major difference from Picasso’s Barcelona is that Catalan nationalism is not necessarily used for resistance as much; there are no “lines drawn between Catalan nationalist[s]” (Kaplan 8) and the others. It seems, to me, to be more like Catalan pride because I have seen the Catalan flag dangling from balconies all over the city. Similar to Picasso’s Barcelona, the Catalan language plays an important role in Barcelona’s culture. Today, I encounter people speaking Spanish; however, most things are written in three languages: Catalan, Spanish, and English (in that order). The nationalism may not be as severe as it was during Picasso’s Barcelona, but it still

Modern day Spanish language also known as castellano in Spanish first appeared in the small Christian kingdom of castile in northern Spain during this period of Islamic domination over most of the Iberian peninsula. As a result Andalusian Arabic influenced the language practically from its inception. Arabic imprint on the langage increased as the kingdom of castile expanded into muslim lands where the Castilian language had never been spoken and as Arabized christens (mozarabs) from Al Andalus emigrated northwards during times of sectarian violence, and paritculary as a result of the Almoravid conquest in the 12th century. Arabic was used among the local elites and local Arabic-influenced romance dialects, known collectively as Mozarabic were

The fascinating and beautiful country of Spain is one of the largest countries in Europe. The history that Spain has had has left great stories to tell and remarkable landmarks to visit. Spain is located in the south west corner of Europe, with its neighboring countries, Portugal and France. It has a population of forty million plus people, but almost one-third of the nation’s population is foreigners that reside in its territory. One of the most important facts about Spain is that its economy is one of the largest in the world. Spain is currently in a recession, with low employment rates and poverty.

Lipski (2012) explains that the Spanish spoken in Spain is fractured into regional and social dialects, the main division being between north and south, and they’re primarily phonetic. On the other hand, Lipski states that Spanish in America has a different division. Dialects are often defined by each country, therefore people classify Spanish in Mexican Spanish, Argentine Spanish, Colombian Spanish, etc. However, this categorization cannot be maintained due to the absence of a consensus that can show how many Spanish dialects actually exist in