Weslaco Essay

I am no immigrant. I have been living in this country ever since I was born. My brother, sister, and I are all first generation citizens. Both of my parents were born in Mexico, and at an early age came to the United States. They are now living happily in the U.S as citizens. Growing up I only spoke one language, Spanish. Being Mexican this was the only way I could communicate up until kindergarten. Although it was such a long time ago, I remember how hard it was for me to adjust. I know I had a strong accent, and I was sometimes ashamed of it. On occasion I remember accidentally speaking Spanish to my classmates. “Did you finish your homework?" “Si, todo esta-”. “I mean, yeah, all done.” I often got these confused looks on their face whenever this happened. The next year in first grade I became accustomed to English. I no longer spoke spanish to my parents. When the realization that I could no longer speak Spanish hit my parents, they were shocked. Personally I was also disappointed. Especially today, in a school with a general population of Hispanics I would love to be able to converse with them. I often get people asking if I speak Spanish and I tell them why I can’t, but can understand what the words mean. All because I did not want to look different in a school where people were primarily white back then. I don’t recall many people of my race at this school at all.

Growing up in a Latino household is hard. My parents only spoke Spanish therefore my first language was Spanish. For the first few years of my life this was not really a problem, I enjoyed life as any normal little girl would. I got to talk to all of my cousins and all of the neighbor’s children. It wasn’t until I got to school that it became real that I was going to learn English. Don’t get me wrong I always knew I had to learn English my parents always talked to me about school and helped me as much as they could. It was also around this same time where I started to understand that it was not only hard for me it was hard for them as well. My parents had to live in this country not knowing the main language spoken.

Being an undocumented immigrant is hard and just by when others notice that one is not fluent, they will begin to treat one differently and even look down on them even though the immigrants adapt to the melting pot. They have abandoned their cultures to become assimilated into the American society. In the article, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, he states, “However, I grew up this is my home yet even though I think of myself as an American and consider America my country. My country doesn’t think of me as one of its own” (236). In stating this, Juan adapted living in the USA he is more part of the melting pot, not the salad bowl he feels American even though he’s

In the article How to Tame a Wild Tongue written by Gloria Anzaldua covers a real life story that Gloria lived. She was born into a Mexican home in the United States during the 1970s. She was looked down upon by her peers due to the fact that she spoke Spanish. When she was in school they got her in trouble because she spoke Spanish in one of her classes. Gloria also never knew that Spanish words were not all male dominant, they also applied to females. The biggest struggle for Gloria was that she often used both English and Spanish when she would talk to her peers. While some argue that she was in the wrong, I believe that she has a right to keep in touch with her roots because nobody should be ashamed of where they come from.

Introduction - Being a part of a bilingual speaking family, like with my mom and dad who are Chinese immigrants, is an experience that no one can imagine unless you are part of a bilingual speaking family. Experiences such as knowing a language that not many of our neighbors don't know can be frustrating for both sides. Being young in my early years, learning English was not only a struggle for me but for my family. I noticed that my parents struggled learning english and communicating with the outside world. From buying groceries to paying for the bills, I observed the painful experiences that my parents persevere through all these years. I was glad public schools gave me the opportunity to not only learn English but to help my family live in this English superior society.

Although being bilingual could keep you connected with your ancestors, war against bilingualism in the United States exists. Martin Espada illustrates the discrimination that bilingualism and Spanish speakers face daily. Espada explains; “ There are too many in this country who would amputate the Spanish tongue.” (4). The cultural aggression towards Spanish and other languages that aren’t English continue to rise. He elaborates, “The purists of English language is being corrupted from the bottom up: by “Spanglish,” by “Ebonics,” by all non-standard English as spoken by poor and working-class people. These dialects seek to obscure, rather than clarify; their intent is not to communicate, but to control.” (5). Espada points out that people in the United States devote their time to oppose bilingual and foreign language. The State House of Massachusetts attempted to make English the official language of the state, which would then act as a base for legal discrimination against Spanish and Latinos. Espada recalls an incident; “At META, we saw language discrimination cases on occasion. One case came from nearby Lynn, Massachusetts. A Latino parent called us and said; “Please come over to Lynn English High School. They have banned Spanish at lunchtime.” (7). The conclusion to ban Spanish at lunchtime came to a chief lunchroom aide overheard a few students speaking Spanish at lunch and thought that they talked about Anglos people among everyone. Many

My writing history is nearly non-existent and attenuated me when corresponding with others. Throughout my childhood, I went to various schools, normally completing a year and then being forced to attend a different school often due personal reasons. My high school wasn’t a traditional school, but an Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) self-paced environment. We basically had to teach ourselves the curriculum by reading, understanding, and taking examinations at the end of each individual course work. The school had a teacher; however, I referred to her as a “supervisor” since she couldn’t teach anything. Bluntly put, I taught myself all my studies such as algebra, world history, and physics, but I never learned anything about writing or writing in specific formats. WRTG 101 should be the first required class for

My BSW education provided me with opportunities of leadership and responsibility. As part of an ethics course, I played a role in creating and presenting an ethics training to providers in the community. This training provided them a way to earn CEU credits. I led out in this project by researching and gathering information about social work ethics. I assigned and delegated this information to my classmates to put into presentable slides and handouts. I was involved in the whole process from design and layout to time management. Although being in charge of a training for professionals was stressful, I am proud of my accomplishment and the outcome of the training.

I learned about Mexico’s traditions, views, and history along with its language. This insight made me realize people should not be judged for their beliefs, color, habits, or dialect. I realize many monolinguals, especially Americans, are conceited and self-centered. This is because monolinguals are only taught one language and communicate with a group that shares their beliefs and traditions. I, on the other hand, am able to communicate with two different groups of people, Americans, and Mexicans.

was important to my parents that I knew my heritage language. Therefore, Spanish was the primary language spoken at home in my adolescent years. English was taught to me as secondary language at an older age. I am able to speak and write in both English and Spanish. But my challenge has been that I speak English with a slight Spanish accent. Throughout the years I been asked; in numerous occasions “Where are you from?”, “Are you from Mexico?”, “How long have you been in this country?” Even been spoken to in Spanish because they assume I can’t speak the language. It can be upsetting and discouraging at times until today. For many years I would practice what I needed when conversing with professors, coworkers, and even friends. I was afraid that

The first amendment states that congress is not allowed to “abridge the freedom of speech.” In Gloria Anzalduas, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” the speaker states, “…all Chicano students [are] required to take two speech classes. Their purpose: to get rid of [their] accents” (Anzaldua 23). By the Pan American University requiring them to take such classes to mask their accents, they are trying to compose who they are. People who are capable of speaking more than one language should not be ashamed of their tongues. “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (Anzaldua 23). Speaking a language that one is comfortable with allows the population to express themselves in the way that comes natural. Learning a new language is not only a hard task, but for older generations, it takes more demand to comprehend how different the grammar rules and accents are exercised. On the other hand, children, who day by day are surrounded by English, can learn at a faster pace. As a personal experience, Spanish was the first tongue that was taught to my siblings and I, and it is the language that is most often spoken with my family. Occasionally, there are phrases that do not translate into the English language, and it is lifesaving to fall with my safe language. Every citizen of the United States is bound to their rights, consisting of the

WAGR can affect both males and females, though it is a rare genetic disease. Babies born with WAGR are prone to eye problems and are at an elevated risk for developing certain types of cancers.

Anzaldúa grew up along the U.S. and Mexican border, and her native language is a mixture of English and Spanish languages called Chicano Spanish. After she grew up and left home, she found that those who speak Standard English and Standard Spanish look down on her when she speaks “Spanglish” because they view it as a bastardized version of a “pure” language. On the surface, influencing someone to assimilate sounds innocuous but the ramifications are deep. Anzaldúa says that language is identity, and the

In 2011 the Pew Research Center produced a survey which claimed that approximately 37.6 million people living in the United States spoke Spanish in their homes(Gonzalez-Barrera and Lopez). While that may not seem like much keep in my mind the fact that, this number reflects around 10% of the total American population; and the number of Spanish speakers coming to this country is ever-increasing. All of this being said some people, in the government or elsewhere, would see the Spanish language marginalized or even totally forgotten in our national identity. I’m here to say that we shouldn’t forget something that has helped shape the diverse fabric of our nation for hundreds of years. Instead of simply denying the fact that Spanish is

“Being able to speak spanish is crucial for our trip. How are you guys going to communicate with the families? How will you get the messages across if you cannot speak Spanish?” He constantly berated us to spend some time and try to learn Spanish. We were, after all going to Mexico. But no-one really understood how important it was to be able to speak more than one language. Being able to speak Spanish was an imperative aspect of our trip, as is being bilingual in America. The use of multiple languages should be embraced and accepted in a culture rather than be driven into the ground and quelled.