West African Languages

We left behind my mom, little sister, two younger brothers, and other close siblings. Moving to a new country was more difficult than it seemed.We ended up finding ourselves living in a mice and roach infested apartment throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years. Throughout my life, I struggle with English classes because English wasn’t my foreign language but, it never stopped me from excelling in the classroom.

Coming to the United States has changed my life. When I was in my country, life wasn't easy for me. My dad used to live in the U.S I was in Dominican Republic. Because my dad was in the U.S it was difficult for me, brother and sister. My mom didn't get pay a lot and food were really expensive. After I came to the U.S I saw a lot change I my life. Many people in my country used to tell me that U.S is one of the best place to live. United States have all the opportunity such as a good education, a lot jobs and easy way to

From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern for the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as remembered traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art

had terrible meals, had to walk around cold, hungry, barefoot, men also had to obey all

My father wanted a better life for us, he thought life is making choices, and he wanted his Mom & children near him so he can be a father to us . In 1999 ' when my father calleds my Grandma and said, " we have to be in Kenya in order for the process to be porcessed. I still can remember how terrified I was leaving my homeland I had to leave my mom , freind , and my relative in Somalia.The process takes sometimes before you get approved. We moved to a place where everything was different culturly , religiously, and they spoke a language that I could't understand I was surrounded by a new environment and everything seems so hard . But then i adjust to that alien environment. I made friends , i learned the laugues "Sawahili" I was in a different land and I learn a different culture , there are a lot of surprises and somethimes difficult things that impresses when you are in a country that you have never been

Not only was I going to be introduced to a completly different environment and culture, but I was also going to be leaving my family in Puerto Rico. In order to move to Virginia and learn English I had to live with my step mother. The reason for this is because my parents have been divorced since I was six years old and my mother had to stay in Puerto Rico with my half brother and my father was out of the country working. Leaving my mother along with other family members, such as my grandparents, cousins, and friends was the hardest of all. My father, in the other hand, never lived with me because he was in the army at the time and it did not affect me to be far away from him as much as it did with my mother and other family

The time I moved to America, as I was in the hostel I got to meet many new people ever. I thought it's not a big deal to adjust in a new country. But it wasn't like that, everything was different here food, clothing, lifestyle. It was very difficult for me to understand what should I do. I thought that my parents will

Girls were taught to do laundry, sew, cook, and clean. The boys were taught carpentry, tinsmithing, and farming. Not only were they taught to live this lifestyle but were also working for the school. The girls were housekeeping and the boys did repairing jobs, and agriculture. Even after all this forced labour, they only received very little amounts of food.

When I was thirteen, my mom, brother, and I decided to go on a mission trip to Haiti. We took a flight over there, through Miami. I got off the plane into a hot, crowded jungle of people in the airport. Every seat was filled waiting for their flights; people

Ya’ll be thinkin’ ebonics be messin’ wit Standard English, but it be enrichin’ it in a lotta ways. If you did not quite understand the first sentence, here is a “proper” translation; many people believe that African-American English negatively affects Standard English, but it actually enriches it in various ways. Black English, Ebonics, ghetto talk, slang, and Black Vernacular are all different words or phrases used to describe the African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) language. There are certain factors that set this dialect apart from what we know to be the Standard English language; its origin is different, the dialect has other rules and word structure, and there are even notable works of literature to support the positive gains we can all acquire through learning AAVE. Having a clear and true understanding of AAVE (whether one chooses to speak it or not) can have an immensely positive influence on breaking cultural barriers and racial issues. Within the past 20 years, there has been a general change on point of view relating to the importance of AAVE in education. Although hip-hop music is often stereotyped with negative connotations, there are many influential songs, raps, poems, and successful businesspeople in the hip-hop music industry. While there is controversy over the significance of AAVE, it has an admirable history with substantial and interesting language rules. These rules have aided in breaking cultural barriers both educationally in the classroom,

The concept of literacy confused me. The fact of learning to read and write at the same time both baffled me and intrigued me. As I approached the classroom I hesitated, wondering whether I was capable of holding up my own weight. The image is still clear; A scanty 4 year old boy reaching for the puzzle shaped carpet. I ended up sitting down on the salmon coloured puzzle piece, crossing my legs and hoping to pass unnoticed. In Angola, the most common language spoken is Portuguese, which was ideal for my learning. I was born in Brazil, but 5 months later I moved to West Africa. As a 1 year old, there is no such thing as adaptation, however, I had no language skills at all, which makes this story interesting. English and Portuguese were my first

The first memory that I have is of me and my brother when I was the age of 2. My brother and I were brought to the U.S by two strange men, who promised to protect us. Their definition of protection was locking me and my brother up in a small, pitch black room boarded up by wooden planks. We were locked for three days, until my parents were able to emigrate to the U.S. and join us. During those three days I felt lonely and lost, and although my brother was by my side I felt deep despair and sorrow. Those three days seemed like an eternity, we were not allowed to go out and were told to be quiet. Although, we felt abandoned, we had hope of seeing our parents one day. On the third day when our parents finally arrived we were let out. As I walked

When I was three years old my family moved to farmland in Arizona. I lived there with my three older siblings and our parents for nine years. Even today, this place holds a very special place in my heart. The farm was an exciting and wonderful place for four kids to grow up and gave me experiences and taught me many important lessons that I would not have had anywhere else. My siblings and I spent so much time together playing, doing chores, and having adventures together. Because most of my childhood was spent there, I have strong attachments to the emotions and memories of my life growing up there.

One day while we were just chilling.We were inside a church and we decided to go and see the world.So we hopped on a plane we stole it.Keep that on the low. We just trusted our guts. We ended up in africa.It was full of things i have never before.I saw a tiger for the first time I also saw a rhino for the first time.Africa was so beautiful it had long big trees the climate was just perfect.We met a very cool tribe of other dead people.When I tried to talk to them they seemed to get very testy.

When I was seven years old I went on my very first holiday abroad, to