Standard English Essay, Research Paper
Jessica Green
3-1-99
English 1A-04
Essay #2 Final Draft
I myself have never used my language to really shape my identity. I was
born in the United States and English is the national language. Call me ignorant
or selfish but I believe if you come here you should learn English. I do not care if
you speak your language at home or with friends, but if you expect everyone to
cater to you, you must be crazy. You knew the national language when you
arrived. The United States provides bilingual classes, bilingual voting ballots, as
well as any information you might need. My family went to Europe last summer
and they were treated very badly. No restaurants would serve them. When they
did it was half an hour to an hour after locals, and they were charged for things
the locals weren t, just because they didn t speak the native tongue. I think
Immigrants are lucky to live here. The least they could do is learn limited
English. Discrimination on the basis of speaking non-standard English is a
terrible thing for an immigrant to go through, but that s the whole purpose of
learning so called standard English so that we can all understand each other in
the land where the national language is English.
Amy Tan describes a childhood during which she was pushed toward
math and science like most Asian -Americans. She believes her language had a
huge impact on her identity. She always felt limited because of the broken
English that was spoken by her mother in her home and blames it for her lower
test scores. Tan explains, But I do think that the language spoken in the family,
especially in immigrant families which are more insular, plays a large role in
shaping the language of the child. And I believe that it affected my results on
achievement tests, IQ tests, and SAT (p.199). Amy thinks that the language
spoken in the home affects a child more than the language of her peer groups.
Most of the time immigrant children or first generation still speak broken english.
They tend to hang out together. They pick others that speak the same because it is
a comfortable environment for them. She believes because her mother did not
speak standard english she could not understand what the test was asking for.
Amy is also affected by the discrimination that her mother received because her
mother spoke broken or limited English. Amy writes, I know this for a fact,
because when I was growing up, my mother s limited English limited my
perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English
reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them
imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect (p.198). That quote shows how she was
unconsciously the one discriminating against her mother. Amy knows that
limited english limits peoples perception because she herself did it. She was
affected by the limited language and it was her own mother. Think of how easily
others perception is limited. Amy believes if something is not said correctly it
must be wrong; the person must not know what they are talking about. As she got
older she stopped thinking of her mother s English as being broken or limited
but more simple for lack of a better word, (Tan p.201). Maybe if we offered
adult education free for immigrants the discrimination could be lessened. The
United States only requires a simple vocabulary to live here. A base standard
language is required so discrimination won t happen. Some immigrants believe
standard english is nesscessary to survive in a country where it is the national
language.
Richard Rodriguez was born in Mexico, and came to the United States
when he was a boy. He says America is great because it is a society of
individuals. Rodriguez says America is a melting pot, a society all its own and it
continuos to work because there is one standard language. Rodriguez writes,
With the exception of the army, the classroom is the most subversive institution
of America ( p.555-556). I agree with him; you can be whatever you want at
home but when you come to a classroom you must at least speak the same
language so we can all understand each other with a common language. You must
come together to learn. You give up everything to be on the same level. Everyone
has a chance to learn together as a group. Rodriquez continues, In the
classroom, children are taught that they belong to a group (p.556). If you teach
them in their own language they will not be part of the group. One way to learn is
by submerging yourself into the language. Rodriguez is against bilingual
education, he believes it would, …betray public education. There is no way for
a child to use her family language in the classroom unless we diminish the notion
of public school, unless we confuse the child utterly about what is expected of
her. Bilingual classrooms imply we are going to expect less. (p. 556). If we
teach children in their own language they will never learn to socialize with others.
If we are trying to teach them english so they can get jobs and function in the real
world; why are we teaching them in their own language? The children will be
confused you want them to learn english yet you are teaching them in their
language. They will get confused, frustrated and maybe just stop trying.
Rodriguez attended public schools. He felt English was good for him; it was
necessary to be understood so he would not be left out or made fun of. Rodriguez
explains, Classroom language, on the other hand , is unyielding, impersonal,
blind, public–there are rules, there are limits, there are inevitable
embarrassments, but there are no exceptions. The child is expected to speak up,
to make himself understood to an audience of boys and girls (p.556). The
children need to know how to communicate. The class room is a neutral ground;
everyone gives part of themselves up for the sake of learning. It is not easy for
anyone. The thirst for knowledge is their common ground. They are all in the
same boat. Rodriguez writes, In order to work, to continue existing as a country,
America required some uniform sense of itself (Rodriguez p 557). No one is
alone; language brings us together. We are a melting pot with a common destiny.
Therefore we must work together with our diversities but with shared goals.
I strongly agree with Rodriguez ; finally an immigrant who agrees that
it s important to be able to communicate with a common language. He was
totally right; English is good for you if you live in the United States. We must
understand that diversity is our strength, not our weakness. America is a melting
pot, but if the different cultures cannot understand each other we will make no
progress as a nation. Rodriguez refers to Huck Finn as being what Americans
considered a version of life. Rodriguez considers Huck s language no standard
which is true and calls him an archetypal bilingual child ( p.558). That s
interesting because Huck Finn is a classic and yet he did not speak standard
English. I understand everyone has two languages but it is necessary to have a
standard.
Both Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez agree that everyone uses two languages. The difference
between them is that Amy thought of her language as an imperfection that limited her, while
Rodriguez didn t consider it a handicap, but instead thought that English was good for him.
Either way the bottom line is that the national language is standard English. To continue to
grow as a nation we must have a standard. We must work together without diversities but with
shared goals. Rodriguez writes, and from the school marm s achievement came the possibility
of a shared history and a shared future. (p. 557). The children are our future. The school marm
has educated our children. Together we will grow stronger with our diversities. America is a
melting pot and two in their meeting are changed (Rodriguez p. 555), but were both changed
together for a better understanding of tomorrow.