K. David Harrison's When Languages Die

Languages are complex because they are made up of many components. Some components include the culture, meaning, and interpretation. The way people understand language has to do mostly with their culture and their understanding of what is being said. Also, depending upon where someone is raised, the pronunciation of certain words can be different and therefore it influences the understanding. My goal in this paper is to demonstrate that language and culture are intertwined. There wouldn’t be cultures without languages, and there wouldn’t be languages without cultures. To prove this point, I will connect two readings and a tv episode that explain the components of the English language.

Many will never be able to grasp the full capacity of the power of language. Although, some of us can experience the depths of its ability through personal experience of upbringings and struggles. Jimmy Santiago Baca in “Coming into Language” talks about his own obstacles he had to overcome and how language became a way of life through the dark times of hopelessness. Whereas, Christine Marin in “Spanish Lessons” used language to find and learn about her identity to later become a voice for it and also make a difference in the community. These stories and our own backgrounds with language allow us to understand its capabilities of how it can transcend the mere means of just communication into a world of discovery and exploration.

Scholars estimate that throughout the world as many as one to two endangered languages are lost to extinction on a bi-weekly basis. K. David Harrison states:

Out of those inhabitants, only 6,000 are native speakers of the language (Powers, 2009). Today, the population of first-language Lakota speakers is estimated to be 2,000. This number is barely 2% of the total population of Lakota. The language is speculated to become extinct in the near future.

In Mike Bunn’s reading “How to Read Like a Writer” he discuss the importance of being able to read as a writer. He explains why it’s necessary to be able to understand what the author is trying to get across. Being able to identify why a writer chose is a certain tone for his/her writing is what makes one a better reader. One should put to themselves in the author’s shoes and be able to connect with the writing and understand from what point the author is coming from. When reading like a writer it facilitates one’s ability to understand to do this. Most students now a days are too focused on reading for context instead of trying to figure out how and why the piece came together and the reasoning behind the author’s choices. Bunn’s reading will

Languages are an important part of any culture, especially dying cultures that need to be preserved. This true for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, a group of Native American tribes who originally spoke many different languages. They were all forced onto a small reservation, completely wiping out their lifestyle and almost completely wiping out their language. Their story needs to be told, both how they almost lost their language forever, and how they are rebounding today. To preserve the culture of the Confederation of Siletz Indians, the story of their languages needs to be told because their culture has been lost, but a language offers a way to save part of the culture, and their story can provide to hope to many Native peoples

The tongue is a needed part to the body which has many functions. The tongue is used to taste scrumptious foods which we crave, and more importantly, is used to form words. These words however, can be used for good, or for bad. Each and every word that is whispered, uttered, spoken or yelled from a mouth, will either be accepted, or hated. The words that are hated are taught to be put on a leash, but “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out.”(374) In Gloria Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Ms. Anzaldúa states the quote above. Although bold, I agree and disagree with this quote at the same time. I agree that wild tongues cannot be tamed, but I disagree that wild tongues can only be cut out. I believe once a tongue utters it’s first words, there is no way to limit what comes out.

Throughout generations cultural traditions have been passed down, alongside these traditions came language. The language of ancestors, which soon began to be molded by the tongue of newer generations, was inherited. Though language is an everlasting changing part of the world, it is a representation of one’s identity, not only in a cultural way but from an environmental standpoint as well. One’s identity is revealed through language from an environmental point of view because the world that one is surrounded with can cause them to have their own definitions of words, an accent, etc. With newer generations, comes newer forms of languages. Although these new generation 's’ way of speaking has come from elsewhere, there is a kind of shame that comes from this. Shame, because their ancestors spoke

In the article, ”My English” by Julia Alvarez, the author wrote about her experience as she learn to speak English. Spanish was her mother tongue and struggled to speak English in the early phases. She thought that English was a form of Spanish, as there are different dialects in Spanish. Her parents spoke English when they didn’t want her and her siblings to know what was going on. He was curious about what they were talking about and tries to interpret the meaning form the facial expressions her mother made. She started learning English at Carol Morgan school and it was strange for her to see the American people and their appearances which differ from her. She got mixed up with Spanish and English as she starts to learn English.

In “Let them die” essay, Kenan Malik assert that endangered languages in the world should be left to dead. In other word, the minority languages should not be preserved, because it is not related to the achievement of “cultural diversity” (Malik, 3). Indeed, he expresses, dying languages should be removed in order to reach the “dynamic and responsive” (Malik, 6) culture. However, the claims that Malik uses in his essay does not tackle the counter argument correctly. In addition, the evidences in the essay is not clear. Although those evidences is specific and sufficient, they are too general; the evidences does not specify and support the claims that Malik makes in “Let them die”.

In Lera Boroditsky 's "How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think" the purpose of the essay is apparent from the second paragraph. "Language is a uniquely human gift central to our experience of being human" she explains, so that the reader understands how language affects ones thoughts and day to day lives (2). Boroditsky 's use of empirical evidence, factual information, organizational structure, understanding and construction upon thoughts that disprove her purpose, and light tone all aide in accomplishing her purpose. Each of these methods help convince the audience that, " Language is central to our experience of being human, and the languages we speak profoundly shapes the way we think, the way we see the world, the way we live our lives" (Boroditsky 10).

Speakers form and establish a pidgin language when two or more speakers who do not speak a common language form an intermediate, third language. On the other hand, speakers practice code-switching when they are each fluent in both languages. Code mixing is a thematically related term, but the usage of the terms code-switching and code-mixing varies. Some scholars use either term to denote the same practice, while others apply code-mixing to denote the formal linguistic properties of language-contact phenomena, and code-switching to denote the actual, spoken usages by multilingual persons.

Dialogue is used in a writing piece in order to move the plot, to develop or define the character, or just to deepen the conflict. All together, dialogue is used to help the reader infer the theme of the text. Sandra Cisneros expresses the theme throughout the novel with the use dialogue to develop the characters in The House on Mango Street which retells her life experiences that made her who she is today in vignettes just like No Speak English. In her other work of literature, Eleven she shows the same theme, with the addition of the theme that there is a certain amount of power held by age. In the texts Eleven and No Speak English by Sandra Cisneros, the use of dialogue helps reveal aspects of the characters in each piece in order to develop the theme of identity and belonging.

In her essay “Spanglish Spoken Here” by Janice Castro, the author points out how Spanglish is widely used across the United States. First, she points out some examples of usage of Spanglish in daily life. Then, she introduces the concept of Spanglish, and it has become a widely accepted slang in America. Spanglish is assimilated in many ways, from Anglo homes to children watching TV programs. In addition, a normal Spanglish conversation will have an amalgam of forms depending on the situation. Most of the time, English is chosen since it is easier to express the meaning of a subject than Spanish. Moreover, although many Americans have exposed to other foreign languages, they are still willing to learn Spanish since there are 19 million Hispanics

The Language Culture and Society programme provides us with strong theoretical and interdisciplinary foundation for the study of a range of educational practices across the human lifespan and in a range of theoretical and methodological perspective is brought to bear on studies that explore the nature of literate practices, democracy and civic engagement and participation in social life. The programme focuses on relationships between education school and the dynamics and changing structures of language, culture, and society. It examines connection between broader, social, cultural, linguistic, historical, aesthetic and political factors in education and the local context in which these issues take place.