Up close, language can seem almost trivial; after all, language is “simply” a combination of sounds that people have given meaning to. Yet the influence of language is immeasurable; communication—through the use of language—has given way to peace, war, creation, destruction, unity, division. In America especially, language is an aspect of life that cannot be overlooked, for the nation consists of so many people from distinct cultures who speak different languages. Although the shared language within each culture serves as a means of uniting people, the differences in how people speak has given way to racism and nativism—usually from native-born Americans of European descent—towards immigrants or people of different cultures. Ultimately, language …show more content…
This can even be manifested in names; when people have foreign-sounding name, they are often not associated with the English language and face ostracism on the grounds that they aren’t like Americans. Firoozeh Dumas, in her essay “The ‘F Word,’” explains how her unfamiliar name, which was considered normal in Iran, resulted in her being discriminated against in America. After deciding to go by Julie instead of Firoozeh—due to remarks from her peers—her American classmates became accepting towards her, prompting Dumas’s realization that “these people would have probably never invited [her] to their house had they known [her] as Firoozeh” (Dumas 740). In this, Dumas shows how her American classmates were far more willing to accept someone who spoke English and had a name that was familiar to them. Dumas’s original name, Firoozeh, suggested that she wasn’t born in America, so her peers excluded her. In Dumas’s case, her foreign name had the power to show that she was Iranian—or at least from a different country—so people discriminated against her because they were able to recognize that she was unlike them. Moreover, Dumas’s situation demonstrates how only when English is completely adopted by an individual (extending even to a person’s name) will she be accepted by her …show more content…
In her essay “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan reveals how Americans mistreated her Chinese mother because her English wasn’t impeccable. Tan even discusses how she was embarrassed by her mother’s English, writing that she “believed that her [mother’s] English reflected the quality of what she had to say” (Tan 702). Essentially, the difference between how Tan spoke and how her mother spoke—in Tan’s point of view—suggested that Tan’s mother was unintelligent because she couldn’t speak English as well as Tan. Many people make the inappropriate assumption that a person’s intelligence can be measured by how well he speaks a language; when people notice a mistake when someone else is speaking, they are more likely to view that person as less intelligent, which often gives way to mistreatment of these people who are perceived as unintelligent. In the case of Tan’s mother, “people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously” (Tan 702). For others, perceived ignorance might result in people disregarding what someone has to say. Ultimately, this impacts both the person being labeled as “dumb” and the person who is judging the individual who is unable to speak the language perfectly. The person who is perceived as unintelligent will likely feel discouraged from
Despite the fact that a few of the names of Dumas ' family members and friends may be perceived as a bit humorous in English, the primary reason of contrasting the names in Farsi opposed to the English interpretations is to show the distinction between divergent names and cultures. The comparison demonstrates an example of how a name can have a beautiful meaning in one culture, yet can be marred and mocked in other cultures solely because of the pronunciation. Additionally, the comparison gives insight into a miniscule portion of the ridicule received by immigrants based off of their name or culture. This ridicule faced by immigrants, in my opinion, seems extremely offensive to not only the individual confronted with mockery, but to the individual
The essay “The F Word” was written by Firoozeh Dumas who was a young Iranian girl when she and her family moved to America. She has written this essay due to justify the way American people see foreigners. She expresses in depth the troubles she went through when she was a child growing up with an Iranian name. She explains the thoughts that the other kids had and she gives examples of how these kids made fun of her other Iranian friends and siblings. Her reason for writing this essay was to bring attention to what growing up as foreigner with a different type of name is like in America.
The Skin That We Speak The way a person speaks is a direct link to a person’s culture and the environment which he or she was raised in. A person’s language, skin color as well as economic status influences the way he or she is perceived by others. Lisa Delpit and eleven other educators provide different viewpoints on how language from students of different cultures, ethnicity, and even economic status can be misinterpreted due to slang and dialect or nonstandard English by the teachers as well as his or her own peers. The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit and Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, who collected essays from a diverse group of educators and scholars to reflect on the issue of language
Iranian writer, Firoozeh Dumas, in her narrative essay, “The F Word,”illustrates the challenges of having a different name in America. Dumas’ purpose is to represent the importance of accepting one’s identity and other’s. Having a different name brought her a great challenge to fit in with her peers. Through the story, she learned how to accept her own name and how should others accept people’s differences. She portrays this idea in a humorous way.
The need to conform is a vital part in an individual 's behavior. The communities in which surround everyone’s lives has a funny way of making individuals give up crucial parts of themselves to “fit in with the crowd.” Funny in Farsi is a memoir written by Firoozeh Dumas in which she talks about the experiences and challenges she faced as an Iranian American. Dumas, the author of Funny in Farsi, states that in order to fully assimilate into an unfamiliar community, sometimes one may have to give up parts of their own identity to fully achieve full integration into their newfound community. Firoozeh emigrated to America with many cultural difficulties, but one of the most inconvenient (according to Dumas) was her name.
Lera Boroditsky, a professor at Stanford, introduces readers to the question of whether a person’s language can shape their thought processes and views of the world around them through her research conducted at Stanford and MIT. Boroditsky explores further into the questioning about a language’s influence in her article “Lost in Translation”. Boroditsky proves to an audience of broad audience of scholars and people interested in cultural psychology that a person’s language not only influences the way a person thinks but can change a person’s perception of the world and media around them. Lera Boroditsky, through her use of rhetorical questions, comparisons, and addressing the counterargument achieves her purpose of proving that language does
While at a public speaking, Tan realized that she was using all these large words that her audience understood but her mother did not. “I was saying things like, “The intersection of memory upon imagination” and “There is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus–and-thus…the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother” (Tan 58). Tan’s mother was in the room while Tan was giving the speech and that was when she realized that language could be a powerful tool that can connect each other in different ways. The English language can also bring people together who speak English but not in such a common way. “We were talking about the price of new and used furniture and I heard myself saying this: “Not waste money that way” (Tan 58).
The power of language We all have some form of language limitations, no matter where we come from and what our background is. “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua both share similar themes in their stories that demonstrate how they both deal with how different forms of the same language are portrayed in society. In both stories they speak about what society declares the right way of speech and having to face prejudgment, the two authors share their personal experiences of how they’ve dealt with it.
This anglicization of foreign names is disrespectful and oppressive
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American. The author is very fascinated by the language and she believes that the language has the power of emotions, a visual image, a complex idea, and a simple truth. She also believes that there are many different types of “Englishes”.
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.
After reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, my perspective changed about the struggles for people who are not as good at English. All throughout this article Tan uses personal experience from her mom to show the readers the struggle while also using primary sources to back up her claim. All the evidence backs up her initial claim and as the reader your perspective changes after reading about how she personally was effected. The author 's main claim of Mother Tongue is to persuade people so respect people who struggle with English because she has serval personal connections, she has fact based proof, and she is an experienced writer on this topic and in general. All throughout the reading she uses many personal stories and personal experiences on how difficult it was for her mother to go through her everyday life.
The article 'Mother Tongue ' by author Amy Tan is about the variations in the English language the author uses in her life. She describes her English when giving a speech to a other people, English she uses when speaking to her mother, and English she uses in her writing. She tells of difficulties faced by both her mother and herself from these many differences. Amy 's goal in this article is to show that a person does not have to speak proper English to be seen as smart or intelligent.
Do we think about language when thinking about the origin of racism? We most likely don’t think about it since language and racism do not appear to be correlated. But aren’t they associated? Yes, they are associated in the sense that language itself can take the form of racism. It is essential to acknowledge that language is one of the most influential contributors to racism in order to see the correlation between them.
Discrimination is an action or a decision that treats a man or a social affair gravely for reasons, for instance, their race, age or debilitate. It includes so many things like race/ethnicity, age, color, region, sex, employment and culture. Language is one of the discrimination types which I am going to describe. It is very important part of every culture, religion or country. It is a way of communication through which we all share our feelings to each other.