Otherness In America's Culture

The joke Blumenfeld told makes the reader think twice about English being the only official language of the United States, and their stance on it. The joke is a view of the United States from people in other parts of the world, and this may make an American question whether he or she wants to be seen that way, basically belittled because the U.S. has only one official language. Blumenfeld tells a story about his Mexican friend, who is fluent in English, said a phrase in Spanish during recess when he was in elementary school. A teacher overheard him and brought him to the principal’s office where was forced into “Spanish detention.” His friend’s experience of being bullied and punished for speaking Spanish makes any reader who’s first language isn’t English feel uneasy.

About 400 unique non-English languages are spoken in the United States, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. Even after almost 450 years since the colonization of America by the British, controversially, an official language has yet to be named. According to Martin Espada, writer of “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” the ability to speak native languages in America is a right that should be respected and not infringed upon by English-only policies. Conversely, Richard Rodriguez, author of “Hunger of Memory,” claims that English-only policies are precisely what non-native speakers need to be successful. As Espada and Rodriguez both offer valuable perspectives on the role of language, I believe

There is an attack on how the English language segregate the children in schools. Smith states that English makes people smarter and brings people together because of the common speech. However, Kanae states that the English standard separates people and causes animosity because there is no room for other languages. This is true because the school systems back then would not even allow any other languages to be spoken, except standard English. Smith stated in her excerpt that English makes intelligence and unity.

Career Summary Paper My Father came to the United States about 40 years ago he came as an immigrant his whole Entire life he worked to get where he wanted to be .20 years later he did. He got his papers and brought My Mother and Brothers to America. I was Blessed to be Born here where I got a great education and support.

Latinos In The Media: The Stereotypes We Swallow Stereotypes, as defined by Merriam-Webster, are something conforming to a fixed or general pattern, especially a standardized mental image that represents a prejudiced opinion. Common examples include “the dumb blonde” or “the boring cat lady.” Mainstream media often portrays Latinos as “lazy,” “dishonest,” and “poor.” While I Love Lucy (1951-1957), Chico and the Man (1974-1978), and ¿Qué Pasa, USA? (1977-1980) were all popular television shows that presented Latino men in a positive light, they simultaneously propagated stereotypes.

In “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” Richard Rodriguez outlines the struggles he encountered growing up speaking Spanish in an English speaking society. He describes some of the hardships and difficulties he was forced to endure in assimilating into an English speaking American culture. In his essay, Rodriguez describes the importance of language and the influence it had on his early life. Through the use of vivid imagery and psychological appeals, Rodriguez is able to compare his native Spanish language to the foreign English language that surrounds him.

Especially living in the United States of America which is considered to be one of the most diverse countries in the world where there are many different languages spoken by people who come from all over the world, having one more language spoken within our country shouldn’t be a

First of all, the use of foreign language in a classroom can create a less prejudice environment. The United States is a very diverse nation, but there is much racism that comes with the diversity. If children are taught a different language at a young age they will also learn about the culture

Is America better than every other country in the world? We live in a country that is probably one of the freest nations in the world where our constitutional rights are focused on our freedom politically and on a personal level. However does that make us better than everyone else in every way? Most Americans would like to think so even as egocentric as it is; more and more Americans are starting to see that America might be flawed compared to other countries. American exceptionalism has been a part of American history pretty much since the beginning.

Understanding English helps immigrants find better jobs, reducing poverty and increasing the nation’s economy. Upon immigration to any country, one of the first things one must do is find a job. However, if one cannot speak the language of their new country, many employers find it disadvantageous to hire foreigners who are not English proficient. In Blackwell 's article “English Should Be America’s Official Language” he says that “[people] who can speak English can compete for better jobs, with better pay,” as they have one of the most basic skills required for most jobs in America (par. 10). In fact, some employers are even requiring their employees to only speak English while on the job.

Of my point of view, I think it is important to fluency in the native language because it often helps to learn any other language. Parents must make an effort to make their children use to live with other nationalities, they must also have to be educated academically because they will understand what their children need better than parents do not have a good academic level. I read in some articles that there are some states in the US are making considerable efforts to help immigrant student families who do not speak English by translate the basic information that the family has to be knowing it. The goal of this is to educate the immigrant parents. I see this is only a preliminary solution, because it is very necessary to have parents or

English is the most commonly spoken language in the United States, with over 78% of U.S. citizens speaking English. Due to English’s prevalence in the United States, one would assume that it is the official language of the U.S., so why not make it so? There would be many benefits to acknowledging English as the U.S.’s official language. Although the lack of an official language in the U.S. preserves language diversity and provides jobs for translators and interpreters, English should be declared the official language of the United States because it would encourage national unity and open many more job opportunities for immigrants. English should become the United States’ official language because it would promote national unity.

The Other varies from a person to another and from a generation to another, The first thing we have to do is to identify the Other by exploring it in Lee's novel, Claudia Durst Johnson states in her book In To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries that the work "invites the conclusion that we reach some sense of self-identity by our encounters with other forces, that is, with forces alien to our commonplace lives. As a result of these encounters, we break the cultural and psychological barriers that imprison us and come to embrace a larger world" (p.72). Meaning that the process of Othering is purely subjective to the white folk, ‘the Other’ is black; to the black people, ‘the Other’ is the whites and so on the circle is endless.

Language can often cause a debate amongst the general population. There are the people that advocate for being able to speak, learn and interact using their own language that may not be the most widely used language in the country they live in. There are also those that have lived in a certain country for an extended period of time and have spoken only the “first” language of the country. So, many of them believe it should be the only one used.

Ethnocentrism and its prevalence in U.S culture Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture. Individuals who are ethnocentric judge other groups in relation to their own ethnic group or culture. I think The United States likes to refer to themselves as the “big mixing pot” of cultures. I would agree, we do have a wide range of different cultures, but that does not mean that we do not “evaluate and judge other cultures based on how they compare to our own cultural norms.” I think us as Americans feel this way, because we are too scared to change what we have learned and known since birth.