Personal Narrative: My Native Language
My native language is Spanish, yet I have always craved the English language. This unexplained desire has shaped my most significant life decisions, and I believe was triggered as a result of being born in a foreign country. I was born in Hong Kong, China, due to my father’s job. During my pre-school years in China I attended an English/Chinese dual-language school which I believe was where I first dipped my toes into this small puddle containing the English language. It was later in life that I discovered there was an ocean of knowledge available and I wanted nothing more than to let myself sink into it.
When I was five years old, it was time for me and my Argentine family to head back “home”. As I grew older, however, it was clear to me that I did not feel as attached to the culture and language in Argentina as the people around me. My father is Italian—a nationality which passed down onto me—and knew how it felt like to be a fish out of water in a country which did not seem one’s own native land. In order to ease the transition, my family enrolled me in primary and secondary schools that included dual English/Spanish education as well. During the nineteen years I have spent living in Argentina, the amiability of the people and their strong attachment to the country’s culture made me admire and respect the nation that welcomed and nurtured me. I had come to realize that it was not a native country what I felt attached to, but rather the English language. So when the time
Analysis Of The New Bathroom Policy At English High School By Martin Espada
1063 Words | 5 PagesGrowing up Mexican-American in the United States can be a challenge itself. Throw in the task, of learning two languages, it made for a very confused little girl. There was often times growing up when I wondered why no one, but my family spoke Spanish. Why everyone at school and all my friends spoke this different language. Sometimes it even seemed like I was two different people.
Analysis Of The New Bathroom Policy At English High School By Espada
1133 Words | 5 PagesThroughout his text, he explains that he felt uncomfortable at school knowing he would have to speak this language that didn't connect to his identity. A significant quote from his text is “At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth; I was an American citizen (Rodriguez 120-122).” This quote means that after having to learn English and somewhat feeling secure with it, he imagined the truth of being American. Another important selection that stands out to me is “But the special feeling of closeness at home was diminished by then (Rodriguez 123-125).” The reason why this quote is so important is given the fact once he felt further comfortable with English, he lost that connection with his family through Spanish.
Martin Espada Is A Mexican-American Author And Ambassador For Latinos By Richard Rodriguez
1063 Words | 5 PagesThis then leads to the problem that in this public life being bilingual or not being able to speak English was still being discriminated against. In public life, people need to be more accepting of others who speak different languages and also not contribute to getting rid of their language in America. Espadas claims culture is important and people who are a part of the English-Only movement are causing so many people to abandon their culture. While speaking out about the cultural warfare in America, Espada declares, “There are too many in this country who would amputate the Spanish tongue. Given this cultural aggression, it is astonishing that more Latinos have not lost their Spanish altogether, that so many Latinos still speak as much Spanish as they do” (Espada 26-31).
Personal Narrative: My Quinciañera
683 Words | 3 PagesAs a Cuban-born woman, my expected role in society is clearly defined; my thoughts and personality have a mold into which they must fit. However, a month before my fifth birthday my family made the decision to move to the United States and in doing so liberated me from these expectations and gave me the freedom to explore my own interests and beliefs. Ten years later, they were making preparations for my Quinciañera. Due to my Cuban heritage, my coming of age was set to be commemorated by a very long and very expensive night of food, dance, and family. For the same cost as the down payment on a relatively small house, I would be given the opportunity to put on a show in a dress that restricted my airways and provide food and drink for about
Personal Narrative: My Feelings Towards Writing
298 Words | 2 PagesMy feelings toward writing aren 't good nor bad. Writing is something i have had difficulty with in my past. I have no problem brainstorming ideas on what topics to write my assignments on, even if i am given a prompt, but I do have difficulty with sitting down and planning my work. I always find myself getting stuck. So I almost never take the time out to plan out my ideas i come up with.
Personal Narrative: My Writing Process
229 Words | 1 PagesExit Essay Before fall semester started my writing skill were not the best as my high school was not as strict in writing structure. The way I write has gotten sloppy and careless but I saw some improvement this fall semester In semester in English 1301, I have relearn grammar and sentence structure.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Always Living In Spanish
753 Words | 4 PagesEven if an immigrant successfully overcomes all political obstacles and makes it to a new country, the change in culture waiting on the other side can prove an even bigger hurdle. In “Always Living in Spanish,” author and professor, Marjorie Agosín recounts her own struggle to balance old and new culture after being forced from her home country of Chile. Agosín explains to Americans why immigrants want to hold
Comparing Aira By Richard Rodriguez And Mother Tongue By Amy Tan
1513 Words | 7 PagesRichard Rodriguez’s “ Aira: A Memoir of Bilingual Childhood” and Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” both exercise the three common rhetoric devices – pathos, ethos, and logos – to appeal to the audience and to make their arguments within the text more valid and comprehensive. Both authors write about their experiences and struggles with immigration and the assimilation into the public identity and society, but their reactions to these situations are similar and different in several forms and aspects, including how they were presented to the public identity, how they reacted to the public identity and assimilation into the society by facing their challenges, what their family connection was, and what credibility they have. While both authors did resist
Espadas Bilingualism
601 Words | 3 PagesHe supports this argument by telling his own story of being forced to learn English by the bilingual education system. The experience he had learning English made him experience great embarrassment, sadness, and change. Rodriguez concludes his experience by discussing how English had changed his personal life at home: “We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close;no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness.” By learning English, Rodriguez’s family is finally able to integrate into society without language barriers.
Summary Of Aria By Richard Rodriguez
428 Words | 2 PagesIn the essay, Rodriguez dates back to an experience with language that caused him to feel embarrassed and insecure. He recalls to an occurrence with his father in which it was “unsettling to hear [him] struggle with English” (Rodriguez 296). Rodriguez could not help but to look away as his father’s “words slid together” in an attempt to produce a clear English statement (Rodriguez 296). However, to Rodriguez, his native Spanish language was his “language of home” and he felt a special connection to it as it became for him a “language of joyful return” to which he could come back to at any given moment in time. Rodriguez’s psychological appeals help to emphasize the differences between his native Spanish language and the English
Personal Narrative: AP Lang Class
214 Words | 1 PagesFlashback to my junior year. I sat quietly in my AP Lang class as my teacher, Mrs. Fisher, announced that the reading competition between the language arts classes called for the book count for September. She stood at the board, marker in hand, staring out expectantly at her large class. Hands shot up across the classroom, and my own nervous hand rose up to join them. Mrs. Fisher happily chalked up the small fortune of books that our class had read.
Compare And Contrast Richard Rodriguez And Anzaldúa
701 Words | 3 PagesRodriguez would speak English in school because to him it was a “public language”, while Spanish was a “private language” (72). Rodriguez
Personal Narrative: My Experience Of Reading And Writing
278 Words | 2 PagesI 've learned that reading and writing can take me any where I want it to go. I can explore my mind to go anywhere by imagination, by reading and writing. However,My reading and writing experience since I was a kid until now I still having a difficulty. When I was 3 years old my mom started me to learn how to read and write. At first, I 'm having a difficulty to read and write but my mom tried her best to taught me.
The Influence Of American Culture: El Paso
648 Words | 3 PagesAs a child it was hard for me to learn two languages at once, but it was essential to break the communication barrier. By the age of three I spoke proficient
No Comprendo Analysis
438 Words | 2 Pages“It’s the whole environment,” she replied. “All kinds of services are available in Spanish or Spanglish. Sports and after-school activities are conducted in Spanglish. That’s what the kids hear on the radio and in the street.” Until recently, immigrants made learning English a priority.
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