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Sample Student final exam answers 2016 (2016 final exam assignment) Part 3: Model Research Reports |
LITR 4340
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Elizabeth Tinoco
Language Limbo
Guilt is something that I feel every time I am unable to translate my
words to a family member that only speaks Spanish or a new student who just
arrived from South America. My mother is from Mexico, who traveled to Texas when
she was only six years old, and acquired the English Language by the time she
was eight and my father is a Chicano, who speaks more English than Spanish. Then
you have me, their daughter who can understand, read, and write Spanish; but has
difficulty speaking it fluently. This is a story that I know other Latinos can
relate to, because I see it every day in the mainly Latino school and even the
community of southeast Houston I live in. The loss of the Spanish language can
result in the guilt of Latinos who do not acquire the Spanish language and even
internal discrimination and resentment between Latinos.
In Van C. Tran’s article, English
Gain vs. Spanish Loss? Language Assimilation among Second Generation Latinos,
He compares the numbers and percentages of second generation Latino’s who do
not speak Spanish and are bilingual and overviews the shift in speaking English
between first and second generation Latino’s and compares the language
assimilation with other cultures. Tran also emphasizes the increase in Latinos
who speak English and how bilingualism can possibly grow as Latinos grow into
adulthood. The percentage of second generation Latino’s who do not speak Spanish
is increasing because parents are not emphasizing the Spanish language to their
children, yet when their children get older, the pressure of speaking Spanish
stresses. The result of this forces these Latinos to quickly and fluently learn
the Spanish language if the guilt of not speaking Spanish is big enough. Tran
also suggests that the amount of Spanish spoken by Latinos can possibly grow if
schools were to offer more bilingual classes, which could definitely work in
favor of Latinos who have seemed to lose their language of heritage.
An outcome of Latinos losing the language of their culture can create
animosity between other Latinos. In the article,
The Politics of Perception: An
Investigation of the Presence and Sources of Perceptions of Internal
Discrimination Among Latinos, by Jessica L, Monforti and Gabriel R. Sanchez,
they discuss the resentment between Latinos, mentioning the lack of acquisition
in the Spanish language. I see this resentment constantly in the community I
live in; it happens mostly with the young generations of Latinos who do not
speak Spanish, offending or inconveniencing an older person who only speaks
Spanish. These situations ultimately lead to guilt, young people feel guilty for
never bothering to learn their cultural language and parents feel guilty for not
passing on such an important part of their culture.
Even though some parents feel guilty for not teaching their children
Spanish, those who immigrated to America, do not teach their children Spanish on
purpose. They don’t pass on their native language in fear that their children
will be made fun of if they do not speak English perfectly. In a podcast about
Elysha O’Brien, a woman from the Mexican Heritage, discusses the reason why she
does not speak Spanish. In the podcast,
Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language, O’Brien describes growing
up and how she used to refuse her Mexican culture and she felt that it was due
to her parents not teaching her Spanish. She goes on to say that the reasons for
her parents not teaching her Spanish by saying, “the couple made a collective
decision to ensure the next generation mastered English without the hint of an
accent.” According to O’Brien, this
decision was backed by the punishment and ridicule of speaking Spanish that her
parents wanted their children to avoid. O’Brien’s story is one that is like many
Latinos living in American today: they struggle with identifying with the Latino
culture because of their lack of the native language and feel guilty for
abandoning their roots.
In result of feeling guilty for being a Latino who does not speak
Spanish, more Latinos are passing down the Spanish language in their families or
making it a point to learn the language. In a L.A. Times article,
As more Latino kids speak only English,
parents worry about chatting with grandma, Brittny Mejia and Cindy Carcamo
write about the decline and rise of Latinos speaking Spanish. They discuss the
decline of Spanish due to the assimilation to the American culture, but the rise
of speaking Spanish due to parents who do not want to lose their culture in
another. Mejia and Carcamo give several stories of different Latino families
struggling to keep their culture in an American society but what makes it all
worth it is the ability to keep the culture alive. “For many families, language
is more than just about speaking,” one of the people interviewed said about the
importance of passing on the Spanish Language. This statement is one that not
only applies to the Latino culture by can also be applied to other cultures
because the native language can run deep in a cultures roots.
When I was younger, speaking Spanish wasn’t really important to me, I
didn’t see the big deal in speaking it, especially since my parents weren’t
forcing me to, but now as an adult I feel guilty for thinking that way. I live
with guilt and resentment for not realizing how important my culture is, so as a
result I’m rushing and doing everything I can to learn Spanish fluently and
harass my mother about telling me everything there is to know about my family’s
history in Mexico. At first it was out of guilt, but now it is because I want to
know where I come from because I feel that it plays into the person I am. I am a
Latina currently in a Language Limbo.
References
Mejia, Brittny, and Cindy Carcamo. "As More Latino Kids Speak Only English,
Parents Worry about Chatting with Grandma." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles
Times, 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.
Monforti, Jessica Lavariega, and Gabriel R. Sanchez. “The Politics of
Perception: An Investigation of the Presence and Sources of Perceptions of
Internal Discrimination Among Latinos.” Social Science Quarterly, vol.
91, no. 1, 2010, pp. 245–265.
www.jstor.org/stable/42956533.
Norris, Michele. "Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language Listen·
7:47." Audio blog post. Www.npr.org. N.p., 23 May 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.
Van C. Tran. “English Gain vs. Spanish Loss? Language Assimilation among
Second-Generation Latinos in Young Adulthood.” Social Forces, vol. 89,
no. 1, 2010, pp. 257–284. www.jstor.org/stable/40927562.
