Like the authors in this chapter I to have felt the power of language in a few moments actually. There was one time that an elderly lady was having issues and no one could help her. The main reason is that she only spoke Spanish and nobody around, besides me spoke Spanish. I felt so bad for her because everybody was being so rude to her and were just not willing to help her, all because they did not understand what she was saying. Instead of looking for helping they just yelled and got louder, as if that was going to immediately make her comprehend what they are saying. So since my parents always told and taught me to respect, help and appreciate my elders because they have done so much with their lives, I mean come on they survived that long, :D already. Also it is nice to lend a hand whether it is asked of you or not. I decided to go and help but when I did all I did was get yelled at by the older lady and they person that was helping her. But it was okay because after translating for the older lady and explaining it to the person helping her and from the person back to the elderly lady, pretty much just talking to both parties, the problem was resolved and everybody was happy. I mean all she wanted was to know where the nearest phone was that she could use and where she can find some change for her phone call. Helping people is a good thing, especially when you do it just to help out not to get a thank you or anything in return. Random acts of kindness improve the world one smile at a time.
My parents as well as my grandparents all came LEGALLY from Mexico. I interviewed my mom about her view on the importance of language. When I interviewed my mom she feels that language is the most important thing because it is the best and easiest means of communications. My mom stated that the most important thing she had to do when she moved here was to learn the primary language of the population. So she spent lots of time learning how to speak English because she wanted to do anything she could to be the best off she could be at fitting in and doing what she needs to do. My mom said that looking back she made a good decision because her brother, which is my uncle, never learned the language and is now in a way paying the price for it. He has a harder time working because he does not really understand what is being said. He understands a little bit so he can put two and two together but that’s it. And for my mom Spanish went from being her first and primary language to being her secondary language. She also believes that she is more American than Mexican because she has lived her mostly all of her life and has done her absolute best to succeed where people of our race are set up to fail. In a way :)
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I enjoyed your blog very much. I especially like the example you gave in the form of a story. At moments it was hard to follow the story due to some run on sentences. I think just proofreading your work and breaking up some of those run on sentences would definitely help communicate your point in a clearer way. Everything you had to say was very well thought out, but some ideas can get lost in the delivery. I find that simply thinking about how to rephrase something really helps.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the moral aspects of your story and think they could have been emphasized even more. I think it is really cool that you interviewed your mom for your blog. That adds another layer of heart and depth to the piece. Overall this is really good and I can only suggest minor refinements. Also I would watch out for "texting" type of language such as smily faces. They can detract from the credibility and from what I read in the syllabus you might lose some points so I just wanted to give you a heads up on that. I like that you drew attention to the fact that your grandparent were legal immigrants. This must be a very important point to you and would love to see you expand on it further. Good blog, looking forward to the next one!
- Ben Andrews
The example you give with the little old lady is a thing I see happen time and time again. It is so weird how we tend to think the louder we speak the clearer a person who does not speak English will understand. I must admit I have been one of those people who speaks louder and for some reason think it is going to get the non-English speaker to understand. It has never been me to be the mean one though, and it does break my heart when people are just asking for help and are being treated unfairly. I agree with the random acts of kindness and I try to do something good at least everyday. My boyfriends mother also came to America legally and is still struggling to speak the language however unlike your uncle she has not struggled to find work, although she works hard for little pay it is unfortunate. I know she would love to speak English. It is funny though because while she is trying to speak and learn English I am trying to learn Spanish. I hear Spanish is the easiest but I still struggle. Language of any sort is important since its our only means of communication.
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