Robert Yemola
Copper Stream
January 11, 2008

Language Autobiography

We were all sitting at the dinning room table eating our Dinner like Vultures. Nobody was talking just focusing on eating, the only sound that you heard was the clinking of forks against glass plates. Finally my little brother spoke up asking for more food.
“Mom I need more mashed potatoes”
My mom began to reach for the mashed potatoes when my grandmother snatched the potatoes real quick and said, “ That’s not how you ask for something”
“Mom can you place some mashed potatoes on my plate” Said my little brother trying to be funny
“Well if your not going to be serious and ask right then you can go sit in the parlor until you decide what is the proper way to ask for the Potatoes” said my grandmother angrily
“Fine then may I please have some more mashed potatoes” my brother finally said before she got any angrier but it was too late my grandmother was already angry.
“Cindy these kids really need to start talking more proper, he’s 8 years old already and he still thinks it is ok to use improper English,” Said my grandmother to my mom
“Believe me I know,” said my mom annoyed.
“Well if you know they why are you just sitting there letting him talk like that” said my grand-mom “ When I taught you when you were young I taught you that you would always speak proper English and I thought that you would pass on what I taught you on to your children.”
“He asked for some properly so just let it go I don’t know why making such a big deal out of this” My mom finally said in an angry tone.
    In today’s society language does affect how far you get in life but it is not as much of a factor as 50 years ago. That is why in this conversation my grand-mom gets upset, because when she was little if you did not speak proper you would not have as many opportunities in life.
Even though that is not the case in today’s time my grand-mom has not realized that it has changed. That is the way that a majority of old people are, they do not want to change their views on things. Even if the thing that they still believe in is really wrong they wont change their mind.
    So in today’s time even though language does affect some of your opportunities. If you go for a job interview you should speak in some type of proper English. But its not like old times where you are supposed to speak proper English all of the time.
    The final thing is that over time the definition of proper English has changed. Fifty years ago proper was really proper and over the years proper English has gotten less proper. So old people who still have not changed their views use the old definition of proper English that no one uses anymore, instead of the new proper English that is not as proper.
So I think that in the end it comes down to the fact that older people do not want to change their views. My grand-mom thought that my little brother was speaking very improper when he was actually speaking normal English in today’s definition.