Dalena Bui Language Autobiography
Introduction & Reflection
I have really never thought about language identity. All of thought of myself was a American person and Vietnamese. This paper helped me realized how language is not only a part of you but how you can communicate in many different ways with the world. Language is a used in so many ways people don't even know.
When I first started this paper i didn't really know what to write. The idea" Language Identity really confused me because I have never even thought about it. After I got my idea down the paper came with ease because my life was filled with it. The strong parts of my paper is where I have a conversation with my dad because that scene is something I never forgot. It truly shows emotions of how language is so universal. The hardest for me was just getting all my ideas on a paper and some scenes lack depth but overall I am proud of my paper. I learned that Language is done in so many different ways. Language is always in our lives but we never noticed it.
Language Autobiography
When I was young there were moments in my life where I was ashamed of being Vietnamese. I didn’t want to embrace being Asian because I didn’t felt like I would fit in with the rest of my classmates at that time or in society. It all started when I was in kindergarten. It was my first day of school. I remembered as I walk through those doors for the first time. I walked in and all these strange faces looked at me as I went in and took my seat. I was the only Asian in that classroom and I felt very isolated. I made a friend that day but I couldn’t help comparing myself to her because she was white, tall, blue eyes and blond hair, the exact opposite of me. I wondered why I couldn’t look like her blond hair and blue eyes and all. That’s not the only thing that set us apart. She spoke English everywhere she went and I spoke broken Vietnamese and English. That only made me feels even more isolated.
There was a back to school night and the parents were invited to go into the class. All around me every parent was speaking English while my dad tried to speak in his broken English but it didn’t fool anyone that he clearly only could speak Vietnamese. I felt embarrassed while other parents would try to hold a conversation with him but in the end withering away or looking in the crowd for someone better to.Someone that they could actually hold a conversation with. I wanted to trade my race with anyone in that room forever. But most of all I wanted to trade my dad. I blamed my dad for making me feel the way I felt because he just had to go and be Asian. He didn’t have to face the kids I had to face everyday feeling isolated and alone. He didn’t have to hear everyone whisper comments about his appearance “ Oh look how short she is” or “ Why does she talk differently”? So many comments everyday and I couldn’t escape them because they were all classmates. I didn’t even feel comfortable in my own skin. My image about my self-appearance only got worst and worst as I grew up. I start comparing myself to everyone thinking why I couldn’t look like them or talk in just English or why couldn’t my parents converse and talk to parents without their Vietnamese slipping out. That was one of the low points in my life.
One day my dad and I were driving in the car I was thinking about school at that time. Every painful memory came rushing back and then I turned to my dad and yelled at him “ Cha Tôi ghét là người Việt Nam!”. My dad looked shocked and asked me “lý do tại sao bạn la hét tất cả các của một bất ngờ?làm những gì có nghĩa là bạn ghét là Việt?” All the anger I ever felt and all those years built up at me as I yelled at him and blamed him for my pain” Tôi sẽ không bao giờ phù hợp với các trẻ em Mỹ. Bạn không biết bao nhiêu điều đau khổ nghe commenrs về được châu Á! Bạn không phải đi học với trẻ em nhận xét về bạn mỗi bước di chuyển.Bạn không cần phải được đánh giá hàng ngàycủa cuộc sống của bạn!”. My dad just looked at me with a sad expression and just kept driving at looked ahead. I felt horrible the whole way home because my dad didn’t deserve me yelling at him. I knew my dad was shocked and his feelings were hurt just by the look on his face. I will never forget the painful shocked look on his face. At home I said to my dad “cha tôi xin lỗi vì la hét tại bạn không có lý do”. My dad said to me “Tôi không quan tâm mà bạn hét vào mặt tôi, nhưng có bạn cảm thấy rằng tất cảnhững năm này?Bạn có xấu hổ là người Việt Nam. I couldn’t look at him in the eyes after he asked me if I was really ashamed of being Vietnamese and they way it sounded coming out his mouth sounded horrible. It made me question why was I so ashamed of being Vietnamese? Why didn’t I like my race? Did I hate myself? All these questions went through my mind as I questioned myself. At that moment I was truly ashamed to even look at myself. My dad just looked at me as tears were collecting in my eyes. I looked at my dad” Cha tôi khủng khiếp thậm chí nghĩ rằng không? Cha có thể thậm chí khôngnhìn vào bản thân mình ngay bây giờ.Tôi khủng khiếp. My dad just looked at me and said that he couldn’t make me feel anymore comfortable in my skin if he pushes me to accept me being Vietnamese. I can only make myself accept for whom I am.
Overtime I learned to be comfortable in my skin and being Vietnamese. But one day eventually I will be comfortable in my own skin. Language can be used in different ways. People communicate in so many Languages. Today the more Languages you know the better. But is it always better? You need to find the balance to use the languages you know or it can become a disaster when you are trying to use them. The short stories that I read all have the same message. All of them had a hard time using English in their every lives. People criticize them for not using English. They all eventually in the end learn to find the balance between their home language and the language they use in public. Languages can be your best friend but if you can’t find the balance between both then it can also become your worst enemy.
Language is so universal. People can talk to each other through so many forms of language. Language can be spoken but people can also use movements to communicate. People from all over the world speak different languages but weirdly we all find ways to communicate with each other. Communication through language is done in so many ways. We are all different hair eyes ,mouth ,lips but we all have one thing in common. We all want to know so much more then what we already have. We want to understand all the languages used all around the world. Language is Universal. For me Languages has always been in my life .English Outside and Vietnamese from my parents. I am happy to have both. They let me communicate with people in so many ways
I have really never thought about language identity. All of thought of myself was a American person and Vietnamese. This paper helped me realized how language is not only a part of you but how you can communicate in many different ways with the world. Language is a used in so many ways people don't even know.
When I first started this paper i didn't really know what to write. The idea" Language Identity really confused me because I have never even thought about it. After I got my idea down the paper came with ease because my life was filled with it. The strong parts of my paper is where I have a conversation with my dad because that scene is something I never forgot. It truly shows emotions of how language is so universal. The hardest for me was just getting all my ideas on a paper and some scenes lack depth but overall I am proud of my paper. I learned that Language is done in so many different ways. Language is always in our lives but we never noticed it.
Language Autobiography
When I was young there were moments in my life where I was ashamed of being Vietnamese. I didn’t want to embrace being Asian because I didn’t felt like I would fit in with the rest of my classmates at that time or in society. It all started when I was in kindergarten. It was my first day of school. I remembered as I walk through those doors for the first time. I walked in and all these strange faces looked at me as I went in and took my seat. I was the only Asian in that classroom and I felt very isolated. I made a friend that day but I couldn’t help comparing myself to her because she was white, tall, blue eyes and blond hair, the exact opposite of me. I wondered why I couldn’t look like her blond hair and blue eyes and all. That’s not the only thing that set us apart. She spoke English everywhere she went and I spoke broken Vietnamese and English. That only made me feels even more isolated.
There was a back to school night and the parents were invited to go into the class. All around me every parent was speaking English while my dad tried to speak in his broken English but it didn’t fool anyone that he clearly only could speak Vietnamese. I felt embarrassed while other parents would try to hold a conversation with him but in the end withering away or looking in the crowd for someone better to.Someone that they could actually hold a conversation with. I wanted to trade my race with anyone in that room forever. But most of all I wanted to trade my dad. I blamed my dad for making me feel the way I felt because he just had to go and be Asian. He didn’t have to face the kids I had to face everyday feeling isolated and alone. He didn’t have to hear everyone whisper comments about his appearance “ Oh look how short she is” or “ Why does she talk differently”? So many comments everyday and I couldn’t escape them because they were all classmates. I didn’t even feel comfortable in my own skin. My image about my self-appearance only got worst and worst as I grew up. I start comparing myself to everyone thinking why I couldn’t look like them or talk in just English or why couldn’t my parents converse and talk to parents without their Vietnamese slipping out. That was one of the low points in my life.
One day my dad and I were driving in the car I was thinking about school at that time. Every painful memory came rushing back and then I turned to my dad and yelled at him “ Cha Tôi ghét là người Việt Nam!”. My dad looked shocked and asked me “lý do tại sao bạn la hét tất cả các của một bất ngờ?làm những gì có nghĩa là bạn ghét là Việt?” All the anger I ever felt and all those years built up at me as I yelled at him and blamed him for my pain” Tôi sẽ không bao giờ phù hợp với các trẻ em Mỹ. Bạn không biết bao nhiêu điều đau khổ nghe commenrs về được châu Á! Bạn không phải đi học với trẻ em nhận xét về bạn mỗi bước di chuyển.Bạn không cần phải được đánh giá hàng ngàycủa cuộc sống của bạn!”. My dad just looked at me with a sad expression and just kept driving at looked ahead. I felt horrible the whole way home because my dad didn’t deserve me yelling at him. I knew my dad was shocked and his feelings were hurt just by the look on his face. I will never forget the painful shocked look on his face. At home I said to my dad “cha tôi xin lỗi vì la hét tại bạn không có lý do”. My dad said to me “Tôi không quan tâm mà bạn hét vào mặt tôi, nhưng có bạn cảm thấy rằng tất cảnhững năm này?Bạn có xấu hổ là người Việt Nam. I couldn’t look at him in the eyes after he asked me if I was really ashamed of being Vietnamese and they way it sounded coming out his mouth sounded horrible. It made me question why was I so ashamed of being Vietnamese? Why didn’t I like my race? Did I hate myself? All these questions went through my mind as I questioned myself. At that moment I was truly ashamed to even look at myself. My dad just looked at me as tears were collecting in my eyes. I looked at my dad” Cha tôi khủng khiếp thậm chí nghĩ rằng không? Cha có thể thậm chí khôngnhìn vào bản thân mình ngay bây giờ.Tôi khủng khiếp. My dad just looked at me and said that he couldn’t make me feel anymore comfortable in my skin if he pushes me to accept me being Vietnamese. I can only make myself accept for whom I am.
Overtime I learned to be comfortable in my skin and being Vietnamese. But one day eventually I will be comfortable in my own skin. Language can be used in different ways. People communicate in so many Languages. Today the more Languages you know the better. But is it always better? You need to find the balance to use the languages you know or it can become a disaster when you are trying to use them. The short stories that I read all have the same message. All of them had a hard time using English in their every lives. People criticize them for not using English. They all eventually in the end learn to find the balance between their home language and the language they use in public. Languages can be your best friend but if you can’t find the balance between both then it can also become your worst enemy.
Language is so universal. People can talk to each other through so many forms of language. Language can be spoken but people can also use movements to communicate. People from all over the world speak different languages but weirdly we all find ways to communicate with each other. Communication through language is done in so many ways. We are all different hair eyes ,mouth ,lips but we all have one thing in common. We all want to know so much more then what we already have. We want to understand all the languages used all around the world. Language is Universal. For me Languages has always been in my life .English Outside and Vietnamese from my parents. I am happy to have both. They let me communicate with people in so many ways
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