Gberesin Language Autobiography
I. Introduction:
In this project we are are showing how language has effected our lives and how it can define some aspects of us. What was difficult for me about this project was how personally I have never been discriminated against, I guess that was the hardest part. Once I had the idea to talk about unity and division through language based differences it was simpler and my experiences just flowed out.
II. Language Autobiography:
II. Language Autobiography:
Language is a tool, a tool that can unite or divide a people. Language unifies those within the same culture and divides those who do not share the same culture. In this autobiographical essay I will be writing about how personally my family have never been discriminated against, but I have felt the barriers that language creates when in another culture. My travels to Costa Rica showed me what it feels like to be speechless, and my grandparents told me how their families were discriminated against when they came to America.
I traveled to Costa Rica when I was in eighth grade, knowing little Spanish. We went there to do community service for a small town named Turrialba. This community has a slightly different form of Spanish than other parts of Central America. Through this difference in dialect it has brought this small mountain community closer than ever to each other. My reasoning for this is that when you are in such a small community you need to be close to each other to survive. A lot of times people cant afford to feed their family three meals a day, they share all food and invite anyone off the street or stranger for a hot meal and a bed. This town was extremely small and was three to four hours from the closest city, the capital, San Jose.
I did not speak much Spanish, and we were staying in local townspeople’s homes. My “Madre” was a very nice lady, a grandmother of about 70 years old. She lived with her grandson and occasionally a few people would drop for meals. Meals were very loud, but we students were very quiet. We did not want to make fools of ourselves trying to communicate with the locals. We mainly sat there, smiled, and said please and thank you. Even though we were very welcomed and people were really nice, I felt separated form everyone else because didn’t really know them.
A memory I have of this significant barrier is when, a few nights in, I asked my Madre where I could go to do my laundry. I thought I knew how to ask that in Spanish from a dictionary I brought, but I was wrong. I ended up sounding like an idiot. She looked at me like I was crazy, and said “ Que?” So I repeated the phrase more carefully and slowly. She repeated, looking like I was even crazier, “Que?” It turned out I was saying, “Where can I going my washing?” Over time, she shushed me and grabbed my laundry, called me “Tito” meaning cute, and chuckled.
Sometimes language isn’t necessary. Some kids invited me to play soccer with them out in the street, just by holding up a soccer ball and waving. I immediately understood and we began to play. All that was necessary was the soccer ball and the gestures. Thinking in a bigger perspective all language is, is a expanded version of gestures. Sometimes Language isnt needed when the act in which you are trying to do is portrayed in the same way for both cultures. In this case it was the act of play.
If I were to go back to Costa Rica, I would make sure to learn more Spanish. The language barrier, even though it was a good experience, was frustrating at times. Getting on a bus, getting directions, all of this was made more difficult than it needed to be. When talking with strangers the language barrier is harder, and the things you are asking them for are more complex.
My grandfather carries a small black book in which he has in every language the words “hot water.” He drinks it as tea for some reason. It can be quite embarrassing in public when my very Jewish grandfather tries to ask a Chinese waiter for hot water in his own language. It is embarrassing because they never know what he’s talking about, because he has a Yiddish accent whenever he speaks any language. “hey waiter, hehe, can I have some bai kai shwai?” “excuse me?” the waiter would say and so he would repeat, “Can I have some bai kai shwai?” Once he has confused the waiter enough, the waiter gives up and asks him in English what he is talking about. Usually this makes the waiter uncomfortable or it is the source of a good laugh for the waiter. This divides or unites, depending on the sense of humor of the waiter, and the seriousness of which it is told. It doesn’t cut it to learn one word of a language.
I for one do not speak Yiddish. My grandparents do, and my mom understands it, but cannot speak it. Over time, the Yiddish language has slowly disappeared. All that is left in America of Yiddish are curses, jokes and different words for food. I think the reason for this is that America is very intolerant of other languages, and when an immigrant comes to the country, it is harder to get jobs and do anything in a bustling economy when you don’t speak the language.
Overall, when immigrants come to a country, their connections to each other and to their culture will slowly evaporate, unless they are in a really close community. My grandparents, on my mother’s side, were bilingual as children because their parents were immigrants. On my father’s side, my grandparents were not immigrants, but their parents’ parent’s went through those troubles. It is amazing that even though we are of the same family, if I were to talk to my great grandparents on my mother’s side, I would not be able to talk to them. This comes to show that language when moved to a different culture unites and divides.
I traveled to Costa Rica when I was in eighth grade, knowing little Spanish. We went there to do community service for a small town named Turrialba. This community has a slightly different form of Spanish than other parts of Central America. Through this difference in dialect it has brought this small mountain community closer than ever to each other. My reasoning for this is that when you are in such a small community you need to be close to each other to survive. A lot of times people cant afford to feed their family three meals a day, they share all food and invite anyone off the street or stranger for a hot meal and a bed. This town was extremely small and was three to four hours from the closest city, the capital, San Jose.
I did not speak much Spanish, and we were staying in local townspeople’s homes. My “Madre” was a very nice lady, a grandmother of about 70 years old. She lived with her grandson and occasionally a few people would drop for meals. Meals were very loud, but we students were very quiet. We did not want to make fools of ourselves trying to communicate with the locals. We mainly sat there, smiled, and said please and thank you. Even though we were very welcomed and people were really nice, I felt separated form everyone else because didn’t really know them.
A memory I have of this significant barrier is when, a few nights in, I asked my Madre where I could go to do my laundry. I thought I knew how to ask that in Spanish from a dictionary I brought, but I was wrong. I ended up sounding like an idiot. She looked at me like I was crazy, and said “ Que?” So I repeated the phrase more carefully and slowly. She repeated, looking like I was even crazier, “Que?” It turned out I was saying, “Where can I going my washing?” Over time, she shushed me and grabbed my laundry, called me “Tito” meaning cute, and chuckled.
Sometimes language isn’t necessary. Some kids invited me to play soccer with them out in the street, just by holding up a soccer ball and waving. I immediately understood and we began to play. All that was necessary was the soccer ball and the gestures. Thinking in a bigger perspective all language is, is a expanded version of gestures. Sometimes Language isnt needed when the act in which you are trying to do is portrayed in the same way for both cultures. In this case it was the act of play.
If I were to go back to Costa Rica, I would make sure to learn more Spanish. The language barrier, even though it was a good experience, was frustrating at times. Getting on a bus, getting directions, all of this was made more difficult than it needed to be. When talking with strangers the language barrier is harder, and the things you are asking them for are more complex.
My grandfather carries a small black book in which he has in every language the words “hot water.” He drinks it as tea for some reason. It can be quite embarrassing in public when my very Jewish grandfather tries to ask a Chinese waiter for hot water in his own language. It is embarrassing because they never know what he’s talking about, because he has a Yiddish accent whenever he speaks any language. “hey waiter, hehe, can I have some bai kai shwai?” “excuse me?” the waiter would say and so he would repeat, “Can I have some bai kai shwai?” Once he has confused the waiter enough, the waiter gives up and asks him in English what he is talking about. Usually this makes the waiter uncomfortable or it is the source of a good laugh for the waiter. This divides or unites, depending on the sense of humor of the waiter, and the seriousness of which it is told. It doesn’t cut it to learn one word of a language.
I for one do not speak Yiddish. My grandparents do, and my mom understands it, but cannot speak it. Over time, the Yiddish language has slowly disappeared. All that is left in America of Yiddish are curses, jokes and different words for food. I think the reason for this is that America is very intolerant of other languages, and when an immigrant comes to the country, it is harder to get jobs and do anything in a bustling economy when you don’t speak the language.
Overall, when immigrants come to a country, their connections to each other and to their culture will slowly evaporate, unless they are in a really close community. My grandparents, on my mother’s side, were bilingual as children because their parents were immigrants. On my father’s side, my grandparents were not immigrants, but their parents’ parent’s went through those troubles. It is amazing that even though we are of the same family, if I were to talk to my great grandparents on my mother’s side, I would not be able to talk to them. This comes to show that language when moved to a different culture unites and divides.
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