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Literacy is a quite complicated idea, you can’t just look at it on a surface level, it is an idea that needs to be explored and thoroughly discussed. In my life, the way that I understand the world and the way that I understand human language and communication definitely affects me in my everyday life and continues to with every new person that I meet.  James Baldwin reveals an interesting element of language in his article If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?, “Language, incontestably, reveals the speaker.” I relate to this quote very strongly in the sense that know that the way I present myself and the way I speak reflects who I am as a person. I belong to many social communities, where the culture varies and the people are very diverse.

Many, including myself, love to be close to their families in any way they can. Personally, since I am mixed, Puerto Rican and white, my family is quite diverse. At home with just my mother, I can be myself and speak the way I want to because I know she’ll understand and accept me that way. When I’m with her side of the family however, I tend to be more reserved. My mother’s side of the family is composed of people from Jewish descent; very sophisticated and successful people that are nice to be around. Even so, when I am with them, I don’t speak as loud, I don’t express political views, and I don’t talk about my personal struggles out of fear of not being understood and accepted. My belonging to other communities such as the LGBTQ+ community might not be as accepted with certain members of my family, so I often keep my voice to myself to avoid conflict. I sit a little taller, hold my tongue, and eat a little more proper to avoid judgement and resentment. Though I do often doubt that I will be judged, I fear that my form of literacy, the way that I see and understand the world, might not be as accepted as I hope it might be.

On the other hand, my father’s side of the family  is quite different. My dad was born in Puerto Rico, so his side is very loud and hilarious. I love being around this side of my family, but I can’t help but feel a disconnect. They speak spanish quite often, and when they do, I don’t feel as close to them as I should. I always end up thinking does that even really matter? Just because I don’t speak their language, does that mean I’m not as close to them? I always wonder if the language barrier between me and my father’s family is one of the reasons that we aren’t as close. Even so, we do find ways to communicate when we are together. We speak a mixture of spanish and english to almost create our own form of literacy. A way only the Rivera Family speaks to one another. Our form of literacy in our family means alot to us.

Regarding the LGBTQ+ community, I always feel more comfortable when I’m around others that are like me. I feel way more comfortable expressing my social and political views, because I feel like I’m around more accepting people. I never have to hold my tongue, because I  know they’ll understand me and my beliefs. The way that members of the LGBTQ+ community speak to others and each other are definitely different. Making jokes and sarcastic comments is more fun with others like you who will understand and get them compared to trying to make a “gay joke”  around someone with no knowledge of the community who might think you’re being “offensive.” This happens quite often, and it’s hard to explain to people who aren’t a part of the community just why certain expressions are offensive. There have been many times where I’ve stopped to correct someone, and have given up trying to explain out of frustration due to lack of communication. There was a specific time that I can recall where I’ve had to speak up to ignorance.

Everytime I enter SLA, I remember how lucky I am to be in such an inclusive school. ‘Safe Space’ stickers line many windows and door frames to assure that the good intentions and message of the school and staff are clear, “You are safe here.” I see the colored flags on the shirts of my teachers and I always release the breathe I didn’t know I was holding each time.

The staff has never been much of the issue, but it is a different story when walking the lone, spacious hallways; you’ll never know just what you’ll hear.

It was mid-morning, around the time of the first lunch period. The hallways were crowded with teenagers and echoing with the mixture of songs from individual speakers. I was walking from the office to the store when overheard one conversation that was louder than the rest.

One boy had sat down quite harshly on another boy’s lap, and he didn’t seem to happy about it as I could tell from the groans and sounds of protest coming from underneath the first boy. I had stopped to speak to a friend when I heard an exchange that made the breath catch in my throat.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing? What are you gay or something?”

The boy on his lap laughed and stood up quickly at the ‘accusation.’

“No! I’m not a fag!”

I looked at the person I was speaking with and we nodded together and turned towards the two boys.

“Hey,” I started, “That’s not okay, you can’t say that.”

The boys snickered.

“It was just a joke! Come on.”

I rolled my eyes, not like I wasn’t expecting that one.

“Look, it’s a slur, so you shouldn’t say it especially when it’s not your term to reclaim anyway. You’re not gay.” I tried to explain it as simply as I could.

“But we were just joking, it’s not like it means anything,” one of them argued, the point soaring over his head.

I shook my head in disappointment and turned away, I couldn’t be bothered to try to explain more to two pieces of drywall.

There have been many more times like that moment, some more upsetting than others, but the frustration comes from the same issue. The lack of communication between both LGBT and Non-LGBT is frustrating. Appropriating the forms of literacy each community has to offend the other is harmful, especially when one side doesn’t understand why they are wrong. It’s an issue I and many others have to deal with on a daily basis.

When I was young, I wasn’t sure who I would grow up to be. I wasn’t sure what career I wanted to pursue, what city I wanted to live in, what school I wanted to go to, I was just going through the motions of growing up. Literacy means alot to me in many aspects of my life. At my current age, I am a part of many different communities and families, and I don’t completely act the same when I am with each. The kind of code-switching that I do between each community makes up my identity, it doesn’t split me into different people. Every side of myself that I show to different groups of people are all individual aspects of myself, and all together those traits and forms of literacy that I speak with and see the world with come together to make up all of who I am today.

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. “If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 July 1979, www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-english.html.

English is a language that has developed over a period of millions of years. Throughout those years, English has morphed through the diversity of races. When slaves were forcefully taken from their homeland,and were brought to America, they didn't know how to communicate with their masters or fellow workers. Over time, they learned things around their environments by just listening. Everything they heard couldn’t have been received perfectly this were some of the first appearances of what we as Americans today call “Slang”. Without diversity, slang and other creative concepts of the American English would have never been created and also allowing it to be considered in a way its own language.

A quote from “If Black English Isn’t a Language” touched on my theory, that without diversity the American English would have never been created and also allowing it to be considered in a way its own language. “Blacks came to the United States chained to each other, but from different tribes: Neither could speak the other’s language.” The mixture of tribes caused even more diversity than just the blacks converging with the whites. Because of the mini diversities, there was even more turmoil because it would make it even harder for them to communicate and accomplish their tasks. In the future, this intelligible english had become normal and is even being considered the way all americans speak. Without the failed attempts of the slaves speaking english there wouldn’t be differences between British English and American English.

It was a normal day - I was doing my homework on the kitchen table as my Dad was reviewing some documents. My mom was cooking dinner and my little brother was already passed out on the couch.

“Babou, can you give me the envelope(ON-vuh-lohp),” said my Dad. Looking intensely at some sort of document.

“Pass you which one,” I said as I begin to rise from my chair.

“Give me the envelope(ON-vuh-lohp),” Said my Dad. He turned staring at me.

“Ohhh, you want the envelope(EN-VUH-lohp),” I said. The storm of confusion had finally drifted away.

“Yes, the envelope(ON-vuh-lohp),” Said my Dad. He looked sort of annoyed as if someone had played “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley on repeat for a couple of hours.

“Why do you say it like that? ”I said as my lightbulb of curiosity had lit up.

“What do you mean?” inquired my Dad.  

“How you say envelope(EN-VUH-lohp), you say it differently,” I said.

“That’s the way I was taught in school, I learned British English when I was young,” said my Dad.

“Why are you taught that type of english instead of the english that Americans speak?” I replied.

“I believe that we learn this type of english instead because it is more proper than the English that Americans today speak,” Said my father.

A quote from “How To Tame A Wild Tongue” talks about experiences of Chicanas have growing up speaking their language. “Chicanas who grew up speaking Chicano Spanish have internalized the belief that we speak poor Spanish.” Chicanas in the spanish community have to live with the stereotypes all the time with people saying to them that there language is improper and incorrect even though it is also said to be the purist. Just like American English after years and years of developing it is still to this day being called improper and incorrect even though it is one of the most popular languages in the world. The differences that they had didn’t just make it a language derived from British English but, a language of its own.

When I started off writing this essay I wanted to show you what english would sound like if there was never any diversity within the people. I had talked about evolution and changes that caused english to become what it is today. As I continued onward I talked about how in America people try to prevent more spread of slang or improper english by getting rid of the accents of foreign people. What I was left thinking was without diversity the American English would have never been created and also allowing it to be considered in a way its own language. My father who was taught the supposedly proper of two englishes has learned that American English isn’t improper it is no longer below British English but, of equal footing. My father now speaks with the tongue of a person who speaks slang and American english. As I end off I want you to think what life would be like if people were only taught British English and are not allowed to alter it. What do you think the image of America would look like. Would it still be considered improper because of other things or would it truly be appreciated for what it is, A way for people of different cultures to communicate and learn from each other.

Works Cited:

Anzaldúa, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” https://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/WA01920133/Centricity/Domain/965/Anzaldua-Wild-Tongue.pdf

Gregory Tasik

Mr. Block

English 3 - Earth

December 10, 2017

More than Meets the Eye

There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to being bilingual. Merriam-Webster defines bilingual as “using or able to use two languages especially with equal fluency.” The majority of people define fluency in a language by knowing the grammar and conventions of the language, the way the language should be spoken. Fluency in a language requires a lot more than just knowing grammar; it is understanding the flow of the language, the casualness of it when it is spoken by native tongue, and understanding its deeper meaning.

My tongue is an anomaly. It cannot decide what or who or where it wants to be. At home, I speak “Indoglish”, an awkward mix of English and Indonesian. Neither perfect, but articulated well in a home where it has evolved for over 10 years. My Indonesian is the “broken” Indonesian I’ve adopted from my parents. It is not fluent nor correct in any definition of literacy. I cannot write in Indonesian nor am very confident in my conversational skills. In my parent’s native home, I am praised for my ability to speak English. They ask me to teach them simple words like “attitude” or “motorcycle,” amazed by how the words roll off my tongue. On the other hand, my Indonesian to them is that of a toddler. I know my cousins mean well when they laugh at my pronunciation, but it cuts deep. How is it possible that my own identity can be called into question?

In English class it takes the form of the standard English; the adverbs, conjugations, and vocabulary that have been taught and crammed in my head over the years. Outside of the class, it is the not-so-standard English I’ve adopted from my friends and community. It is the slang and phrases that teachers would deem “inappropriate” in an essay and would make English scholars cringe. It is understanding the underlying messages in certain intonations and phrases, the subliminal significance within a conversation. In America, I am considered as any typical human being.

“All answers look the same to me!”

“It’s B, it has to be the right answer.”

“But C could also work, matter of fact, A and D also work.”

“I give up. If worst comes to worst always pick C right?

Unlike the English and Comprehension section of the SATs that was a straight, newly paved highway, the writing section of the SATs was long winding road that I was unable to navigate through. The way the writing section worked was that they first present a story. In the stories, there would be multiple phrases or sentences that were underlined and there would be questions on whether the underlined portions needed to be changed, moved around, or combined. To do well on the writing portion of the text, the test taker would need a good command of standard English conventions and rules.

“The underlined sentence could be placed before sentence 3. Or would it be better if it were placed at the beginning of the paragraph? Maybe I should just leave it where it is.”

“Ooh, they’re probably trying to trick me!”

Every question was a battle. The longer I looked at the question, the more the other answers made sense. In Mother Tongue, Amy Tan uttered a very similar response: “the answers on English tests were always a judgement call, a matter of opinion and personal experience”(Tan,3). She, a fellow Asian-American, struggled with her command of the English language. Tests like the SAT were based on stories and experiences that felt distant to my own. The language used in the tests had words that haven’t seen the light of day since the 1920s and were not used in the common English I spoke with. How was I supposed to connect to the text?

Ultimately, there is no easy to answer. I cannot expect myself wake up one day and master the English language. I cannot expect myself to have the same thought processes as those who grew up with two native English speaking parents, and on a larger scale, I cannot expect myself to think/process the same way as any other human being. We all have different experiences which shape our ideas of literacy and which forms of literacy we identify with. My areas of strength are areas of weakness for another person, and vise versa. It’s all just a matter of  putting the work in to make up for the areas I lack in, even it if means SAT prep on grammar for a couple hours a week.

It should be known that the minds of society are fixed around the idea that the pace of how others learn and the language that they speak determines their intelligence. Along with this concept, physical and mental tests are constantly being conducted upon society to help people separate and insult the intelligence of those who are different, race and background-wise, etc.

Our society is continuously trying to classify two groups of people as either “stupid” or “smart.” Then, society decides whether or not these people should be defined with a grand or derogatory representation. This is unfair, and does not give people a chance to express their knowledge fully in their defense. The act of enforcing tests that claims to determine their intelligence should not arbitrate the intelligence of a person. In I Just Want to be Average by Mike Rose, it strongly represents the school environment that diminishes the spirits of young students based on a single test, that determines if they were considered “stupid” or “smart” using the school’s principles. He uses the words ‘disaffected’ to describe the students who were placed in the “stupid” class.

“The vocational track, however is most often a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected…” Throughout the story, it shows that the teachers who teach the “slower” students, do not establish any policies to help them improve as students. The teachers have this mindset that they’re hopeless, without giving the students a chance to enhance their knowledge that is yet to be discovered by others.

This story gave me a revelation about school environments. Similarly to Mike Rose in his story, ever since I was in elementary school, in English class, we would have oral reading tests and writing prompts that would determine what reading level we were at.  I could remember the feeling like it was yesterday.

“Remember, DRA testing starts today, directly after lunch. Come into class quietly and read independently. I will call you up one by one to take the test. The classroom must remain quiet.”

“Here we go again.” My friend Michael said to me.

“I really hate these. I don’t think it’s fair.” I whiningly say.

“I always feel like every little stupid mistake that I would make, counts towards the grade. I never get the grade that I deserve.” Michael said pulling out his book.

I could tell that he was as nervous as I was, I have my red, hardcover book opened up to a random page as I continuously read the same sentence over and over again. All I could think about was the order that Teacher Debbie was going in. I counted the minutes in between each student that gets tested just so I wasn’t caught by surprise when she calls my name. I felt my leg starting to shake anxiously under my desk, I couldn’t get it to stop, Every noise in the room made me jump. The constant and crisp sound of flipping pages, quiet whispers coming from the back of the room, the zipping of book bags, the sliding of chairs, and so much more.

I would tell myself, “Just calm down. Panicking will make it worse, you will try your best and that’s it. Just read smoothly and don’t think about it too much.”

I could feel my face tense up as time passed. I completely forgot about the book I was supposed to read and found myself monitoring every little movement my teacher made. I heard nothing for a good few minutes and felt my eyes getting heavy.

“Viv?” I felt my friend Michael tapping me on my shoulder.

I jolted up and opened my eyes wide.

“It’s your turn, hurry up.” He said pointing towards our teacher.

I got up right away, scooting my chair back quickly and making a screeching sound. I walked towards her desk slowly trying to remain calm, I felt like my heart was racing a million beats per second. The jitteriness from my leg came back as I sat down.

“Choose any book and read until you see the star.” Teacher Debbie said, laying out 5 booklets out in front of me, as she flipped through her papers.

I silently picked one out.

“Whenever you’re ready.” She said waiting for me to start.

Soon, I started to read. I examined the whole page and read the words in a monotone voice. As I continued to read, not focusing on what the words actually meant, I heard the little scribbles that she started writing. I started memorizing the noises of patterns of circling and underlining. By the end of the test, I was told to finish the book and fill out the packet she gave me.

Every year I would expect to take the same test, and to go through the whole process again. My results wouldn’t necessarily be considered to be a part of the “higher level.” I felt like I was never going to be good enough as I would compare my scores with my friends, who would get a higher grade than me. To this day, those tests, helped us figure out what level we were at, but they should be altered in a way that wouldn’t negatively affect and create learned helplessness. The tests and teachers should help encourage us to strive for better.

In both “I Just Want to be Average,” and my life story, the teachers would never say that they were conducting these tests to separate the smart from the dumb. But as students, we would always know that that’s what they’re trying to do. This feeling of wondering if we are good enough based on tests could lessen our will to continue on improving ourselves.The idea of testing and categorizing students based on tests is a strong depiction of social hierarchy in the terms of language and the testing of intelligence rather than social class. This serves tremendous significance to how close-minded society is.

Cultural representation should be fair and impartial but instead offensive terms are being correlated with those who don’t appear to be “smart” based on their culture and language. This is undoubtedly a burden on many people whose first language is not english, and those who couldn’t afford the best education. These expectations are being planted in the minds of those who are oblivious and obstinate.  From the story, “Superman and Me,” an Indian boy has grown up understanding for himself and his culture, that being with Indian has it’s own affiliation. He says, “We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but subverted them on the outside.”

The children would grow up hearing distasteful words used to describe them, some would try to avert those stereotypes, while others simply just accepted those terms as a way to define themselves. Not only were they called stupid because of their background, but also because they were ESL learners. This language barrier invited members of society to belittle and apply judgements to one another, unable to see past the reality of each person’s intelligence regardless of race, nationality, and tests.

In the documentary, “A Place to Stand,” the protagonist, Jimmy Santiago Baca speaks about his important parental figures in his life not being present to guide him. He described the way he was raised as, “You learn how to run with the dogs as a dog.” Just like in “Superman and Me,” the boy knew his role in society and  knew that he was different and was going to be treated as such. He compared himself and those that he surrounded himself with as “dogs,” and used the term very loosely. In some cases, an individual would feel very insecure to be themselves because of that negative energy being cast upon them. No one should be afraid or doubtful of who they are because of how other people speak of them.

Interpretation is an important factor when it comes to responding to these harsh stereotypes and assumptions that are made. In the story, “Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tran, she expresses her experience with her use of different forms of english. This is mainly centered around her work, and how she would speak differently based on the environment. She reveals her thought process about language and it’s influences, “I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language-the way it can evoke emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.”

She notices different layers when it comes to the power of language, it is much more than just a way to communicate with family members and the community. But it’s a way to express complex ideas and reveal these impressions about every person.  She also gives her commentary on her responsiveness when it came to communicating with her parents.

“Lately, I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as 'broken" or "fractured" English. But I wince when I say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness.”

Those who come from the same cultural background, within the same family still have the tendency to have negative speculations. These standards has even led to those who are within the same cultural background to believing these heavy-handed alterations being made about their loved ones. It is easy to judge someone’s intelligence based on their level of education and their cultural background. These mental and physical literacy tests has a strong grip on cultural dominance and is clear to distinguish who deserves certain representations. Everyone has their own form and definition of what literacy is and the types that are commonly used. Without the power of language and literacy being one of few sole reasons why many are quick to judge, many thoughts would be kept to oneself. The amount of repulsive commentary against groups of people would be kept at a minimum, but the power of language and literacy is a huge factor in the structures of society and may never be broken down because it’s been molded and strengthened.

Citations:

Rose, Mike. "I Just Want to Be Average." Lives on the Boundary: The Struggles and Achievements of America's Underprepared. New York: Free Press, 1989. 162-67. Print.

Comedy is subjective. What’s funny to someone may or may not be funny to someone else. That being said, one would think a person could hear a joke and if it wasn’t funny, move on and wait for the next one. That’s not at all what happens in 2017. If a comedian is performing their set and a single joke is deemed offensive, the set is ruined and the career of that comedian may as well be over. While it’s slightly understandable that comedians have a higher sense of understanding when it comes to pushing boundaries with their performances, audiences today are entirely too sensitive and this widespread comedic illiteracy could be ruining comedy as a whole.

One of the worst things a comedian can experience is not getting a joke to land. In theory, the joke they planned and rehearsed was hilarious, but no one got it. No one understood. The performer didn’t “go too far.” They just weren’t relatable enough. This kind of comedic illiteracy is acceptable. But when a comic does, in fact, cross what the majority of an audience believes is “the line,” it can get ugly. At that point, the crowded becomes illiterate in the sense that they don’t understand that it was just a joke. This kind of illiteracy can be extremely frustrating for both the laugher and the laughee. It’s especially frustrating when you consider how, for lack of a better word, selfish this kind of sensitivity can be in a comedy club. Lenore Skenazy said it best when she wrote “When my idea of cruel is your idea of hilarious, my super-sensitivity automatically wins. I get to declare not just that the comic isn't funny, but that he is a bad person and needs to be punished.” Skenazy intends to put the reader into the mind of someone yelling about why whatever joke was said wasn’t funny and does a pretty good job of explaining the lack of consideration for the comic and anyone in the audience enjoying the piece.

It makes sense to be taken aback when you hear something that wouldn’t, couldn’t, or shouldn’t be said in a public setting. Something racist, something sexist, or some other kind of “ist,” etc. But never should you get up in the middle of the set and start booing and screaming your opinion of the material. Especially since you for some reason don’t understand that you came to hear comedy and that what your hearing may even be topical. A question that never gets answered when comedians come under fire for testing the limit is “Why is comedy the only form of the arts where people think they have to agree with, or approve the content,” a question comedian Jim Norton has very eloquently pondered aloud. Norton and many other comedians often ask this question because when a book gets “edgy” or when a painting is graphic, no one bats an eye. The object is either praised or given respectful criticism. Comedy gets no such treatment. Comedy is held at some higher standard and to many not even considered an art.

But the issue is more than fair criticism of this kind of art. This kind of comedic illiteracy is bigger than someone not understanding what a joke is or why they even came to hear it. The question that we should ask ourselves before this gets out of hand is: at what point does this become an attack on free speech? And maybe we should even ask, what role do offensive jokes play in bringing to light issues that are commonly avoided. A comedian should be some who plays “an important function in society by holding up a mirror and forcing us to confront realities that we would often prefer to ignore,” according to Roger Cohen and Ryan Richards of Humanity in Action. It makes sense to use comedy in this way. If you look at America today, you see more and more people getting informed from comedy programs as opposed to traditional news. If we can’t use comedy to bring to light real issues and laugh about them too, then why do we even need comedy?

This ever growing divide between the crowd and the standup comic very well may continue to grow. The issue of oversensitivity to jokes and comically illiterate audiences has ultimate changed the comedy and has done so for the worst. Comedians even have started to avoid performing on college campuses for Christ’s sake! It’s our responsibility to fight for free speech, ensure knowledge can spread  in a comedic way, and find a way to desensitize our audiences. So much more is at stake than a few careers and some butthurt audiences.

Most evenings, while I am upstairs doing homework, I hear the inaudible sound of the news playing on the TV downstairs. And in some of those evenings, there is some breaking news that causes my parents to turn up the volume to get all of the details that the reporter is telling the viewer – or, in some cases, the details that the news wants the reporter to tell the viewer. In these cases, I can hear my parents saying things like, "That's a lie!" or "This didn't happen!" There are times when I decide to go downstairs to see what's being said on the news, and, when they finish telling whatever news story, a discussion follows talking about all of the blaring issues about the story the news told its viewers, or the blaring issues not told.

The idea of the media twisting stories, even just the slightest bit, is essential for the citizens in our society to be misinformed. In James Baldwin's If Black Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? he described how different languages in one region can affect the power dynamics. "It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power." (Baldwin)  In the United States, language, along with other factors such as race and gender, have been used as a way to give advantages to one group of people while creating hardships for the other groups.

Education gaps has been a major issue that affects families and individuals and how they view and interpret news. Socioeconomic class is one major factor in the quality of education. According to the Economic Policy Institute, students who are in lower social classes struggle more with reading than students in higher classes. Lower reading levels then results in students, eventually growing up to adults, who are less prepared for interpreting all of what is thrown at them. Lower education means students who are not able to, or do not want to, dig deeper into the meaning of, for example, a news story or a post on social media about an event. The education gaps, mostly put up against lower class citizens, is what allows for the manipulation of people. Most families will enroll their kids into public school, and public schools deal with being underfunded and generally having lower quality education.

For the school system to give lower quality education to students in a lower social class means these students are easier to manipulate by means of media. When students are taught less content, it is more difficult for them to be able to connect the dots when it comes to analyzing the world. Analyzing news usually requires background knowledge, or at least the ability of fishing for what is correct and what is incorrect – or what is "real news" and what is "fake news." The use of misinformation and lack of student support in schools sets up students for not being able to distinguish between right and wrong. Certain media, such as social media, conspiracy theorists, and even some news networks, use this lack of student education to their advantages in order to "sell" their news to those viewers.  

The news, in some ways, could be seen as a business. On television, there are promos to watch certain people at certain times, which usually are tagged with catch phrases such as "The best news," or "Trusted by viewers." The business factor of the news is another factor that affects the way news networks present news. Certain news networks cater to their own audiences. According to the Pew Research Center, "those with consistently conservative views" watch Fox News, a conservative and right-leaning news network. Most viewers who have more left-leaning views turn to CNN, MSNBC, or New York Times, which are more left-leaning news networks. This means that Fox News will more likely choose stories that are more critical of the left in order to retain its viewers, and CNN will choose stories that are more critical of the right to retain its viewers.  However, there is more diversity in the political views of the viewers that watch networks like CNN or MSNBC, while 60 percent of Fox News viewers are strongly conservatives. News networks, in order to appeal to their audiences, usually choose certain stories to make public, or will cover certain stories with different lights. In the 2016 presidential election, for example, right-leaning media covered left-leaning candidates – most notably Hillary Clinton – far more critically than left-leaning networks. However, they covered right-leaning candidates with very little criticism. This meant that those who view right-leaning media strongly disliked Clinton, or any other left-leaning candidates. Left-leaning media was critical of the right-leaning candidates, but also not as critical of left-leaning candidates.

The use of education and business has been a way for the general public to be manipulated by media and the government. Our sources of information are usually divided on political views, therefore changing what information is presented to viewers and how that information is handled.

Works Cited

• Baldwin, James. “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 July 1979
  
• Mitchell, Amy, Jeffrey Gottfried, Jocelyn Kiley, and Katerina Eva Matsa. "Section 1: Media Sources: Distinct Favorites Emerge on the Left and Right." Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. October 20, 2014. Accessed December 2017. http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/section-1-media-sources-distinct-favorites-emerge-on-the-left-and-right/.
• “Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing: A Summary of the Major Findings in Inequalities at the Starting Gate.” Economic Policy Institute, www.epi.org/publication/early-education-gaps-by-social-class-and-race-start-u-s-children-out-on-unequal-footing-a-summary-of-the-major-findings-in-inequalities-at-the-starting-gate/.

The Power Of Words

Following the whispers of the visitors, I entered a room filled with all sorts of emotions. Everywhere I looked, I saw the representations of feelings expressed by the many strokes of paint.  Those vivid landscapes filled my nostrils, making them able to inhale history and the interesting stories those canvases were able to display. Although I wasn’t capable of understanding the meaning of the paintings, I sensed that some of those pieces were able to transmit better stories than others. I realized that I was feeling more attracted to the art pieces with a better narrative. I realized that artist use their talents with more or less success as we all do when we articulate our ideas and express ourselves.

As I approached the Civil War years part of the exhibit, my mind went back 70 years, to a time I did not witness, but a time that I learned about from the many stories my grandmother used to tell me. Unlike the art, I was able to understand better and relate to those stories. I remember that she explained to me how the Museum used to be a hospital and a refuge from the bombing during the Spanish Civil War.  My fingers tingled, uneasy with the idea that I was standing in a place where thousands of people lost their lives over the course of three long years of war and terror. My ears could hear the alarm sirens and the people running to the basement to save their lives. Somehow the old words of my grandmother were making me see what art couldn’t. I saw my mom and sister walking nearby, looking at the art as if they were reading a poem, understanding every single stroke and detail. I wasn’t surprised when I saw my mom lost in her thoughts, as if the weight of past were on her shoulders. I held her arm, and with my sister, we continued talking about the art and life of the southern genius who was exiled in France never to come back.

Lost in the conversation, we made it to the heart of the exhibit, The Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Although I was surprised by its massive size and monochromatic palette, the enormous black, white and grey masterpiece about our war, about any war, did not capture my imagination. I knew the painting was important, but still, I couldn’t get interested in it. I felt frustrated with the idea of not understanding art as other people could. I could see all the details of the artwork but I wasn’t able to express myself. I saw the big bull which Picasso often used in his art to represent Spain. I saw the mother crying, a universal symbol of horror and desolation. I saw a lamp, a vivid portrayal of one of the many bombs. The masterpiece was there, in front of me, and I did not like it. But, how could I say that?

“Jacobo, what do you think? Isn’t it formidable?” My mother stated with teary eyes.

In that moment I made a connection with my art analogy. Just as an artist chooses very carefully their way to make an impact on their audience, I made sure to choose the correct words to impress my mom. I answered,  “Mom, I have an ambivalent feeling.”

I have noticed that my mother loved my expression. She looked at me with an enthusiastic interest.

“And…?” My mother asked.

“It is powerful but also so devastating.” I continued, using both my hands to express how big my devastation was.

My mother looked at me with love and approval. I escaped from her reach, making myself busy looking at other details of the painting. I remembered that in that moment, I realized how important my choice of words can be when trying to look smart and profound. I have never forgotten that lesson.

That day I learned that unless you make stories interesting or fascinating, they are just ideas, or thoughts. The storytelling is what matters. Many people believe that there are many shapes and forms of literacy, in my opinion, the literacy I understand best is the verbal communication between two individuals. Literacy has an important role in society, and although it is an injustice for many, the ability to be articulate determines your socio-economic status. Mireille Guiliano agrees with this idea, “Intelligence, knowledge or experience are important and might get you a job, but strong communication skills are what will get you promoted.” People communicate in many situations, such as in interviews or relationships, and only those who understand that words matter in our society, will have an advantage.

I’ve come to realize that I can not underestimate literacy, and the ability to communicate what I think and feel.  Therefore I must be aware of the power of words and effective communication, as they are the keys to my future success.  

Works cited: “Bio.” Mireille Guiliano » Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire Q&A, 25 Oct. 2013, mireilleguiliano.com/content/iwomen-work-art-savoir-fairei-qa.

Speech in society is judged by the populace. The type of speech that is acceptable depends on the culture of the country or area. For example what is acceptable speech at home would not be considered acceptable speech in the working world. In today's American culture the extent to which a person can effectively speak English contributes heavily to whether they lead a successful life. There is also a definite correlation between economic status and the way someone speaks, when a person who is of low economic status has a habit of speaking in a way that is improper it leads to them not being able to succeed in the future. Specific victims of speech harming a person's chances are immigrants, and inner city African Americans.According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics the African American unemployment rate is 3% higher than the national average I blame this on our “African American vernacular” and how its not acceptable in America's Culture

In one story I read, it talked about the black vernacular or the language that African Americans use to talk to each other. He justifies their use of the English language, while I think this is a good thing it limits African Americans. If society only accepts one way to speak it's necessary for economic survival to conform to that.

It was first grade and I was sitting in my least favorite class, speech therapy. Around me were two of my friends, which wasn’t a coincidence, and the teacher of my first grade class

“One, Two, Three,” I said over and over again

The worst part about speech therapy is that they never tell you what you’re saying or doing wrong, they just tell you to repeat the words you mess up until you get it right. While in the class I was constantly wondering why I was there, I myself couldn’t find anything wrong with my speech. Looking back now I realize that I picked up a lot of language while talking to my friends and hearing my Dad speak to me, my Dad didn’t have a specific incorrect way of speaking but he always switched from the way he talked at work and around co-workers compared to when he was home.

“No, you have to pronounce the R correctly,” my teacher said

I finally knew something I was doing wrong from the perspective of my teacher. But from my eyes I was speaking the right way, I was speaking the way my dad spoke when he spoke at home. But I now know that in society the way I knew was right wasn't.

In Mother Tongue Tan provides insight into how her mothers language affected her life “I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities,”(Tan, 3). While I do not think the way my parents speak will affect my future in life, I know it will and does for other people and their parents. African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and anybody else who has an origin that is not from an English speaking country can fall victim to people associating speech with intelligence. Speech in America is a way to put down those already at a disadvantage, James Baldwin said perfectly that “Language is also a political instrument,” (Baldwin, 1). Employers choose not to hire people who don't talk within the cultural standard. Some employers choose not to hire these people without thinking of the reason they talk with their altered English. While there are many reasons people and cultures have a specific way of speaking, an example I can think of in America is slavery. During and after slavery African Americans were not allowed to be taught English at all, it was to prevent them from escaping their imprisonment and backstabbing their slave owners. After slavery, African Americans were segregated into poorer schools, this lasted until 1964 which was only about 50 years ago. In today's culture the effect of slavery can still be seen. African Americans have a higher than average poverty and unemployment rate and one of the causes for this is the fact that they were never accepted into the culture of America, instead they chose to make their own.

Something said by Baldwin many years ago still holds true“If you are not a participant in the culture of power being told the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier.” (Baldwin, 1) There are exceptions to what I’ve said above and that pertains to people who have forgotten their culture or choose to hide when in sight of those who do not accept it. My Dad is an example of this, like everybody does, he code switches between using the language his culture taught him and using the language cultural capital taught him this allowed him to see success in America. But is the fact that he had to code switch to succeed in America really a bad thing?

Baldwin, James. "If Black English Isn't A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?." Nytimes.com. N. p., 1979. Web.  July. 1979.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-english.html

Tran, Amy, “Mother Tongue.”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Cvq7ioloJpZGNkYTM0ZjUtNDczZC00NWE2LWEyMTQtMjgzZDRhYTAzNTBi/view

“Bureau of Labor Statistics Data.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000006.

Generally, everyone learned their first word from their family. As I grew up learning English and Chinese, I remembered those days when I would run into people where I have a hard time speaking to in Chinese because of how I grew up learning it. One day, my mother was speaking to me about my Chinese. About how I only knew so little of it, and it was true.

Feeling helpless, my mother said jokingly, “You’re so useless, you can’t even speak Chinese that properly and if I were to ever take you to China you would be so lost.”

I never attended  Chinese school like the other kids did. So I didn’t expect myself to speak the “Chinese” like they do. Technically I did go to Chinese school for a year, but stopped, and it was terrible, I learned absolutely nothing. It’s like when you were in preschool and all you do is draw and run around and have fun. My parents would’ve taken me to Chinese school if they had the time to, and they didn’t, which is why I could only learn so much from my parents. When I started to learn English, I started to mix my Chinese with my English, so the words in Chinese I didn’t know would be substituted in English. I guess I can call it Chinlish. This was generally a family thing, I did it to most of my family and my siblings does too, except for the ones that didn’t understand English at all.

The way I speak with my families and close one are a lot different than how I would talk to another person in chinese. In Mother Tongue, Amy Tan points out how the way she speaks English and what that English they used has become: “It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with” (Tan, 1). In the way I speak Chinese to my family is typically another way of how I speak to my family. Just like in Mother Tongue, Tan can say her mother speaks broken English. And in my case, I can say I speak “broken Chinese,” or Chinlish(Chinese and English together). This is what you can consider a type of literacy, the different forms of languages you take on and if you dig a little deeper how you use these languages in a way you feel most comfortable. When I run into a Chinese person that doesn’t speak English, I would feel uncomfortable because I have to speak in a way I’m not used to or I’ll not know what to say. Which will make the person I’m talking to think I’m stupid or uneducated.

   In a place like China, people would expect you to speak and understand Chinese fully. And there are three languages that fall into the category of Chinese which is Mandarin, Cantonese, Fuzhounese. My parents knows how to speak all three, I only know a few words in each languages mainly the words my parents often used, which are pretty much consider foul words. But besides that, the language I grew up with I can barely speak one without throwing an english words in. So if I were to go to China one day, I would run into a lot of trouble and probably be considered out of place.

When I look at languages throughout the world I can see similar situations happening. A good example is Amy Tran in Mother Tongue, she has a similar situation but with english. It’s how she has a way of speaking english to her close ones. In anyone's case it all depends on what circumstances you are under. Everyone talks different in a environment they are in, and some talks the same too.

Overall, the way I speak Chinese will always be fine throughout my family, but I constantly have have to speak a certain way in the environment I am in. I cannot have a conversation with the way I speak to my family to other people who would not understand what I’m saying. I have to speak the language they are most comfortable with. It’s like how I talk to my friends and how I talk to strangers. Overall people will feel more comfortable with their friends than strangers. I can’t just talk to someone in a different language or way because they’ll just be confused and awkward. So I’ll have to switch the way I speak to where I am, even though it may be difficult, especially in Chinese, I’ll only fail a couple times.