Never forget where you came from and what makes you, you.

“How is the family?” my father asked my Uncle Lyee

“ Good, we in America how bad can it be?” Uncle Lyee replied with a laugh.

“Where are the kids?” My father asked.

“ FATiMAAAAAA and HAWAAAA!” Uncle Lyee yelled out my cousins’ names but they didn’t answer or come so he told me that they were in their room and I should go and call them. My father reacted to the way my uncle spoke to me but said nothing. My uncle spoke to me in English but my father thought he was going to talk to me in Mandingo.

 “ Hey, Uncle Musa!” Fatima and Hawa greeted my father in English.

“How are you guys?” my father asked in Mandingo.

“ Good, we didn’t know you guys were here.”  Before they could finish their sentence, I kept tapping their feet so they would answer my father in Mandingo but they didn’t understand the message.

“You guys don’t know how to speak Mandingo anymore?” my father asked, angry.

 “What do you mean Uncle Musa?” Fatima asked my father in English again.

My father told her that this is exactly what he was taking about. Every time he asked them something, they always answered him in English. Then he turned to my uncle and asked him why his children responded in English when a person is talking to them in Mandingo? My uncle didn’t have an answer to the question. My father also said that no family of his is going to avoid their native language for another language, whether you like it or not, just because it is what everyone around you speaks. He also told my uncle that kids would not know the importance of their native language until the parents show their child that their language matters. Mandingo is not taught in the school they go to but English is, so kids can’t learn Mandingo anywhere else but home and if he doesn’t speak Mandingo to his children no one else would. From that day on my uncle spoke Mandingo in his house.

 One day after school one of my American friends, Jennifer, and I came into my house to do our homework. We met my father in the house. My friend and I greeted him in English. He noticed that I didn’t want to speak Mandingo because I was with my friend, but he ignored it. Jennifer and I started talking about how our day was while we were doing our homework.

“ You and Maya weren’t at lunch today,” I said to Jennifer.

“ Yeah we was,” Jennifer replied.

Out of nowhere my father asked Jennifer what she had said.

“I said we was….” Jennifer repeated nervously.

Then my father told her that she should never say, “we was” because it is not proper English. The right way is “we were” not “we was.” From that day on Jennifer never said, “we was” again. Even if she was about to say it, she stopped herself then said “we were.”

When Jennifer left, my father told me that he had to talk to me about something, Even though I knew what the conversation was going to be about, I still acted like I had no idea. He said that he noticed I didn’t want to speak Mandingo because Jennifer was here. I told him yes.  He said if I would have spoken Mandingo in front of Jennifer she would have been amazed and would have wanted to learned how to speak it because she only knows one language which is English that she can’t even speak proper. He said that I should be lucky I know more than one language because most children in America speak one, and half of them don’t even speak it properly. What makes me different from most of them is where I’m from and the language I speak.

James Baldwin said, “My ‘home’ tongues are the languages I speak with my sister and brothers. ” This shows that he code switches and he feels like he doesn’t have to talk to everyone the same way. The world may not understand his home language  but it is not for the world to hear. It is for his brother and sister to hear and understand.

I feel like James Baldwin and I share this quote because my sisters, my brother and I no longer speak French because we were so busy speaking English in the house. When my father noticed it, he told us that he brought us to this country to learn, but also not to forget everything we knew. He said he allows us to speak English in the house because he didn’t know it was going to get in the they way of the other two language that we speak. Learning a new language doesn’t mean trashing the old one. It just means you are capable of speaking three languages and not that many people are able to do that. Although we can’t speak French anymore my parents still speak it and Mandingo to us, Luckily we still know how to speak Mandingo! From that day on to now we are not allowed to speak English in the house.

Never forget where you came from and what makes you, you.

“How is the family?” my father asked my uncle Lyee

“ Good, we in America how bad can it be?” uncle Lyee reply with a laugh.

“Where are the kids?” My father asks.

“ FATAMAAAAAA and HAWAAAA!” Uncle Lyee yelled out my cousin’s names but they didn’t answer or come so he told me that they were in their room and I should go and call them. My father reacted to the way my uncle spoke to me but said nothing. My uncle spoke to me in English but my father thought he was going to talk to me in Mandingo.

 “ Hey, uncle Musa!” Fatama and Hawa greeted my father in English.

“How are you guys?” my father asked in Mandingo.

“ Good, we didn’t know you guys were here.”  Before they could finish their sentence, I kept taping their feet so they would answer my father in Mandingo but they didn’t understand the message.

“You guys don’t know how to speak Mandingo anymore?” my father asked with an angry.

 “What to you mean uncle Musa?” Fatama asked my father in English again.

            

My father told her that this is exactly what he was taking about. Every time he asked them something, they always answer him in English. Then he turned to my uncle and asked him why his children responded in English when a person is talking to them in Mandingo? My uncle didn’t have an answer to the question. My father also said that no family of his is going to avoid their native language for a language that you speak, rather you like it or not, because is what everyone around you speak. He also told my uncle that kids would not know the important of their native language until the parents show their child that their language matter. Mandingo is not taught in the school they go to but English is, so kids can’t learn Mandingo anywhere else but home and if he doesn’t speak Mandingo to his children no one else would. From that day on my uncle spoke Mandingo in his house.

 

One day after school one of my American friend Jennifer and I came into my house to do our homework. We met my father in the house. My friend and I greeted him in English. He noticed that I didn’t want to speak Mandingo because I was with my friend, but he ignored it. Jennifer and I started talking about how our day was while we were doing our homework.

“ You and Maya weren’t at lunch today.” I said to Jennifer.

“ Yeah we was” Jennifer replied.

 

Out of nowhere my father asked Jennifer what she had said.

“I said we was….” Jennifer repeated nervously.

Then my father told her that she should never say, “we was” because it not proper English. The right way is “we were” not “we was.” from that day on Jennifer never said, “we was” again. Even if she was about to say it, she stops herself then said “we were.”

When Jennifer left, my father told me that he had to talk to me about something, Even though I knew what the conversation was going to be about, I still acted like I had no idea. He said that he notice I didn’t want to speak Mandingo because Jennifer was here. I told him yes.  He said if I would had spoken Mandingo in front of Jennifer she wouldn’t had been amazed and would had want to learned how to speak it because she only know one language which is English that she can’t even speak proper in. He said that I should be lucky I know more than one language because most children in America one speak one English and half of them don’t even speak it proper. What make me different from most of them is where I’m from and the language I speak.

 

James Baldwin said “My “home” tongues are the languages I speak with my sister and brothers, ” This shows that he tongues switches and he feels like he doesn’t have to talk to everyone the same way. The world may not understand his home language it is because is not for the world to hear. It is for his brother and sister to hear and understand.

I feel like James Baldwin and I share this quote because my sisters, my brother and I no longer speak French because we were so busy speaking English in the house. When my father noticed it, he told us that he brought us ot this country to learn, but also not to forget everything we knew. He said he allow us to speak English in the house because he didn’t know it was going to get in the they way of the other two language that we speak. Learning a new language doesn’t mean trashing the old one. It just means you are capable of speaking three language and not that many people are able to do. Although we can’t speak French anymore my parents still speak it and Mandingo to us, luckily we still know how to speak Mandingo. From that day on to now we are not allowed to speak English in the house.

Jenn Wright

English- Language

 

            Slang. It's the basis of every teen's speech. Whether its shortened words or new words all together, it slips into everyday use without cause. Sometimes it's a play on words, or borrowed from another language. Either way it shapes the way one presents them self. It differentiates neighborhoods, race and even gender.

           

            In daily life, it becomes easy to pick up the speech that others use. The first time the word or phrase is spoken it seems foreign on the tongue, but with enough practice an outsider might think you started the trend. Language is an art from the day we learn to say the simplest of words. With art comes practice. Creating art gives an individual a certain brand of power-- the power to be anyone, anywhere, anytime, crafting, twisting and forming a second dialect of sorts as everyone gets in on the trend. Every group, being a circle of friends, a school or neighborhood holds the rulebook when it comes to their speech. James Baldwin wrote that, “People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances, or in order not to be submerged by a reality they cannot articulate.” James Baldwin understands perfectly how many teens work in today’s world. If there is not a word for something, make one up. To feel apart of a culture or even a neighborhood within a city, one will start using unfamiliar words to “control their circumstance”. Suddenly one person hears something they have never heard of or used. That new word is added to their vocabulary. They begin to say it with fervor as if they had made up the word themselves. Then in turn the masses begin using it. Thus, if you use it you are inducted into the club. Wear the badge proudly. Now you sound like everybody else. Beat that word to death until somebody else introduces another acronym or Spanish word that sounds funny. It is like you're in on the secret now. The word may have gone over your head three or four times until you pulled someone aside and asked them in serious undertone what it means.

 

            Besides fitting in, speech can be crafted as a sport. Trendsetting becomes recreation. My friends are big on the whole “making fun of each other and not really meaning it”. One friend made a joke about the status of another friend’s relationship.

“Ohhhh burn!”

 “Dude, you salty!!”

I exclaim, trying out my new word while motioning of screwing a top on a jar, “You just got jarred!”

 My friends looked to me with inquisitive faces. Though I knew that they didn’t know what it meant I still said,

 "Oh! You never heard that word before? Wow."

I had learned Australian slang and wanted to pass it on. Most people strive to introduce the next big thing. My best friend traveled to Australia over the summer. We had quite the time dissecting some of the things she had heard during her time there. With that, I told my friends at school about this Australian slang. Every time I said one of the words, I felt that individuality. James Baldwin’s quote works in this sense as well. I wanted to know something another didn’t and in an effort to “articulate a reality” I continued to evolve language we already used. It didn’t matter that we already had a phrase for what we meant. It was easy to get over that awkwardness when asked what something I said meant. It didn't matter because I got their attention and next time when I heard them say my word I would know I had started that. Before you realize, it melds into common language. Now that everyone knows, or pretends and asks later, what it means, a new trend has been initiated and accepted by the majority. I used a word from another country to stand out in a crowd.

 

            Anyone can start a transformation of language. It is human instinct to learn and be curious as well as adapt to surrounding. One may find they speak in a way they didn’t think they could or never realized they did. To adapt to the people around you, change the tone or speed. To sound smart, use “big” words. Use a word from another town. You start out being the only one who says it, it gets people's attention, creates interest. If you have a British accent and cockney slang you may just be in the running for most popular kid in the class.

Jack: Hey Steven.
        Yeah. What chu want
         Chu? Oh wow I didn’t think that you had that type of words in you speaking.
Me: I think the word that you are looking for is vocabulary. Say it with me vocabulary.
       See there u go again trying to change people for the better.
Me: Yeah whatever.
       Ha so u do have ghetto words in your, how do u say it vocabulary.
       See u can do it. You might just get that B u wanted.
Jack:  Man I’m just messing with u so wassup with you?

It was the 7th grade when I was just moving back to my old city form Santiago to Philadelphia. My old friends were at the same house as 3 years ago, nothing had changed, well, except for my language, according to my friends. My friend, Jack, was a major annoyance back then. When ever I say something correct or proper, he was there to ridicule me, although its safe to say he has my back. If i need ridiculing for speaking proper english he will always be there. I mean thats what my teachers say. They also say that speaking proper is the first step to becoming a better human being and  getting jobs, but if I lose all my friends I don’t really see the point in it. I mean some boys had some beef with me long before I came back after 3 years. They wouldn’t dear come near me because of my cousin Allen or more commonly known as baby allen or BA. My favorite cousin and not because of the obvious reasons. He also had my back when I was in 6th grade even though we were separated by miles, but I knew that it wouldn’t last forever because he would be moving in with his father eventually. It was very difficult when he was not there I lost 10 friends every time that he wasn't there and it seemed to get bigger and bigger. The reason why I kept losing more friends because they were just trying to get close to him by saying that they would have my back. I knew what they were trying to do and they had known for a long time that I had known what they were trying to do. For some odd reason my cousin couldn’t figure out what they were doing. One of the reasons that I needed some friends that needed to have my back because I had never been in a fight back at the old school. Probably because I was not trying to fight anyone. Mostly everybody that was there was scared of the speculations of african american people, but when they found out the type of person I was back then they saw that I was just like them. Friendly, curious, ready to learn, and ready to make friends, but like all schools there is always the delinquent or the school bully. He on the other hand was not the easiest person to get along with. Apparently one of his family members was killed by an african american person and he was with his family member when it happened. He was traumatized by that horrible tragedy and was never the same. His mom and dad took him to get help but it never helped because apparently he didn’t care he want revenge for him family member. So when he met me he had his speculations. He started accusing my brother and father of seeing the shooting when he had never even met them. So just ignored him. Eventually we moved and he was forgotten.

After the 7th grade I was there for one more year. Although I had been in a few fights and learned to look back when u put a middle finger up at some fat jerk because he wants you for speaking proper English and not slang that goes to you school. He was an ugly life lesson though. After that I was never alone when walking form school but no really messed with me because I was getting better with people and learning to be a bigger person. Maybe because the teacher was going to suspend me even though I didn’t really understand what that was.  So i adjusted to my surroundings and became a bigger person I changed my voice so that no one could ridicule me. I started to change everyday in front of my friends family and teachers. My parents knew that I was being teased in school and had one of those talks with me. They were telling me that if you friends don’t like u and you proper speaking for themselves. Then as my mom would say bunk them. So I did. I ignored all of the haters that were always talking some smack to me. 2 years later and I am in one to the best private high schools. SLA . In this school  I seen that there wasn’t any ridiculing because everybody was very accepting of everybody. There was no diversity because we accepted everybody. Even when I was a freshmen and there were the upperclassmen they weren’t mean and even accepted me into there group. Form being teased beyond belief to being accepted and having true friends that don't just use you because your family can help them with some dumb task that they can’t do without your family. Well my mom was right if you keep fighting you will come out on top. but I’m not surprised that I’ve come out on top because.    

Rebecca Rainis

English – Ms. Pahomov

Brian’s Language

 

I have 3 close friends; Taylor, Jade and Brian. They all come from different parts of Philadelphia, and none of them act the same. The way I speak with every one of them individually is the same because I don’t feel the need to monitor my language around different people, unless it’s teachers and elders. I can talk to Taylor, Jade and Brian seriously, goofily, or just normally, but regardless the type of our conversation, my language and speech is the same with all of them, as theirs is with me.

            I’ve experienced Jade and Taylor around other people, and it seems as if they speak the same way they do with me, with others. I believe it’s easiest to have one type of language for all groups of people, because in a way, language shows others who you are.

            Because Brian is one of my best friends, as well as my boyfriend, I’m around him often. During the week, he meets me after school and we hang out together, alone. The way he talks around me when we’re alone is a lot like the way I speak. I speak with proper sentences, and I don’t use much slang. A typical conversation between Brian and I would go like this:

            “Hey Brian.”

            “Hey. What’s up?”

            “Not much, how about you?”

            “Nothing’s really up with me either. How was your day at school?”

            “It was alright; a little bit stressful, but I’ll get through it.”

            “Well that’s good to hear.”

Despite our weekly plans, on the weekends, we usually go to hang out with his friends. Majority of his friends are from the projects, which is a very bad neighborhood. For this reason, Brian’s friends come to a small park outside of the projects to hang out. The way they talk could be referred to as ‘ghetto’. They drag their words, and combine words to make their sentences shorter. Instead of hi or hello, they say yo. Rather than saying “with you”, they say “witchu”. They even abbreviate each other’s names. For instance, a lot of Brian’s friends simply call him B.

When we’re around Brian’s friends, he talks more like they do. It’s as if he has two completely different personalities, because he uses two completely different languages. A typical conversation with Brian and one of his friends would go like this:

“Yo B, wassup?”

“Nut’in, jus chillin’. How you been?”

“I been ard. Did I tell you ‘bout las weekend?”

“Naw cuz, what happened?”

“We got in the whip and drove to a party. It was poppin’!”

“Thas wassup!”

I know this language sounds confusing, but to clarify things, ard means alright; naw means no; cuz is just another slang term meaning friend, similar to homie; a whip is a car; and poppin’ means fun. 

According to James Baldwin, language “…is the most vivid and crucial key to identify: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.” He is saying that language is one of the most important things to consider when it comes to identifying someone, and it has the power to join people with or separate people from the public, as well as the identity of a community. Brian’s language around one group of people revealed who he was around them, and his language when him and I were alone revealed who he was when he was with me. It was hard for me to figure out what Brian’s true language was, because he was so different when it came to two groups of people. I agree with James Baldwin, because as Brian and my relationship went on, the differences between Brian’s two languages taught me a lot about him.

When Brian and I first became good friends, I noticed the language he used around his friends and I, and how different they were. I immediately figured that the reason for this was because he wanted to fit in with his friends, but as we grew closer, something changed my mind.

There are times when Brian and I are alone, and he starts to talk like his friends. When he talks to me individually that way, I sometimes get offended, because it seems as though he’s talking to me as if I’m just his friend, when at the same time, I’m also his girlfriend. However, this helped me to understand which language was true to him.

He wasn’t using the language he used around his friends with me because he looked at me as one of his friends; he would slip up and use that language because that was what was true to him. He’s known his friends much longer than he’s known me, and aside from the fact that I would get offended when he used the language he uses with his friends, with me, I assumed that the reason he talked a completely different way with me than with his friends is because his friends and I have two completely different languages. His friends use slang; I don’t. His friends find simple ways to abbreviate words; I spell and speak my words wholly and properly.

Although I was mislead by Brian’s two different types of languages, I appreciate his effort to make me happy in a simple way by speaking the same way that I do when with me. It shows me many things, other than the type of person Brian is. It teaches me that language can define a person, and people can change their language for other people, which is a very valuable thing to know.

 

Inconsistency

Taahir Henry

Gold English

January 13 2011

 

“I thought you was dumb at first.” said my friend

“Why you say dat?” I asked.

“Cuz, you just big and you talk like everybody else.”

“So everybody dumb?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Ard, but you still don’t make any sense.”

“Its cuz of the fact that you just sound kind of slow when you talk.”

“How?”

“Cuz, you just sound slow sometimes.”

“Maybe I’m thinking about what I’m gonn say.”

“Or you just sound dumb.”

“Ard, but then why do you think I’m smart.”

“Cuz the way you talk to us and the way you talk to teachers not the    same”

“Huh?”

“When you talk to us you don’t talk the same, like when you talk to a teacher you use the whole word and your voice change”

“Ard”.  I didn’t really know what he meant because I never heard anything like that before.  How could I sound dumb one minute, and then sound intelligent the next?

 I noticed that I actually did change my tone and fully pronounced my words when I spoke to teachers.  He was right, but how could I have never recognized this myself?  I started to notice that I was not the only one who changed their voice and speech based on who they were talking to.  My mother, aunt, and grandmother did the same thing.  I must have picked up the habit from hearing them.  They used a more relaxed natural tone when they were talking to someone that they knew personally.  The opposite occurred when they were trying to be professional.   I first noticed this when my mom would call the bank to get account information or if she called to get her car serviced.   It only happened in situations where they wanted to be professional and taken seriously.  Being taken seriously is important if you need to get things done.

According to James Baldwin, “It goes without, then that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power.”  This shows that language is a vital ingredient for anyone who wants to be taken seriously and without it you wouldn’t get anywhere.   This quote applies to what I became accustomed to doing.   I used proper English and grammar whenever possible when I spoke to adults, especially teachers.  I reverted to what I felt was more natural when I was talking to my peers and family members.  


Slang and broken English is accepted and expected when I talked to some; however the contrary was expected when talking to others.  The use of slang and improper grammar can lead people to believe that you’re uneducated.  The use of proper grammar may lead some to believe that you think you are superior to them.  “Code switching” was just something I became accustomed to without realizing until it was pointed out.

I would have been mocked by my peers for being proper, but would have been perceived as incompetent by adults and teachers for using slang.  “Code switching” is something that made things a lot more convenient, because I could choose the appropriate time to speak a certain way.  The way I spoke was as a result of growing up around people who usually didn’t use proper English, except in situations where they thought it was necessary.   I sort of had an at home voice and a voice that I used for those I didn’t know so well.  Richard Rodriguez said, “They regarded the people at work, the faces in crowds, as very distant from us they were the others, los gringos.”  The people in the essay saw themselves as being completely different from “Los Gringos” because they spoke a different language, which caused them to feel separate.  This is similar to how the members of my family and I felt about people who spoke differently than we did.  I know this is true because my family tends to use “business like” voices when they are at work and they would speak normally anywhere else.  Language can show who you are, and your level of education, which is important.

 

 

Ryan Harris

English E

“My Other Half”

 

Personally, I have different languages for the various aspects of my life. In my life I tend to keep the way I act in school separate and opposite to the way I act at home. In school, when we’re working on a High School Office episode, I’m as active as I can be even to the point where it’s annoying. When we’re preparing for a confessional, Stephen (Mr. I’m the Director because I have camera) gets Sam ready for his line.

“Ok ready Sam?”

“Ugh Yeah” sighed Sam.

I interrupt with a giant “C’MON PEOPLE I’VE GOT PLACES TO BE!” In an attempt to get shooting done quicker. Stephen retaliates with his own remark.

“Well we would be able to get some shooting done if CERTAIN people weren’t yelling!” yells Stephen.

“WELL I’m only yelling because we waste so much time messing around!”

“Me and you yelling isn’t helping anything either so SHUT UP!”

“Ok you don’t have to a douchebag about it.”

“RYAN! I will KILL YOU!”

“O?”

Around my friends I become a much more open and upbeat individual. Expressing my opinion in the way of choosing without having to worry looking dumb. At home, I change completely. That open and upbeat person becomes so reserved and quiet. I don’t even “Hi” to anyone. I walk and usually see my mom just chilling watching TV.

“If you hungry I made something for you.”

“Ok.”

“OK.” Those are probably the most words I say to them for a while. At home, I usually don’t speak to my family unless I’m spoken to. For some reason, I just can’t be that open and expressive at home. The way I interact with friends is way too (for lack of a better word) weird for my family. When they speak, I can’t even be asked to say something back. In a sense I leave that version of me back at school.

In the words of James Baldwin, “Language, incontestably, reveals the speaker.” To James Baldwin, he saw that when black people spoke in “Black English” it showed that they different from the other white people. It showed that they’ve lived differently from being slaves, in which they knew a few Standard English words but had to piece the rest together for themselves. When I think about my personas, both in and out of school, I understand what he’s talking about. When I’m at school I’m surrounded by a vast majority of people that I can outright trust. Sometimes I can see my friends as more of my family than my real family. To me, we speak the same language, Trust. If I have a problem, I always go to a friend first before anything or anyone else. To my family, they might as well be speaking gibberish since I can’t be my true self around them. When I think about it again it’s like being in Spanish class, I usually don’t say much because I have a fear of being wrong or looking stupid. I don’t want to say the wrong thing to family and just look stupid in the end.

So in conclusion, I would guess as of now my main language among my friends and I is Trust. Like James Baldwin said, my language does reveals a lot about me. It reveals that I do indeed code-switch from school and home. Yet, my code-switch is pretty dynamic. I feel as though I’m two different people living in the same body, and to be honest I like it this way. When I’m around my family we can’t relate with anything at all, but on the other hand when I’m around friends I can be at peace with how I really am.

 

Speaking Kling-On with the cool kids

 

Both of my parents speak a very high-class sophisticated English dialect and that’s because that’s how they were raised. When I was younger, I would say that’s the only English I could speak as well. As I got older and started making my own friends, I learned new slangs, words, accents, and definitions. For example the word bad has changed a lot for me. The way I first learned it “bad” was a way of expressing something not good or wrong. Such as, “Every time you go get into trouble, it’s bad.”

Then as I started hanging out with more friends from my private school school, and they would use bad this way “Sneaking into the movies is so bad! Way to go!”

 

After a couple of years I graduated from that private school, this is when I started making a lot of new groups of friends. Some of my good friends came from playing basketball in west Philly. Their definition of bad would go like this, “That girl is so hot she’s just so bad”

 

Another of group of close friends are involved in a rap group called “OCD” Since there rappers they find creative ways to use words. When their talking about “bad” it means real or true reality for example “I’m living it big so completely bad, don’t even hate because I know you mad”

 

Now-a-days one language isn’t enough. You’ll need to have two different languages and at least three dialects for each. For me I speak Spanish and English. My dialects in Spanish are whatever I learn in class but in English I create or choose my own dialects. There’s prep, ghetto, church, sincere, political, respectful, and many more. I’m a pretty diverse person when it comes to groups of friends and I’d say I could fluently speak all those dialects of English.

 

Maybe if I had traveled more I would have picked up even more dialects but Philly is a pretty diverse city. Different areas require different words so sometimes I do have to consciously switch my dialects to sound respectable. The thing is, if your speaking in the wrong dialect your in for some serious ridicule. If I spoke slang to my parents they’d ask me if id forgotten how to speak English, but if spoke prep to my neighborhood friends they’d tell me I sounded like a bitch. If you don’t know the people the key is to listen to how they speak and then imitate their dialect. You have to be careful with this because you don’t want to sound like a poser. Another rule to imitating speech is to stay consistent with that dialect, you don’t want to be talking like a hipster for an hour and then tell a story speaking like your mom. I’ve had times where I didn’t recognize a dialect. This just makes you feel awkward because even if you have something interesting to say you don’t know how to say it without sounding stupid. I was in North Carolina visiting my cousins he was with his friends using words I didn’t understand with inside jokes that could only be recognizable if you lived in the area. The worst was when they asked me how Philly cheese steaks were and I responded, “what’s a Philly cheese steak” because to me it was just a Cheese Steak. Next time my cousin comes to Philly ill be sure to tell him to get some “wuder ice” and that “use guys” should get some “baagel’s”

 

Mike Rose wrote that “Growing up where I did I understood and admired physical powers and there was an abundance of muscle here.” Here Mike rose it talking about how when your young the strong or most mature kids have an easier time then anyone else. I find this to be true and that for the most part stronger people do well throughout life. But this is not to say that being strong is all that is required to have a successful life. Now relating physical strength to language switching is connected to the amount of social interaction that a “popular” kid will have. The more popular you are the more people will try to talk to you and that translates to an improvement in social skills. People with more social skills will be better speakers because they will know how to use words to their advantage. One problem with this though is that some people will dedicate their adolescent life to social skills and not develop academic skills, which are also extremely important. This creates an unbalanced society.

 

Society is an idea of civilization coming together to create a social and community-based world. As the human race advances so does our society. Human’s advance through industry, economics, government and humans advance through culture. A culture grows through constant reconstruction. The amount that the today’s world is different just from two thousand and one is marvelous. When talking about culture speech is one of the most important pieces. Languages changes from culture to culture and since there are millions of cultures there are millions of languages. This vast pool of language creates a necessity to learn many dialects per language.

Some languages become so used though that they become a main basis for all speech like proper English, proper English is somewhat used by every person who speaks English because that was the starting point for the English language.

 

​Language Autobiography - Gold stream

Isabella Tognini 

Final Draft – 1/14/11

 

Neutral Words

 

            “Abowt two years aygo, Ah had a business meetin’ with Pat Gilick and Dave Montgomery. In that meetin’ Dave Montgomery he told me, “Charlie, you gotta lot uh seconds.” I don’t have no damn seconds no mo.”

 I really cannot understand what he is saying. It would be nice if he talked a lot clearer, he sounds like a West Virginia hick.  I had to listen to Charlie Manuel five times before I understood exactly what he was saying.  That man with that country accent was the manager of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies two years ago.  He may sound like a country bumpkin to our Philadelphia ears but that does not mean he is not smart. His players love him and respect him and so do all of us. People from West Virginia probably think we speak funny.  I used Charlie Manuel as an example of language because we all know him and can remember when he first came here and people thought that maybe he wasn’t such a great manager in part because of the way he sounded, which to bluntly put it, and to our northern ears sounds dumb.

“You’re not from here, are you?” Said the waiter when I asked for a glass of water.

“No, I am. I’m from Philly.”

“Oh, you don’t have an accent. Where are you from?”

My answers were always the same, “I’ve always lived in Philadelphia.”

My history has produced a pretty neutral accent, though sometimes I find myself falling into an accent, especially with my friends, if I spend long amounts of time with them, I can hear myself pronouncing words a bit different then usual.  A couple years ago I went to a camp in Ireland and after just a few days I found myself adopting an Irish brogue.

Both of my grandmothers are still alive.  My mother’s mother is from Greece, while my father’s mother is from England.  They have both been here for more than 50 years, but they still have accents from their home countries.  I’ve seen my Greek grandmother struggle in a store to make herself understood, and the clerk working in the store soon loses patience.  On the other hand my English grandmother has no language barrier and people seem charmed by the accent. 

In the story How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldúa she said, “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I am my language,” which refers to her belief that language defines your culture and identity.  She did not want to reject her Mexican culture in order to be part of ours.  She is hurt by the way she is treated here because of the way she speaks.  My European grandmothers did not leave their cultures behind, even after all these years, though they love our country, with all of its diverse people.  After all wasn’t this country built on immigration?  I don’t understand all the anti-immigration talk these days.  My mother was born and raised in Philadelphia, and my father grew up in Canada and later outside Cleveland, Ohio.  Neither seem to have any accent at all.  Maybe that’s why I don’t really feel like I have an accent, and have been lucky to blend in with language and culture and have not had a problem with it.

Language is directly related to power.  Even if you were raised in a penthouse on Rittenhouse Square, you may not get ahead in relationships with others if you cannot speak well and convincingly.  If you speak well and with confidence it can help you negotiate with people and helps you express your ideas.  Language, or good use of it can help in an interview for a college or a job.  My grandmother came to this country as an adult, and had difficulty learning the language.  It is hard for a person to get ahead in America if they cannot speak “good English,” even if they had a good job in their country of origin.  How can they teach or be a doctor if no one understands them?  There is a small Albanian population in my neighborhood and I see the men walking together and smoking cigarettes, but they only seem to say hello in English.  They sit together everyday at the Dunkin Donuts.  They have each other.  I guess the next generation will have English as a first language and have an easier time blending in.  I guess what anyone wants from their language is to be accepted.

Rugeaitu Bah ​

 

1-5-10

 

 

Knowing the language doesn’t always means that you’re able to pronounce the words correctly, around the world many people speaks different languages

 

 

“Say Street” My friend said in a very snarky tone, “ShhTreek” I attempted to repeat. “No Street” she said. “ShTreet,” I said again you could hear anger building in my throat.

She began to try to coach me again with saying the word she said “Okay say tree”

I again repeated her “Tree.” I could tell she was becoming restless when she said “ Okay now put an S on the beginning of tree.” “Okay, streck,” I Said. “No S-Tree-t” She screamed. “Forget it, I can’t say it right, don’t waist your time trying to help me.” I said in a frustrated monotone voice. “ It’s easy, I mean you know how to speak English so I don’t know why you can’t say “street” right?” She said with a sarcastic voice it seemed as if she was making a mockery out of me. At this point I was very upset and shouted, “ I don’t know why, I just can’t! Bye.” I said

 

I have had many stages in my life when I would reach a point that silence is all I could muster up, my mouth would shut as if my tongue was like a finger that got slammed in the door, it was throbbing wanting something to come out but it just couldn’t. When I’m around my friends, I “talk black” which is normal for me, I say some words differently then I usually say when I’m around my parents. “Sup Yo” I would say when I’m with my friends and “Hello” I would say when I’m around my friends. My friends say they can hear my accent a little.)

 

I’m supposed to speak another language by the name of Fula, but I don’t because I never lived with my father, that is his native language. I traveled from my country, Liberia to America because my dad wanted us to move here and establish a new life. He thinks there’s better education and changes in America for us. I Spoke English in my country but it wasn’t the same as the way people speak English in America. My English was so different that, whenever I talked to a person from America, they would have a confused face. Some of the words are the same just when we say those words it then becomes different, “Hello, Oo” that’s what we would say in my language.

  

 When it reaches the time to go back to school, I pray that I won’t mess up when I’m reading aloud in class. I know how to read, but sometimes I get mad at myself because it’s very hard for me to pronounce some words correctly in the way. I listen to how other kids in my classes speak and pronounce words. Their voices don’t have an accent, they don’t sound as if they’re nervous, I don’t hear fear in their voice. In the essay The Women Warrior, (Maxine Hong Kingston), the author describes when her little sister and her had to read in front of their teacher, they were scared that they might mess up. In the story the author was scared when it was her little sister’s turn to read. “She opened her mouth and a voice came out that wasn’t a proper either.” When you know a language, you don’t always know how to pronounce words in that language, the author and her little sister clearly knew or were engage in the English speaking language, but they didn’t know how to say or pronounce some words. It’s very difficult to say some words in a language.  

 

“Class, Please take out the class rules sheet” Mr. Kay Said

I Sat down, looking over the paper and praying in my head that he would not call on me. 
“Who wants to read the first paragraph?” –Mr. Kay Said

The other kids raised their hands eagerly ready to read. A lots of kids had already read and it was the time that my heart began to beat extremely fast. I get so nervous it feels like my tongue get stuck between my teeth and the words never come out right when I have to read in front of a large group.  In the Essay, The Women Warrior, By Maxine Hong Kingston, the author describes her reading to her teacher and how she felt, “you could hear the splinter in my voice, bones rubbing jugged against one another.” I always feel exactly the same when I’m reading aloud in class. I let fear take over the fact that I have an accent and I hate the way it sounds when I read. It’s doesn’t sound the same as the other kids when they read in my head it sounds wrong, confusing and people do not understand me.  I get nervous and hate myself because I can’t do anything about it.