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  • Essay / The importance of diversity in language development

    “If you want to be American, speak American. If you don't like it, go back to Mexico, where you belong. » These were the words of an Anglo-Saxon professor to the young American specialist in cultural theory, Gloria Anzaldua, when he was caught speaking Spanish in class. Gloria, of Mexican descent, is no exception to what many of us have experienced in our lives, which is linguistic discrimination. In America, ethnic linguistic minorities often face daily challenges because of their language or accent. We've seen that many schools and other American institutions strive for cultural diversity, but that's hard to believe when staff don't put their mission into practice. It is astonishing to see how cultural diversity has become a “smokescreen” for individualism in one of the most diverse countries in the world. However, in a multicultural society that promotes personal development, acceptance of minority languages ​​should be considered to prevent feelings of inferiority and understand other cultures appropriately. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First of all, language does not define us. The language we generally speak, however, plays a central role in shaping our personality. Yet even people who speak the same dialect experience cultural differences due to their distinct cultural identities and unique experiences. We tend to view our language as a whole more positively than other languages. It's an automatic thought, but bringing it to light and making someone feel inferior because of the way they speak is not. Although people can make powerful arguments about which languages ​​are more pleasing to the ear or difficult or quick to learn than others, no language allows people to communicate better than another. Coming back to Gloria, she believes language plays a role. an important role in our identity, because it unites us and helps us identify with each other. A melting pot implies equality between majority and minority groups, but the American melting pot is more like an enclave. However, it is up to each of us to value the language we speak. It is up to us to decide which language to speak. We should not allow anyone to dictate to us what is a right and wrong way to speak. All languages ​​have the formal and expressive power to communicate the ideas, beliefs and desires of their users and this is undoubtedly a special ingredient of a melting pot! Another way to examine the stress caused by language discrimination is through American schools. Tomorrow's leaders also face the harsh reality of linguistic discrimination. Gloria's experience is just one of many. Linda Christensen, an English teacher who creates passionate programs focused on the lives and voices of her students, is also concerned about this language crisis. According to his students, those who study the linguistic history of the colonized, their professor has a history of “whitewashing” students of color or linguistically diverse students. Language anxiety is defined as the fear or apprehension that occurs when learners are required to perform tasks in a target language that they are not proficient in. Imagine that, an internal battle, plus a teacher holding his linguistically diverse students to standards as high as the level of native speakers. OURLanguage becomes part of us from the moment we begin to understand it. How do you expect us to act as if it doesn't exist in class when it's part of us? How do you expect us to put aside an important tool in our learning process to learn something new for us? We are not babies who absorb everything like a dry sponge. We already have a framework and making changes to it to work with another system causes some tension. I'm living proof that mastering another language is a process that takes time, and no one can expect us to become fluent overnight. Whether we've been studying English for years or just a few months, we've put in a lot of effort to get where we are, so we should let everyone's negative standards get in the way. the proof is that we would never have witnessed the beauty of multiculturalism without the acceptance of people from different parts of the world. How can we be willing to incorporate aspects of other cultures into our lives if we do not accept their people? It's like befriending someone you don't like for their money and not for who they are or any values ​​you might share. This is the greatest form of antipathy, and also very contradictory! Don't accept someone else's accent, however, when we speak we want others' opinions and criticism to be based on our ideas and not on how we speak, right ? In the life we ​​live, empathy plays a huge role in advancing our personal realization and overall development. If we don't have the support of others at some point in our lives, we feel lost. That’s life, sooner or later we all need a little empathetic fuel to keep us going. Thus, Gloria and Linda motivate minority people not to be discouraged and to accept the fact that we are different and special and to take on the challenge of being bilingual. Likewise, they encourage others to accept everyone, regardless of how they speak. The bad habit of controlling the language of linguistic minorities only harms, especially those who do not yet master the language very well. We must accept everyone's differences and each person's personal identity, because we all want to be accepted and language is an essential part of our identity. More conclusively, languages ​​are methods of understanding the world. They provide different avenues of structures for thinking and problem solving. They possess a body of knowledge involving geography, zoology, mathematics, navigation, astronomy, pharmacology, botany, meteorology and much more. “No culture has a monopoly on human genius, and we never know where the next brilliant idea will come from…We lose ancient knowledge if we lose languages,” says David Harrison, co-founder of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. The Cherokee language, for example, is the result of countless years living in the southern Appalachians. Cherokee words exist for every berry, stem, frond, and toadstool in the region, and the names also reveal the type of properties the item has; whether it is safe to eat or medicinal. “When a language dies, a way of understanding the world dies with it, a way of seeing the world,” said American literary critic and educator George Steiner. So when a language disappears, future generations lose a vital part of the culture necessary for understanding it...