Abstract
During my critical analysis paper I used an example about a man depicting a negative language attitude. The man believed that English was best and therefore should be used and kept on harassing the Spanish workers whom spoke the Spanish language. I used a variety of sources to convince readers that this type of language attitudes are conceived on wrongful language myths.
Equality in Linguistics
There are over 7,000 languages in the world. Language is necessary for society since we use it as a means to communicate our ideas to one another. Even though language is imperative a language dies every 14 days, a cause of this can be the misconceptions that some languages are just not as good as others. Some people believe in the misconception and Myth that some languages are more superior than others and should be the only language used. For example, a man has been found criticizing Spanish workers for speaking Spanish in their work place. He urged them to only speak English and even threatened them with deportation if they didn’t. This shows the need for Language Equality. All languages should be treated with the same respect and be considered equal in validity.
Equality in Linguistics needs to be achieved in order to establish a better society and help improve it over all. There are many languages and dialects in the world around us, acceptance of them seems logical to establish a harmonious society. However, this may not always be the thought process of others, due to their language attitude. They hold on to beliefs that languages can be superior to others and advocate for the use of only the English language. This kind of wrongful attitude is clearly shown in the article called “Man Threatens Spanish-Speaking Workers: My Next Call Will Be to Ice”. It was published by the NYTimes. The video demonstrates the ignorance and connotations that some people have towards those who speak different languages and various dialects. The man showcased anger and frustration when workers spoke Spanish to customers. The man argued that English should be spoken in America. He even went on to claim that he pays for welfare for “People like them .. the least thing they can do is speak English” (Robbins,1). He then proceeded to threatened them by saying he’ll call Ice on them. He demonstrates the myth and linguistic ideology that the English language is superior therefore should be used in all places especially formal setting such as the work place.
The fact that this man was advocating for his ideology in the setting that he was in is more astounding. The incident took place in was in a fast-casual restaurant called Fresh Kitchen. Fresh Kitchen is located in midtown Manhattan NY, a known are to be home to a large diversity of people whom actively use different languages and dialects as part of their daily lives. The video can be found in https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/nyregion/man-threatens-spanish-language-video.html. The man seems to be assessing what is supposed to be acceptable in America. The man strongly believes that because “This is America. workers should not be speaking to the customers in different languages”. This is outrageous considering that the workers in this situation were helping out a Spanish speaking customer whom probably felt more comfortable speaking in that tongue. No one had included him in that conversation rather, yet the man took it upon himself to criticize them for simply speaking another language. Satirically the man himself works in a law firm located in Manhattan as well that offers services in multiple languages one which is including Spanish. Along with this it seemed the man had some misconceptions that he tied with Spanish speakers. He certainly attached himself to the idea that people who speak Spanish are immigrant since he heavily threatened the workers to call ice in order to get them deported if they did not comply with his beliefs and speak what he thought people should only speak when they are in America, English. He also asserts his misconception of Spanish speakers that because they are able to communicate in this language he “Pays for their welfare”. The man whom is stating all this is likely to be reaching out to those with similar beliefs like him such as half of the other political side of our divided nation. It is likely that this took place in context as a response to the mass deportations that have been happening since our new Presidency. The Mayor even responded to this by reminding everyone that NY is filled with 8.6 million residents who speak more than 200 languages.
There are many languages that exist in our world, we use languages in our daily lives to communicate with others and express our ideas in a effective way. All languages are capable of being valid and serve its function. Ray Harlow presents this idea in his essay “Some Languages Are Just Not Good Enough” in the book Language Myths edited by Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill. Although the title off his writing an be misleading, Harlow is actually disproving and arguing against it. Harlow believes that all languages are functional and there is no such thing when it comes to ranking to the ranking of languages because languages have varying factors, but each are capable of doing its job which is to provide a way communication. He states an example of the Latin language “contemporaries were skeptical about the possibility of Latin being able to express the ideas and trains of thought of the Greeks! In their view, Latin was just not enough. However this was a language which went on to be the language of scholarship, science, international diplomacy and literature for well over a millennium Sir Isaac Newton , the famous scholar of the seventeenth century, published his ideas in Latin” (Harlow,11).This shows how even a language that is not widely spoken has the potential to become credible and recognized and function effectively. Therefore, all languages should be treated with the same respect and be considered equal in validity.
Some people like the man from the restaurant are not aware of this and rather yet believe in the language myth. In an article titled “Learning English should be part of American experience” by Sean Kennedy it demonstrates that ideology that some people who are unaware about language equality have. The author argues that “In order to be an American one must speak English in America” (Kennedy,1). The author shows the demographic that supports this ideology such as Trump supporters. They believe that English is superior therefore should be the language used in order to be accepted and even considered to being a American. However, in Patricia Ryan’s Ted Talk “Don’t Insist On English” she advocates for the need in diversity of language and to stop the judgment based on it. She introduces an anecdote about two English scientists. “They were doing an experiment to do with genetics and the forelimbs and the hind limbs of animals. But they couldn’t get the results they wanted. They really didn’t know what to do, until along came a German scientist who realized that they were using two words for forelimb and hind limb, whereas genetics does not differentiate and neither does German. So, bingo, problem solved. If you can’t think a thought, you are stuck. But if another language can think that thought, then, by cooperating, we can achieve and learn so much more” (Ryan,2). Patricia shows how by appreciating all languages new knowledge can be gained by one another and thus contribute to new learning and new things that could help out the society.
Overall by maintaining the belief that one language like English is superior and should be the only language used, the myth is stopping the progress in our society from being made. All languages should be treated with the same respect and be considered equal in validity in order for the betterment of the world. Even though all languages are different they are all capable of functioning the same and playing whatever role needs to be played effectively.
Works Cited
Bauer, Laurie and Peter Trudgill. Language Myths. London: Penguin Books, 1998.
Kennedy, Sean. “Learning English Should Be Part of U.S. Experience – CNN.” Google Search, www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2015/09/17/opinions/kennedy-english-language-immigration/index.html.
Robbins, Liz. “Man Threatens Spanish-Speaking Workers: ‘My Next Call Will Be to ICE’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 May 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/nyregion/man-threatens-spanish-language-video.html.
Ryan, Patricia. “Don’t Insist on English!” Ted, Ted, www.ted.com/talks/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_not_just_english/up-next
Cover Letter
Throughout Phase 3 there are many things that I incorporated throughout my writing. My purpose when completing the assignment was to inform and disprove of the language myths that are existent in today’s society. Specifically, I tried to convince the audience that it is not true that some languages are better than others. The audience that I was aiming at was the general public, specifically those whom believe in this myth in order to convince them of my argument. My context was a video that was published by the new York times.
There are many meaningful insights that I’ve come to discover throughout the process of writing this paper. Phase three has helped me utilize new strategies that helped me in order to write a improved paper I learned to utilize the material that was introduced to me and my classmates by using this in order to advocate and support for the claim. That I was trying to convince my readers of. Also, within the sources that we used I looked for the credentials of the authors and speakers to make my argument stronger and appeal to the reader using the rhetorical device ethos.
Some of the resulting outcomes that I had gotten throughout this time is being able to analyze different types of readings. I was able to use multiple sources and try to efficiently use them towards generating a though provoking paper, also within the class discussions I was also able to learn the different types of perspectives that one can have towards one thing. One thing that I took away from the class discussion is that there are various examples that relate to my topic. Most people used the same example that I did surprisingly to me they all had a different way of analyzing it. I was able to listen to other perceptions and use it to include and keep in mind while writing the paper. Mostly it also helped me recognize the kind of impact that language attitudes and standards have and how it always connects to a bigger picture like the current events that happen in our society.
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