VOICES
In my house there is always a constant language barrier. The fact that my mother and father both speak English and Dutch with easy is no big problem. But my father who can speak up to eight different languages seems to have the most problems with it. Form time to time he will use a Portuguese word in place of an English word. It takes patience on my part, which I have very little of, to understand and to let him catch to what his brain is thinking. When he does, he corrects himself and carries on not realizing how confused me can make me. The Dutch we speak in our house is our language. Although I wasn't born in the Netherlands, both my parents were. My sister and I both know the language very well, using it on the phone with relatives, in and around the house and some times in everyday talking. It bring to me a sense of family; the way my mom rolls the r in my name, the way my dad mispronounces some words, and the way my sister can speak so fluently in Dutch. This is a close comparison to Richard Rodriguez's "Aria" who also felt that his national language was that of a family. The fact that both his and my family never use our national language out side the house, is in direct conflict of what Gloria Anzaldua's essay,
With such a diverse population, the United States has always had its communication problems. We've tried forcing people to conform and we have tried to accept the fact that there are many different languages. But, there seems to be no happy median between the two. In Richard Rodriguez's essay, "Aria" he feels that keeping the languages separate will help keep the diversity between the nationalities while, Gloria Anzaldua feels that the different languages in this 'melting point' society should be promoted to keep a sense of national dignity. In both cases, there are positives and downfalls. Richard Rodriguez brought up in a family who speaks Spanish in the house alone, was forced to learn the English language as a "public" language as he called it. When forced to use the English language in his family's home, he felt striped of his dignity. He no longer felt that close knit family tie, shared through his family's language. In his essay he says, "Again and again in the days following, as I grew increasingly angry, I was obliged to hear my mother and father encouraging me: "Speak to us en ingles."" He felt as if he lost his entire family due to a language. "But diminished by then was the special feeling of closeness at home." This "diminished special feeling", was his entire life, and due to the fact that he was required to begin to speak English more frequently, he began to loose his true life. It is as if he has to start a new life at the age of six.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 986
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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