When creating my language map, I decided what to include by asking myself; What are the most important factors of my language to me? This is why I included things like what influences the way I speak, my family background, idiolect, sociolect, dialect, what language means to me and my regional background. I tried to focus more on my personal language world and my opinion rather than including factual content. I thought this would make it more meaningful and interesting.
Throughout the unit, we discussed a lot about different variations of language. This is why I thought it would be important to include my opinion on other varieties of standard English and the stereotypes which language brings. In class, we also looked at the question; Who owns English? I wanted to show my opinion and personal answer to this question. I also added it in my language map because I wanted to write a lot about English in general. English is my mother tongue and the only language I am able to speak fluently. It is one of the biggest parts of my language world, therefore I thought it would be relevant to write a lot about it, to show my understanding and opinion of the language. I believe the places an individual has lived plays a big role in their language world. This is why I decided to write about different varieties of standard English in Singapore. I have lived in Singapore my whole life, I consider this to be quite relevant to my language world and influences.
Throughout the unit, I discovered a lot about the world and the language involved in it. However, at some points I was unable to relate to the topic. For example, we talked a lot about people who speak multiple languages, people who are forgetting their mother tongue and people who are being forced to learn a different language in order to adapt to the community/area they are in. I have spoken the same language my whole life, my mother tongue. I have never had to worry about forgetting how to speak it because I am lucky enough to be able to speak it everyday. I have never been put in the position where I have to learn another language in order to communicate easier with the people around me. When discussing these topics, I found it a little harder to understand as I was not able to relate to the stories of these people.
As a whole, I feel that this unit was very beneficial for me as I have never thoroughly explored my language world. The way I speak is a very significant part of who I am and it is important for me, and everyone to understand their language world. After this unit, I am aware of some problems language is creating around the world, such as including and misrepresenting people. I believe learning about these problems was one of the most relevant parts of it as it allowed me to put myself in the shoes of people I am very different to and cannot relate to.
