Scrolling through articles, I found a very interesting piece on ‘Forced Language Assimilation’ on The Guardian. After reading it I begin to wonder how both the journalist and I really felt about forced language assimilation (i.e. the view/expectation that everyone is America must learn English) and if there was a difference in what I and she believed was the relationship between accent, identity, and power?
After rereading the article I got the impression that, when she was younger she felt like she didn’t ‘belong’ or ‘accepted’ in America because she was Latino. Therefore she tried her best to wash away her Latino culture and assimilate as rapidly as she could. I can understand how she felt and once felt somewhat the same way, although now after having the #MyLanguageWorld unit in English, I believe that preserving your own language and culture is very important and there is nothing embarrassing about having a different accent from others. I agree with her when she then goes on to talk about how she feels that being ‘forced to assimilate’ is oppressive. I think your language and accent are both an significant and important part of your identity. They both have a role in constructing you as a person. And just because you live in another country, it does not mean you should be forced to assimilate, for example: her grandmother. She was proud of her heritage and refused to give up that part of her even after she became an American citizen. The one idea that I did not completely agree with though, was when she said her grandmother talked to everyone in Spanish, because if you are living in another country, even though you shouldn’t be forced to assimilate, you should still respect the language spoken there and put in some effort in trying to communicate basic expressions to them. One question I still wonder about is: How do accents and identities relate to power?
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