Week 1, Day 3
Blog Prompt 1
Blog 1
Your first blog assignment is a personal essay. It should be between 300-600 words, but feel free to write more if you get inspired! You may write using the first person (I) and describe one or several aspects of your linguistic history. Some topics you might wish to cover include:
- The languages you have been exposed to over the course of your life, and how important they are to who you are. Is English your native language? Are you bilingual or multilingual? Did you learn other languages as a child and then forget them? Have you taken courses in other languages?
- The relationship between family and language. Do any members of your family speak other languages and dialects than you do? Does that make you feel connected to another culture, or make you feel estranged?
- How has school has affected your language? Have teachers made you try to speak differently (or write differently) than you would otherwise? Do you admire academic standards of language, resent them, or do you care?
- Any stories about yourself and your language that you think are funny, interesting, or say a lot about who you are. Have you ever gone abroad and come back speaking with a different accent just for fun? Have people from other regions or countries commented a lot upon your accent?
Amber Allen
ReplyDeleteENG 1101: “Language Controversies”
August 19, 2009
Blog Prompt 1
Blog 1
Growing up in a southern area and culture has made my language what it is today. English is my native language. I often times am very aware of the rural area i grew up in. I grew up in Towns County, Georgia. This community has a very strong and distinct southern accent. Throughout my years growing up, I knew I would have a southern accent, but I also know at times I was selective of how strong my accent was. It was not that I was ashamed of my accent, or that I did not want people to know I was from the south. I choose to “control” the way I spoke in order to not be known as a “hick.” Oftentimes, when people have a strong accent and go to other places that the people talk differently, they automatically assume (whether it is fair or not) that if people speak in such a manner they are uneducated. I never wanted to be under the assumption of others as “uneducated.”
During high school, I took classes in Spanish. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed learning another language and found it very intriguing to see how a language other than English is spoken and connected. By the end of two classes of Spanish I was mildly fluent. Although I was not perfect, I seized every opportunity to speak Spanish. When my family and I would go eat at the local Mexican restaurant I would order and carry on short conversations in Spanish. Yes, sometimes they had to correct me in the way I would pronounce a word and sometimes they had to correct the order in which I said the words. I still try to speak Spanish when possible and I also plan to take college courses in Spanish. The time that inspired me most to be fluent in Spanish was during a summer mission trip. I wanted to be able to minister and carry on conversations with the people in Mexico. One day I know I will be able to and I look forward to expanding my knowledge of another language.
My family does not speak any different languages, and as far as I am aware, I am the only person in my family that has expanded knowledge of another language. Although they do not speak different languages, they did at one time have different accents. My mom grew up in Iowa and it is humoring for her family to come here or vice versa for us to visit my mom’s family in Iowa. This was a humoring experience because the difference in accents and words such as “coke” to us is “pop” to them. It was small differences that could sound so different to each of us. It is just a known fact that when they visit here they will probably be “picked” on by us and when we go there they will have something to say about our southern dialect.
I must say that I admire academic standards of language. School and academic learning in connection to language has not always been a fun and easy task to learn, but I am inspired to learn more about language and expand my vocabulary in order to speak a more mature dialect and to enable my writing skills to advance in furthering my education. The English language is complex but it has endless possibilities in learning and speaking this unique language. The language we each speak is a true reflection and representation of where we have grown up and the environment we have surrounded ourselves.
Dane Knudsen
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1101: “Language Controversies”
Blog 1
I’ve spent the vast majority of my life in Savannah, and I am a native English speaker. I’m not fluent in any other languages, however I do like to pretend that I know more than I actually do of other languages. One of my best friends is Muslim, so I’ve learned bits and pieces of their language. Spanish has been a large part of my life, having been taking classes in school in it for the past 12 years. I’m certainly not fluent in it, but I do know common phrases, which actually do occasionally play into my everyday speech. Just recently, in conversation, someone was trying to explain something to me and I said “I don’t understand, no comprendo.”
Though I’ve dabbled in Spanish, French, and Arabic, I’ve really taken an interest in learning ASL (American Sign Language.) I think it’s such a cool, and even fun language to learn. Not many people know it, and it’s an impressive language to know. I know the alphabet, numbers
There isn’t really anything special about my linguistic history, my dad is from Nebraska, and my mom from Rochester, New York. So even though I live in the south, I’ve been able to avoid a southern accent. Sometimes I’ll talk with a southern accent for fun, but in a serious situation, my voice and vocal patterns come across very neutral. I’m glad for that, because I don’t want to be judged by how I sound, by people who think everyone from Georgia are a bunch of trailer park living, tobacco chewing hicks.
In my opinion, if you can talk and communicate with someone, it doesn’t matter what dialect you speak. As long as the words that come out of your mouth are intelligible and comprehendible, I don’t care where you stress your syllables or what goofy phrases you use.
Ryan Carr
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1101
“Language Controversies”
I am a Blairsville, Georgia native which to most people would mean that I have a thick southern accent. However, I have been asked by people I become acquainted with if I am from here originally as I don’t have a thick southern accent. I would like to think that the reason behind this is because my father is from Walton, New York and his manner of speaking has no thick accent as well. Although my mother is native to Blairsville, her accent is only slight. Therefore I have developed only a slight accent that would make people ask questions about where I’m from. Growing up I wasn’t exposed to many different languages or ethnic groups. That changed when in the fall of my sophomore year in high school I was chosen to travel to Washington, DC to be a part of the National Youth Leadership Conference. That was in October of 2006.
This Conference opened my eyes to so many different people from around the world. And at first I was taken back by the fact that I had been missing out on one awesome experience that would forever change my views about life and language in general. One thing that sticks out in my mind is when I was standing in front of the Atlanta airport wanting to know what I have got my self in to as those doors opened I realized that I was in a whole different situation then what I was used to back home. There were so many people there that were talking in so many different languages, dialects, and accents that it seemed to be a meeting place for all the different people from around the world. And I think that gave me the first taste of how language its self is such an awesome tool that more than most people probably take for granted.
Last but not least the start of my college career has also in some ways been the same opportunity to meet new people and learn that language is not just a tool it is also a way to get to know someone’s personality. Language itself is very complex. It is difficult to think that the English language is just sounds and rules that are governed by people that speak it, would be taken for granted so easily. Until this class I have never really thought about it in depth before.
Isn’t it great to think that people have such a diverse way of communicating? It is a great way to get to know people’s lifestyles and personalities. I’m glad that the English language is a part of my everyday life.
Throughout the course of the exciting/happening 18 years of my life, I have only managed to somewhat grasp the art of speaking the English language, much less an extra one. Living in a small town in north Georgia, Calhoun, I have rarely been exposed to different dialects and even languages all together. In Calhoun, the vast majority of the population speaks in a slang dialect, but who am I kidding so do most other cities around this region. This is what I have come to learn and what I have became accustomed to. I can’t say that I have had much positive influence from my mother though; she has lived in Calhoun her whole life. Her side of the family, although some of the nicest people I know, has been some of my biggest/main contributors to my slang dialect, which makes me really comfortable talking to them. It is kind of confusing though at times because when they say “You wanna coke?” you have to request a specific kind because it could mean a variety of drinks, like sprite, mountain dew, or even hawaiian punch. My father on the other hand is from Wisconsin. He himself, although, speaks as if he has resided in the south throughout his whole life. His siblings on the other hand, that now live in Gainesville, Georgia; seem to still be stuck in yankee mode. I have always dreaded going to visit them, even though we rarely do, because their dialect sounds so much more sophisticated than my own and what I am used to that I am almost too embarrassed to even speak.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely aware that I have a distinct southern dialect. I’ll never forget the day that this first became obvious to me. The family and I, around nine years old at the time, took a trip up to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the site of the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Like I said earlier, my dad appears to of lived in the south his whole life, but managed to somehow salvage his love for the northern football team and bring it with him to his new home. Well to make a long story short, we had been driving all day (because were idiots and drove the whole way) and were dying to check into our hotel. When we finally arrived, I guess my sister and I thought we would speed up the process of getting our room, so we jumped out of the car, ran into the lobby, and up to the front desk (thinking that they would actually give us kids the key). It turns out that they not only did not give us our key, but they knew exactly what state we were from and proceeded to making fun of our accents.
fml
As many of us have i grew up in the southern region, more specifically Marietta, Georgia. For this reason a slight southern drawl is detectable in my speech. Being from the south nothing seemed abnormal about my speech pattern. Southern English is my native dialect and what i was most familiar with.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my exposure to different dialects growing up is fairly large. My father is not from the South but rather Cleveland Ohio, and while his accent is fairly mild much of his side of the family has the distinctive nasally midwest accent. I always found their manner of speech humorous and do to this day. Using words like pop for soda, as opposed to me who called every soft drink a Coke regardless of what it actually was.
To continue my American dialect education my father got re-married my lovely step-mother Linda who is native to a small town called Fredonia located just north of Buffalo New York. Linda is nearly pure Polish as is her family. So on my visitations I got to hear their manner of speak as well as their Italian friends. Let me tell you, the manner of speech on the Soprano’s is not too far off base.
School has affected my language most in the sense of grammar and syntax. As i mentioned earlier my dialect is mostly rooted in Southern English. Certainly not known for its grammar. School taught me to pronounce my words as clearly and correctly as possible so that others could understand outside of my circle. The syntax i learned aided me in developing sentences that were pleasing to the ear as opposed to rudimentary speech just for basic communication.
I also had the opportunity to learn a foreign language. Unfortunately, due to perhaps a lost connection in my brain I was unable to learn it. This truly jaded me against Spanish or any other foreign language for that matter and now i believe myself to have a mental block to it. Something truly regretful.
Language and dialect is a make or break bonding tool in some instances. Thankfully not in my case. Me and my mother and her family have southern accents. My father and his side do not. I do not feel any more included or excluded by either side. This is how it should be.
Many different languages have always interested me as a young kid living in the heart of the big city and continues to draw my interest as a college student. Throughout my school career, I learned courses in English, Spanish and French. My family for generations spoke English as their native tounge, therefore, I fluently speak English. However, I have had the chance to study few different languages and found one to my liking. My study of French turned out to be a very short one due to moving to Blairsville. French I quickly found abides a very different language from our own. Perfecting the dialect with tounge movement leads to much frustration, especially when adding a southern accent to the mix. Although I'm not able to consider myself bilingual through English and French, I can however speak Spanish. Having taken three semesters of Spanish throughout my high school career, I have become fairly enlightened on not only the language of the Spanish itself, but I have come to learn many great things about Spaniard culture as well. Learning other languages besides my native tounge of English has lead to the respect of the Spanish speaking peoples visiting and living within our community. Not only does a new language provide a means of communication through other speakers of different cultures, but it lies as a good way to play a joke on some non-Spanish speaking friends. My schooling definitely plays a major role in the way I speak, but also in my writing as well. Having a strict English teacher, I now obsess over my handwriting and passive voice. However, I have come to learn, know and love different languages and my newly taught ways of how to present information through writing. I have learned to appreciate the art of writing and sought to make my writing better; all of which leads me to new heights. As of now, I do not know whether my college career will lead me into the learning of other languages, but my hopes remain high that I can learn as much as allowed.
ReplyDeleteWell my language has defiantly been impacted by my surroundings, over 18 years I have moved five times to four different states. Although, while I have always lived in the south my parents are both northerners who kept me from acquiring a southern accent. I have never been able to learn any other language, even though I took two years of Spanish in high school. Although, my Aunt, who moved to New Mexico from Indiana, to be a lawyer, can speak fluent Spanish, but she never uses it when she is around my family. I believe that school has done very little to affect my language, teachers normally do not bother with the way that I speak but rather my writing, I am a phonetic speller, which drives most my teachers, especially my AP teachers crazy.
ReplyDeleteStrangely over the years the friends that I have acquired normally have very strict rules about their own language skills and dialects never allowing themselves to pronounce anything “grammatically incorrect. while with them recently I accidentally said “hunten” rather that “hunting”, my good friend, who is an English major laughed at me and said that if I was going to start talking like that she would have to stop talking to me. Now I say it just to annoy her. They are all very careful about the manner in which they speak because they know that people make judgments about others based on their accent.
While I try very hard to maintain a neutral dialect I often catch myself using the different styles of communication from the various areas I have lived. Every once and a while talking to someone they will tilt their head to the side and say “where in the world are you from” I have even found that while talking to different people I adjust the manner in which I speak depending on how that person talks.
Merry Bridgeman
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1101 - "Language Controversies"
Dr.Hughes
Blog Prompt 1
August 21, 2009
I live in Macon, Georgia which is known for it southern bells and gents. People here talk slowly and they bleed sweet tea. Most people who live in Macon have lived there their entire life. In my case, both of my parents were also born and raised in Macon just a few miles away from each other. This has most likely been the number one influence on the way I speak. My dialect is of course going to be southern along with just about everyone else who lives in Georgia. I personally don’t think that I’m southern at all, but I have been told differently by people who are not from around these parts. I really began to notice how southern my dialect actually was when we had a family friend from Chicago come to stay with us. It wasn’t hard for us to understand each other, but occasionally we would laugh at the differences in our speech. I then realized just how many different types of accents there are and how unique they are.
During high school I took two years of both Latin and Spanish. Latin helped me to learn the roots of words and better prepared me for Spanish. But Latin is one of those languages that are never used and if you do not use it you lose it, which is what I did. It is almost the same case in Spanish after I quit it just never really stuck with me. The only phase that I can remember correctly is, “Quanto questo el sombrero (How much is that sombrero),” which will be very helpful when I go to pick out that perfect sombrero. These classes, even though I didn’t learn very much, also helped me to accept people from other cultures. Sometimes we might get frustrated when we see people who don’t speak English very well, but like I said before, these classes put me in their shoes and showed me just how hard it is to learn a different language.