Language As Distinct Feature Of The Community Essay

The worldview and lifestyle of community members are usually determined by the cultural diversity, the accepted values, norms and traditions. Language is considered to be pivotal for formation of individual’s identity. It is the distinct feature of a particular community; especially this is the case of minorities, living on the territory of a different country. Members of the minority prefer to communicate with each other, using their mother language. At the same time language has a considerable impact on self-identification of community members and differentiates communities being the major marker that distinguishes one community from another. In this regard, I can refer to the experience of my community, which is predominantly Chinese speaking with the younger generation being bilingual or predominantly English speaking. Therefore, Chinese is the main language used within my community, while individuals, who are bilingual like me, tend to use different behavioral patterns and develop quite a different identity compared to representatives of the mainstream American culture as well as they are different from the older generation of Chinese community, who stick to old Chinese traditions and use Chinese only. Hence, as a member of Chinese community, I have developed my unique identity, which makes me stand out among other American citizens. My behavioral patterns depend upon various social environments; this fact could be seen as another proof of the impact of language upon worldview and identity of individuals.

In a way, Chinese community members, which I comprise a part of, used to develop a strong sense of inferiority, especially in the past, while the language contributed consistently to the enhancement of this sense. To put it more precisely, Chinese Americans, who established our community, faced the problem of their marginalization because they had the poor language competence and could hardly communicate with Americans. As a result, many first settlers in our community preferred to stay within their community than develop closer ties with Americans, Englishmen as well as other non-Chinese speaking communities. This fact could be the confirmation to the Baldwin’s assumptions, related to development of a kind of superior attitude towards Chinese people, purely on the basis of their poor knowledge of English. Even though their assumptions were highly subjective, Americans tended to view Chinese inferior because they could not even understand English. As a result, many first members of our community faced difficulties with the employment outside our community.

At the same time, Americans often viewed them as being inferior because they could not adequately understand their language. However, it was not mere interracial relations or some prejudices that became a problem for my community members. Instead, they faced substantial problems in practical terms. For example, my parents, who moved with their parents to the US, when they were teens, pointed out that they faced considerable problems in their education. As they entered a local school, they had difficulties because they had poor English skills and could not succeed in their learning until they became proficient in English. However, until they became truly proficient in English, educators under-estimated their educational skills that basically supports the idea developed by Bizzell, who has revealed the dependence of the academic performance on the language background and proficiency of students. In this regard, Bizzell’s findings basically prove challenges, which my parents faced because of their language competence or the lack of it in terms of their academic performance until they have reached the proficient level of English. However, even nowadays, when children from our community enter the schools, they are to make efforts in order to shift from Chinese to English. As long as they communicated in the frames of their community and with their family members, they didn’t have to use English that much as Chinese.

At this point, another language-related issue emerges within my community, the issue of the language use in different circumstances. To put it more precisely, the code-switch often occurs (Tam), when our community members, especially the younger generation, shift from Chinese to English depending on whom they are talking to. For example, when students from our community are at school, they use English mainly and they practically do not use Chinese at all, whereas they are at home, they frequently use Chinese, especially, if they talk to their parents or grand-parents. Such a shift of language code occurs every time our community members change their environment. In this regard, the younger generation shifts from Chinese to English or vice versa easier and faster compared to representatives of the older generations, many of whom are not proficient in English and have difficulties with the fluent use of English. In such a way, the code shift described by Tam does occur, when my community members change the language use depending on those, whom they are talking to. The representatives of younger generations are used to using English, when communicating with each other, as there are also other ethic groups, present in our companies. Older people, however, are not inclined to speak English, when communicating with other Chinese people or with Chinese Americans.

In fact, language is pivotal for our community because it is not just the mere tool of communication but, instead, this is our cultural identifier. We grow up and learn to respect our language and culture but it is through our language that we learn our unique identity and distinguish our community from other ethnic or cultural groups. At this point, it is possible to refer to Anzaldua, who insisted that the denial of one’s language is akin to the denial of one’s political, social and personal identity. For example, older people often regret that the youngest generation of Chinese Americans in our community tends to use more and more English instead of Chinese because they believe that Chinese is their cultural identifier and the use of English, instead of Chinese, makes representatives of the younger generation different from the older generation, whose representatives rather believe they are Chinese than Americans, while younger people believe they are Chinese Americans. The difference in their self-identification mirrors the difference in their language use.

Thus, language turns out to be an integral part of the cultural life of any community. In this regard, my community has not just the language but the discourse that includes the quintessence of our cultural norms, rules and traditions based on the language use, which serves as the cultural identifier. Even taking into consideration the possible challenges, caused by using Chinese in English speaking America, the members of our community still manage to preserve their cultural norms and traditions with the help of constant use of their native language.

 

Works cited

Anzaldua, G. Borderlands: La Frontera. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.

Baldwin, J. If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? New York Times, 1979.

Bizzell, P. Hybrid Academic Discourses: What, Why, How.

Tan, A. Mother Tongue.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]
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