Blog #5

The article I am going to respond to is called "Chicana English." It tells the story of a young women who has her language constantly berated by both sides of society. This double sided conviction is what stuck out to me the most in this article. The fact that not only does the american society oppress foreigners for their culture, but also that her own family would denounce her for speaking English. In the article her family says that she has destroyed her culture by speaking the language of her oppressors. While I can see where they are coming from, they are also doing the exact thing that they hate so much: oppressing. According to the article, many Spanish speaking Mexicans consider the variation of Spanish called: "Chicano Spanish" as a mutilation of the Spanish language and is used only by those okay with being oppressed. Chicano Spanish has derived over centuries of Spanish and Anglo speaking people. Over these centuries a new version of the Spanish language has been born. Chicano speakers use different words that normal Spanish speakers do not. Chicano speakers also have different variations of the same word in Spanish. While definitely different, I do not think that speaking as such should be considered wrong. I think that everyone should be entitled to speak the language they want and how they want. Rather than forcing a certain people to conform to your version of a language, I think that more time should be spent trying to help people understand this culture. Instead of fixing people's use of a language, we should fixing people's understanding of language. This is especially hard for teachers. Teachers require the ability to understand students, and vice versa. Where is the line drawn from understanding to oppressing. In my opinion students should have to be able to understand the common language being used by their teachers and peers. However, I do not agree with suppressing a students cultural influences. Teaching the common tongue should only go along with teaching the importance of your own culture. I also think this has to be a joint effort between the student's parents and teachers. If they are both not on the same exact page, you get instances happening like the one I previously described. Where a students is told to learn English and stop speaking Spanish by the school's teachers and administration; while a students parents call them traitors for giving up their cultural heritage. Languages are not an either/or type of thing; they can co-exist. Today's society has this false dichotomy of master our language or leave. There is no reason that someone cannot love both their culture and their home.

Blog #4

 “The Place of World Englishes in Composition” by Suresh Canagarajah begins with discussions on what makes someone a native English speaker. Suresh has grown up in Sri Lanka and has been a speaker of English since he was young. Despite Suresh having had learned English at the same time as his other native language, he is still characterized by many as being a non native speaker. In this article Suresh makes the claim that this is only because of his skin color. He demonstrates the argument that there are different variations of modern English that sweep through today's media like wild fire. There is no logical reason why the cut and pasted version of English on MTV is any different (in terms of legitimacy) than the variation of English that Suresh has grown up speaking. He goes on to say that just because we speak different variations of English, does not mean that we are any worse than each other. If we all accept each other and their cultural differences, we would be in a position of better understanding and harmony. Suresh also makes the argument that students should have to learn about other versions of English other than the American, British, and Australian standard. He claims that it would not be very hard to do. A very little amount of time would have to be spent learning this new version of English. Students already pick up on other versions of English outside of the classroom. For example, hip hop English is known by a large portion of American teenagers today. The students could use those intuitive skills to help learn the cultural differences in English languages from other countries. Suresh claims that the normal English we use in academia has very little to do with the way students actually talk to each other. Students learn multilingualism in the real world, not a classroom. American students can not and will not learn every variation in English available; they can however, learn to bounce from one form of language to the next, depending on context. They can use critical thinking to work through unknown lingual obstacles, that may occur. These languages are not all that foreign. They are all based on similar concepts and words. They all work from the same grammar system. They are different sides of the same coin. I agree with Suresh. I think that moving toward better understanding of each other; and being flexible with our language, is only a good thing. I find that many people from America specifically, lack the ability to empathize with people who speak differently than them. "learn English!" is a common phrase that is sometimes tossed around; oftentimes with mass support. I believe that moving toward a better understanding of others languages, can help the us against you mentality that some Americans share. It is important for people at a young age to be exposed to these ideas. I am a grown adult in college, and had only this year even put thought into such concepts. The concepts are important and can shape the way a growing adult thinks. I believe that if young students had a better understanding of the ideas in this article, they would not only be more comfortable around others, but also be more comfortable representing themselves and their culture. 

This semester some punctuation I would like to focus on includes: using the dash to emphasize, using the colon to emphasize, and using the semi-colon to separate two alike thoughts.When using the dash or colon, I feel like I run in to the same trap that Beth was talking about in class; to overuse the same punctuation in any given written work.

While I think I have a good understanding on the "rules" of grammar, in the use of these punctuation marks; I seem to struggle with the practical side of using such marks.

For example when I would write a sentence where I would use a dash like this: "I removed the cash from the safe -- the bank attendants were none the wiser." I would then feel limited in my ability to write by not being able to emphasize using the dash again, for a while.

I really appreciate the use of grammar and punctuation for allowing me to improve the meaning and context of my writing. However, I also feel that it can sometimes limit you, by being something that you cannot over use. The problem there does not really lie in the grammar itself, but is because of the critics and readers of the world. The dash is still the same punctuation mark, no matter how many times it is used in a piece. The dash does lose it's weight though, if used too many times in the same piece. You have to mix up the punctuation marks, like a boxer mixes in different punches.

Maybe what I am looking for is a alternative to these punctuation marks that I could use. I am also looking for the best ways to teach high school level kids the way to use some of these marks in their writing. I believe that if grammar is taught as a tool to improve writing, rather than a set of rules, that students will be much more likely to actually learn the material. I also know that improving my writing, will help me improve others writing in the future.

The last thing I am looking for in this class is an all around basis of knowledge of grammar. I feel that my education of grammar at this point is remedial at best. I believe that I can be a much more effective writer if I improve my ability to forge sentences and use correct grammar for the situation. Grammar can completely make or break a given thought or story; so I wish to use grammar to be able to write clearly and powerfully. Grammar as a tool rather than "rules" is extremely useful rather than harmful. I would just like to add more tools to my writers toolbox.

These are the things I hope to learn and improve in this class. In general I believe all my goals to pertain to my ability to teach English in the future and to improve my writing for years to come. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on my blog.