Facebook Post I

Tongues/ Cultures

"Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity". I think the author does a tremendous job by making us (Hispanics) feel connected to the article, and making us feel identify with the topics being discussed. For example, in my case, having a Spanish name (Mariajose). For some Americans it is hard to pronounce it, and I don’t feel bothered by this fact. But what really concerns me is their tranquility that they have, and how they never even try to say it the right way. It bothered me a lot how many of my American teachers never really asked me how to pronounce my name and they just played it safe calling me Maria, that way they wouldn’t complicate themselves.

It is awkward the big number of Hispanics that I know, that hate to speak Spanish or just act as if they don’t. In the worst cases, some tend to mock those that speak English with an accent. I find these people to be very ignorant and uncultured because I believe there shouldn’t be any shame at all, but on the contrary, they should feel pride to speak a language with your own accent. Your accent tells the people around you, that you are not trying to be like them and that you are definitely not one of them. A person that is proud to speak with their accent demonstrates security and confidence, unlike someone who has Hispanic roots and it’s embarrassed to accept their reality. One that has an accent and is proud of it shows how civilized that person is. That accent can quickly tell the listeners where you come from. I also believe that unless all the people that speak a language are killed, we will always have a different Spanish from the standard Spanish and different English from the Standard English. This is something that goes back to history, and we just cannot change something that has been created over the years. We need to start telling our generations that it is ok to speak other forms of Spanish, to feel free to speak at the level that they are most comfortable with, since “repeated attacks on our native tongue have diminished our sense of self”. Let’s just be who we are, and have no fears of those that are not like us.