Melinda Sanchez
Ms.White
Period:3
Language essay
Language can be used as a catalyst for control due to the limiting factors it holds on others.
Language tends to isolate people from diversity. Throughout history, it is apparent that people
tend to view others with a foreign language in a negative perspective. This can be the result for a
variety of reasons. Many associate language with the comfort of their home, family, and culture.
With this being said, those who do not have the same language tend to think they have nothing in
common and are apart of different spheres. When these different spheres are forced to collide in
the public world, it can be scary for adults and even children. This is the case for Richard in his
essay Memoir of a bilingual childhood. In this essay, he starts off by telling how he was
introduced to different languages that he interpreted as sounds instead of words. He explicitly
explains how he associated these sounds with different spheres and people. This can be seen in
the quote “In public, my father and mother spoke a hesitant, accented, not always grammatical
English. And they would have to strain- their bodies tense- to catch the sense of what was rapidly
said by los gringos. At home they spoke Spanish.” (Pg 510) Not only does he begin to interpret
these different languages with different settings, he also interprets them with feelings. His native
language is associated with delight while English is seen as frightening. Since Richard is so
heavily connected to his native language, he is controlled to shy away from the outside world’s
diversity. This is seen when he says “I remained cloistered by sounds, timid and shy in public,
too dependent on voices at home.” (Pg 513) The isolation of the outside world due to foreign
languages can also be seen in Marjorie Agosin’s essay Always Living in Spanish. As a kid away
from her home Chile and instead in the United States, Agosin talks about how she felt isolated
and like her childhood was beginning to disappear. Due to her native language being spanish, she
tends to reminisce about her culture and is controlled to think of the United States as an
uncomfortable place. This can be seen when she says “But here in the United States, where I
have lived since I was a young girl, the solitude of exile makes me feel that so little is
mine...How can one be another or live in a foreign language?” (Pg 557) Since Agosin is
dependent on the language of Spanish, she tends to shut out the United States and see it as
unfamiliar even though she has lived there for quite some time. She has learned English but
refuses to write in it. Instead, she sticks to the comfort of Spanish. Instead of seeing the different
languages and appreciating diversity, she is controlled to only compare it to her native language
and see English as everything it is not. Not only do some foreigners have difficulty accepting
languages while moving from their hometown, but the natives of that new place can also be
controlled to discriminate against foreigner’s accents. This can be seen in Amy Tan’s Mother
Tongue when she describes how her mother is treated due to her accent. “because she expressed
them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect...people in department stores, at banks, and at
restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand
her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.” (Pg 544) The natives of that country spoke English
and were controlled to discriminate Mrs.Tan’s accent due to holding on to the fact that English
was their language and she was not speaking it correctly, rather than focusing on the fact that
diversity can bring different dialects of the English language.
