Who Am I? Jazmin Marroquin

Many people may not understand how language identifies them, but language definitely plays an essential role in a persons individuality since it is certainly a way of communicating ones identity. This essay will show the connections between language and identity. In our society today, people usually get characterized by the language they speak. This is something we saw in the documentary “Sound and Fury.” The people who were deaf had their own way of doing things and to them that was something cultural. Language is an important component of culture and culture is a crucial definer of identity. Without language, you cannot communicate your emotions or thoughts with anyone. And this was very stressful for the little girl in the documentary because since she was deaf she couldn’t communicate with other little kids that were hearing. She really wanted to be able to understand what they were saying and that was something she really wanted. Her parents did not take it so good though. They truly believed that their daughter was going to forget about deaf culture if she got a cochlear implant. There was definitely a lot of tension between that family because some Family members were hearing and not deaf. In my opinion I believe that they were being a bit selfish because they were only thinking about themselves and not their daughter. Even though they were able to manage in the hearing world it was hard for him. Why wouldn’t they want their daughter to have it easier. If she was able to hear everything would be so easy for her. She would be able to communicate with everyone. If her parents were scared that she would forget their culture they can always still enforce it. She is still going to have to communicate with them so she will never forget about the deaf culture, it is who she is. Another example is the married women who wants her son to have the implant. Her parents are deaf and she does mention that that life is hard and definitely not easy. Even though she thinks that giving her child the chance to hear is the best thing, she still loves he parents and she will show her son the deaf culture. I believe it is just who you are and you cannot escape it especially if your parents are deaf. This whole documentary showed how language is very important to people. It is who we are. Without it we are nothing. The way you speak says a lot about you and we should be proud of it like both deaf and hearing people are. I really liked this documentary because I got to understand both sides of how people think and feel. Both sides were very strong on what they believe and that really showed that language is a big part of our lives. If it was not important then why would people feel so strong about it?

As a bilingual speaker I can see how my language identifies me. I am able to communicate with both Spanish speakers and English speakers and that identifies who I am. Growing up I only knew Spanish and my mother was afraid that starting school was going to change my perspective on how I see Spanish as my primary language. Although my mother is fluent in bot Spanish and English, culture is very important to her and she would never had wanted us to forget who we are. I am Hispanic and without Spanish that is very hard to say. Personally I dislike it when a Hispanic person does not know any Spanish. And honestly that is not there fault but it is just sad that our culture is disappearing. I can closely relate to Marquez in her essay “Why and when we speak Spanish in public” because she mentions when it is appropriate to speak Spanish in public. Marquez mentions that speaking Spanish when an English speaker is present is rude. In my opinion, that is true because you have to know when it is ok to speak Spanish. The other person does not know any Spanish so they are going to be in an awkward situation. I would not like to be in that situation because I would feel out of place. Being a Spanish speaker I would not want people having a bad perception of it. Even though Spanish is part of who we are, we still need to know when and where to speak Spanish. And now we know that in front of someone that does not understand the language we do not do that. Growing up in a Hispanic church where the primary language is Spanish has shown me how different our culture is compared to an American church. When someone who speaks only English goes to our church, the people that know the language transition to make that person feel welcomed. This is a perfect example of what Marquez mentions in her essay. “We understand that English is the common language of this country and the one most often heard in international circles from Peru to Norway. We know that, to get ahead here, one must learn English.” this is something Marquez said in her essay and it very much portrays what happens in my church. Even though many people in my church speak English, they do no do so because it is a Hispanic Spanish speaking church. The people in my church practice what Marquez is saying.

Culture in my opinion is very important when talking about language and identity. Like I have already mention, in my church there are a lot of people that come from different places in Latin America and the way they speak identifies them. We all have different accents even if you are Mexican, Salvadorian, Puerto Rican… etc. the point is that even though we all speak Spanish we can see that mix of identity and culture at my church. Some people have different ways to say things. Not only within Spanish speaking cultures, but also with English speaking cultures. You can easily tell when someone is an easterner or a westerner. For example the video of Amy Walker shows us how sometimes the same countries have different accents within their communities. We did not really know what her accent truly was. She did like three accents for London, two for Australia, and a couple for Ireland also. The accents were from the same country but they were different. That right there identifies them and even though they are from the same country, they have different identities. I love accents so I really liked this video. Amy Walker was very good at doing those accents that to this point I do not know what her real one is. But she would put characteristics with the accent. She would add attitude to it to kind of portray how they really talk in those places. Like for example, when she did the Brooklyn accent she added a little sassiness to it and that is actually how they talk there. The was they say the things they do and how they do it is their identity. People from other places might think it sounds funny but that is who they are and we cannot judge them by that. Everyone is unique and cool in their own ways and I would have loved to have an accent even though technically we do have an accent compared to other places.

Speaking out on personal experience, last names have always been a sense of humor when they do not sound like the average last name. My last name is Marroquin and they always made fun of it. Maybe not in a bullying way but they never pronounced it the way it was supposed to or they would just make up names like macaroni, mannequin, or Maruchan. And honestly I do not even know where they got those names from Marroquin. There was a time where I was ashamed of my last name. I really wanted to change it to my mothers maiden name. Reading Dumas essay, “The “F Word”,” I could not help but think of my childhood. Although I did not have problems with my first name, I did have many encounters at places where they would call out my name and mispronounce it completely. They would add letters and take away letters and I would just sit there thinking how arrogant these people are to not take the time to read it and at least try to pronounce the right letters. “I did not however respond to “Fritzy” because there is, as far as I know, no t in my name.” This was exactly how I would feel. And it would make me feel bad because kids at my school would laugh because the other person would pronounce it funny. When everyone is watching you and they just totally messed up your name, that is the most embarrassing moment anyone can go through all because your name is a little different. But I like what Dumas did at the end, she went back to her name. She went back to her name which identifies who she is. It is incredible how one name can say a lot about you like when Dumas mentioned she couldn’t get a job with her name but when she started using Julie she would get a lot of offers. Just your name does that. This hands down is a perfect example on how language and identity coincide. What Dumas went through, I went through it in a some what similar way. I wanted to change my last name, I ended up not doing it for some reason, and now I don’t mind my last name. Some day I am going to get married and my last name is going to disappear anyways so what is the point? I actually like my last name now. I have a love hate relationship with it but it is MY last name and it is who I am. The way you pronounce my name and spell my name is all part of my identity. Lastly, Dumas mentions that one of the moms where her children go to school refused to learn her Dumas name so she settled for “F Word.” Dumas later mentioned that the lady “recently transferred to New York where, from what I’ve heard, she might meet an immigrant or two and, who knows, she might have to make some room in her spice cabinet.” People are arrogant and sooner or later they are going to have to learn to adapt. Not everyone is like them. They have their own language, their own identity, and their own culture. Everyone in a healthy mental state is capable of learning new things so I am pretty sure people can learn how to be polite and learn the correct way to say someone’s last name or at least not be rude about it.

The language we use forms an important part of our sense of who we are – of our identity. A lot of people have a hard time finding who they are. Only if they knew that they do not have to look, it is already within them. You are the person your parents taught you to be. You are part of a certain ethnicity that has their beliefs and culture. If you actually stop to think about all of that, you will know who you are. I am a female Hispanic who speaks fluent English and Spanish that did not have it easy growing up. I have grown to know people that are embarrassed to speak Spanish just because they live in a country where the dominant language is English. Many people in our society try to change who they are, but you can’t. Your background is always going to be there. You can never change your ethnicity. You can never change who gave birth to you. You are who you are and that is the beauty of this. You are your own person and you shouldn’t be ashamed at all. Many people can say that Hispanics are mean and uneducated and that can be true, but it does not have to apply to you. I know that does not apply to me. I have my own language I have my own identity. I speak very different from the rest and my language only identifies me. I cannot compare the way I speak to my sisters because we are different. The whole point of this is how language identifies you right? Well if something identifies you it is not going to be the same for other people. Like I mentioned before, there are many places in lets say Mexico that they all have different accents. For example, people from Jalisco have a different accent then people from Sinaloa. And they all say different words that to the other it might mean something else. Language is so broad.

I would like to conclude by saying that you should be happy that you have a language that identifies you. And this goes out to everyone. Everyone has Language to identify them. People might criticize but it is none of their concern how you speak. Even if you are deaf just because you cannot speak it does not mean you do not have a language. Be who you are and do not spend time disliking things about you. I say it from experience. Now that I am mature enough to understand why people make fun of your last name, it is not worth worrying about it. If they make fun of you who cares. It is what you feel about yourself and if you are happy how your language identifies you then that is all that matters. I have learned that people are arrogant and nasty and I see that now. Everyone is who they are and no one should be able to judge, like in the “Sound and Fury” documentary. If the deaf are happy not hearing then that is good for them and vise versa. They are all different and they have their own ideas. No one should try to change someone else because at the end of the day that is the way they speak and that is who they are. I am never going to stop being a bilingual and it has actually worked out pretty good for me. I know two languages and that helps me a lot when trying to find jobs. That is how I got my job as a medical case management assistant. That is my identity and it is always going to be who I am no matter what. I actually believe that the more languages you know the better. I have never thought about how my language identified me until this class. People do not usually spend there time thinking about these things but I believe that if they were to actually take the time to think of how there language has helped them or shaped who they are, I bet they would be very content. I know that I am. I love who I am. Now that I am over my anger with people pronouncing my name wrong or making fun of how long Hispanic names are I can start living my life. And this is why I want to end this essay with my six word memoir “Keep living life to the fullest.”

Work Cited Page Eschholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa, and Virgina Clark, eds. Language Awareness: readers for college writers. 11 th ed. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s Print. Dumas, Firoozeh. ‘The “F Word”.’ Eschholz, Rosa, and Clark Print. Walker, Amy. “Accents.” Eschholz, Rosa, and Clark Marquez, Myriam. “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public.” Eschholz, Rosa, and Clark Print. “Sound and Fury.” Documentary Video.