American English Essays
The question of whether or not English should be an official language has been a controversial topic since our country was founded. The English language is a tie that helps combine the many pieces of our society together. Our nation should not acclaim bilingualism, but should enfold English as the national language spoken in the United States, to secure the future unity of our nation.
The United States is a nation composed of many immigrants from all around the world. We are a country of many cultural and racial ethnic groups that are constantly reacting to shape the American culture. The English language binds and unites immigrants with native– born Americans. English allows us to communicate with each other and discuss each...show more content...
It is starting to become the international language as well. Speaking one language helps the ability of all backgrounds to communicate with one another. With so much diversity in the United States, we need something that joins us together. To speak a language that is used by the world, will help all Americans. English is the common bond of our community, and understanding it is the only way a citizen will be able to fully participate in democracy, business, and education. It is the language of international relations, as well as the language of our historical documents, of communication and of safety. By making English the official language, it will help to bring together Americans, not propel them farther apart. Many Americans are composed of Hispanic origin. With such a great number of the population speaking a second language, bilingualism will more than likely become an even more common occurrence in many states, in the future. This thought strongly associates with the job market of the United States. The second generation is becoming more bilingual, using one language for their home and the other for business. Workers are going to have to be able to communicate with one another to get the job done. Should native– born American employees learn to speak Spanish to communicate with other fellow employees? My answer would have to be, no. A system that accommodates immigrants in their native languages removes the
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When my teacher said "good morning" to me on the very first day of school, I knew that she would be teaching a tough subject. She didn't get any answer for that greeting because back then, I knew nothing about "good morning". Surprisingly, as I went through the class session on that day, I realized that "good morning" wasn't the first English phrase that I'd known. English has been rooted in my society long before my country achieved its independence and shockingly I've used some of its words in my daily speech without realizing it because the words were fully modified by the society so that they could be installed smoothly into our language. Learning English was always an interesting yet tough experience...show more content...
When someone speaks English in my society, he or she feels a sense of withdrawal because they are set apart to a very small group in the society. People tend to belittle this group for speaking other languages, and normally they will end up speaking their first language to comply with the larger group in the society. With all these reasons, my interest towards English was completely gone when I enrolled in secondary school, six years after my formal `encounter' with the English language. For having this negative feeling, I became a member of a large group of students who had never realized the significance of the English language. One day was unusually dull. I was waiting for the teacher to come to the class and instead of revising my past English lessons that I rarely cared about, I prayed that she wouldn't show up that day. After ten minutes' wait, she entered the class saying "good morning". The greeting didn't bother me much, but when she came to me asking for the assignment that she gave the day before, I was speechless and I just gave her the blank handout that I was supposed to complete for that day. Her face showed no emotion and with that she ripped the paper into pieces. That day marked a massive change in my attitude toward English lessons and the English language in general. The incident was very important to me because I then realized that even in a subtle way, language represents people and to respect the language means to respect
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Listening for Understanding
Listening is an important form of communication. Unfortunately, many people who do not know how to listen believe they can listen well. They often say "I have been doing this all of my life of course I can listen". Listening is not inherited, or a personality trait, it is a skill that must be worked on and practiced. Anybody can become a good listener if they are committed to learn how and are willing to work hard. The first mistake that people tend to make when listening is to not make any type of comments while listening. They tend to just stand there and listen while the speaker talks. This can become very frustrating for the speaker and the listener. While the speaker may feel like he isn't being...show more content... Try to listen to what the speaker is trying to say and not to what is making you angry. Summarize the main points of what the speaker was saying so that the focus is on the speaker and not you. It is always important to try and listen objectively no matter what the speaker is trying to say. By doing this, you will become a better listener and more able to communicate with others concerning subjects that might normally make you angry to the point that you would no longer be able to carry on a working conversation with that individual. This will make you especially valuable in the management industry where, as a rule, people will come to you with problems that need to be resolved. It is important to listen carefully and to withhold personal judgement. This is especially true when the subject matter or the position taken by the speaker is making you angry. In this circumstance, your interjections, if not thoroughly thought through, may just make theperson defensive. Problems can also arise if you are too nice and give a lot of positive comments. People like it when they are being praised. This can alter what the speaker is saying. If you continue to give positive comments the speaker will continue to want more of them from you. If you want to find out what the speaker is really thinking you need to listen and withhold evaluation. As well as withholding evaluation one must also show patience. While many
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The question to ask is: 'Why not use Standard English all the time?'
Language is a powerful communication tool the user holds to express their individual identity and ingroup solidarity. The use of Standard English helps to direct this, as it acts as the structure of communication, ingroup and between speech communities to effectively present a standard for mutual understanding. Outside of Standard English comes the use of slang, netspeak and textspeak, which helps to develop and enrich the language, as well as evolve with contemporary Australia and its fast paced lifestyle. Using the Standard all the time would be exclusive of the linguistic freedom formed by the world beyond Standard English with varying ethnolects, but is also a...show more content... Other forms of the English language are developed from speech communities with an intention, for efficiency and to show inclusion, and to exclude others. It also helps to convey a specific identity of the speaker, with the use of syntactic and phonological differences from Standard English. These modifications form non–standard dialects, transferring the speaker's cultural background and language to provide a better perception and reflection of identity. The falling intonation accompanied with interrogatives in the Asian ethnolect, such as 'Gravy?', is the opposite of the rising intonation used for the same purpose by Australians, and can quickly cause conflict between the two communities due to the missing benchmark in language. Pronoun deletion in 'No like' ('I don't like it') is a feature of many ethnolects (Greek, Aboriginal English), and is differing from the Standard, yet still helps to get the message across. Ethnolects develop from Standard English, and helps to express a user's identity through their language use and in–group solidarity within the speech community.
There are a range of English varieties which are different from the Standard, developed from communities of speakers all sharing the same use of language. Aboriginal English, adialect of Australian English, remains a lingua franca for their speakers, used as a common language to communicate between tribes for mutual
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