Prominence of language

The Prominence of Language I believe that of all possible human qualities, the one that wields the most power is the ability to use, understand and communicate effectively through language. Language is both powerful and useful but it is also what sets people apart from each other. After reading “Aria” and “Black English” and watching the Pidgin film, I have come to understand that language is also your identity. I conclude that your identity, both private and public, will affect your use of language. Language will define your identity no matter who you are, and it could include or separate you from a larger, common identity. The power of language comes from community, or, for lack of a better word, dominance. If you speak fluent English and a little Spanish, you would have little power in a Spanish community, and a person who does not speak English well would have less power in a conversation with a fluent English speaker in America. And so, the dominant language spoken has more power, this is proof of power in language. In “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez, he shows his readers a part of life that many have never experienced. Rodriguez uses this essay to show how he fought through his childhood to understand English. He believed that speaking clear English would help him to fit in to society. He faced society head on while jeopardizing his happy home life, just to try and become an ordinary English-speaking student (public identity vs. private identity). He went to a Roman Catholic school that was intent on making English the only language they spoke. His parents spoke little to no English and this was a big obstacle for Rodriguez because one Saturday morning, the nuns from his school informed his parents that it would be best if they spoke English at home. Destroyed by this new policy, his home was sent spinning. His sacred family language, now banished from home. In an article “Language and Social Society: a Psychosocial