Language and Identity
“We live and breathe words.”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince
Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive: Phuc Tran at TEDxDirigo
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What if our language didn’t have the subjunctive?
(...Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.)
The subjunctive allows us to contemplate the “What if?” …So what if we could be one of the most positive populations simply by not having the subjunctive as part of our lexicon?
This TEDxTalk readily helps us build the connections between differences in languages and identity. The presenter, Phuc Tran, tells us that Vietnam, a country without a subjunctive, was found to be the most positive population in the world. In contrast, France, a country with two subjunctives, and the leaders of existentialism, was found to be the most pessimistic.
Let’s take the days of our week, for another example. If we look back at our language roots, linguistic scholar Scott Shay reminds us in his The History of English that the Anglo-Saxons were pagans who worshiped the Teutonic (aka Germanic) gods. Not only did Sunday give worship to the Sun and Monday to the moon; Thursday honors the very Thor, god of thunder. Teutonic paganism is a part of our identities as English speakers whether we realize it or not—the days of the week are some of the most common words likely used in the English language by all speakers.
Identity is ingrained in us via language regardless of whether we are aware of it or not. Who could pinpoint that one’s depression may be fostered by the ability to construct the sentence “What if…I went to college instead of dropping out of school?” or “What if…I had taken that job to move across the country?” This ability has a direct impact on ourselves as individuals.
Teachers can readily assist English language learners by again identifying areas via which students are likely to struggle to comprehend. Understanding that a Vietnamese student may have trouble getting the subjunctive when learning English—because, hello, their native language doesn’t have this construction—allows us to identify the student’s pain points and teach accordingly, and most importantly, empathize with our students' struggles and accomplishments.
(...Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.)
The subjunctive allows us to contemplate the “What if?” …So what if we could be one of the most positive populations simply by not having the subjunctive as part of our lexicon?
This TEDxTalk readily helps us build the connections between differences in languages and identity. The presenter, Phuc Tran, tells us that Vietnam, a country without a subjunctive, was found to be the most positive population in the world. In contrast, France, a country with two subjunctives, and the leaders of existentialism, was found to be the most pessimistic.
Let’s take the days of our week, for another example. If we look back at our language roots, linguistic scholar Scott Shay reminds us in his The History of English that the Anglo-Saxons were pagans who worshiped the Teutonic (aka Germanic) gods. Not only did Sunday give worship to the Sun and Monday to the moon; Thursday honors the very Thor, god of thunder. Teutonic paganism is a part of our identities as English speakers whether we realize it or not—the days of the week are some of the most common words likely used in the English language by all speakers.
Identity is ingrained in us via language regardless of whether we are aware of it or not. Who could pinpoint that one’s depression may be fostered by the ability to construct the sentence “What if…I went to college instead of dropping out of school?” or “What if…I had taken that job to move across the country?” This ability has a direct impact on ourselves as individuals.
Teachers can readily assist English language learners by again identifying areas via which students are likely to struggle to comprehend. Understanding that a Vietnamese student may have trouble getting the subjunctive when learning English—because, hello, their native language doesn’t have this construction—allows us to identify the student’s pain points and teach accordingly, and most importantly, empathize with our students' struggles and accomplishments.
How Does Language Make one Good at Math?
I will offer a challenge presented by Malcolm Gladwell in his famous title, Outliers.
Take 20 seconds and remember this sequence:
Take 20 seconds and remember this sequence:
4, 8, 5, 3, 9, 7, 6
Time is up! Look away now...can you remember the sequence? According to Gladwell, if you speak English, you have a 50% chance of remembering that sequence perfectly. If you speak Chinese, you’re almost certain to get it right every time. Why? Gladwell explains that humans can store numbers in a memory loop only lasting about two seconds. In Chinese languages, numbers are shorter, allowing Chinese to both speak and remember those numbers in two seconds—a fraction of the time it takes to remember those numbers in English. As if this wasn't advantage enough, Gladwell demonstrates how Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean also have a more logical counting system compared to the irregular ways that numbers are spoken in English. For example, in Chinese, “eleven” is ten-one, “twelve” is ten-two and “thirteen” is ten-three, and so on. This example reminds me of the French “word” for the number “eighty-one”: quatre-vingts et un. You have to count your way to “eighty-one” by literally saying “four-twenties and one."
English, in comparison, uses completely arbitrary semantics to convey our numeric system, and it’s no wonder we’re not as great at math…talking about it truly doesn’t make much sense. As Gladwell puts it, “Children in Asia thus learn to count faster than English-speaking children. And because math is more easily understood, Asian children “get” math faster than their Western counterparts. This has nothing to do with some sort of innate Asian ability for math.” In essence, Asians' identity associated with a “natural math ability” is inherently tied into their language. In addition, we English speakers still experience the identity—or really, lack of an identity—when it comes to being a nation strong in mathematics. That identity doesn’t exist for us because our language doesn’t act as a catalyst for effortless mathematical acquisition.
English, in comparison, uses completely arbitrary semantics to convey our numeric system, and it’s no wonder we’re not as great at math…talking about it truly doesn’t make much sense. As Gladwell puts it, “Children in Asia thus learn to count faster than English-speaking children. And because math is more easily understood, Asian children “get” math faster than their Western counterparts. This has nothing to do with some sort of innate Asian ability for math.” In essence, Asians' identity associated with a “natural math ability” is inherently tied into their language. In addition, we English speakers still experience the identity—or really, lack of an identity—when it comes to being a nation strong in mathematics. That identity doesn’t exist for us because our language doesn’t act as a catalyst for effortless mathematical acquisition.
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In essence, language is inherently tied to identity. This is true whether we’re talking about different languages (English vs. Spanish), or different dialects (academic English vs. Ebonics). As teachers, we must validate the mother languages
students bring into our classrooms.
Furthermore, language diversity and bilingualism are strong assets for students who possess these traits. Teachers have an expectation to teach students "Standard" English. However, let's take a moment to think about this from the students' perspective. I personally would be upset if I entered a school environment and was told that my way of speaking was not an appropriate method of communication, and that I must abandon my native speech in order to learn a new dialect. My language—which in my case is "Standard" English, has made me who I am today. I would be a very different person if my native language was instead a different language (French, German) or a different dialect of English (Ebonics, a Southern dialect). Language permits association with certain types of people, and certain types of situations, as is demonstrated in Ernie Smith’s narrative presented in The Skin that We Speak. Time after time, he found that his language skills led him into the types of jobs he worked, such as a “slum hustler.” Even in these contexts, Smith found that he needed to hone his language skills in order to maintain and perform the identity of a slum hustler with precision. Had Smith only known Standard English like Dowdy, he would have experienced a very different identity and likely would not have been able to assume the identity of a slum hustler. |
In this way, language is a factor of identity by means of the social context. In another personal anecdote from The Skin that We Speak, Joanne Dowdy found herself as an outcast among peers as a result of using Standard English instead of the Ebonics spoken by her friends. Because of this, she experienced a loss of identity by associating with the “other’s” language: the Queen’s English. In reality, Dowdy belonged to a different culture than the Queen, but language became her barrier of separation.
In relation to the classroom, I’ve heard of many scenarios in which black students are faced with the struggle of “speaking white” in the classroom and in front of peers, from Delpit & Dowdy's collection of stories, as well as from other sources. Students who speak Ebonics at home will often speak this way in class due to the social context (peers are also in that class) as opposed to an inability to speak "Standard" English. As I mentioned above, teachers are still highly expected to teach students the "Standard" form of English, but what can we do in light of this tension? The previous page "Language" presents come guiding points on validating students' native tongues in the classroom. I believe that encouraging discussions about language in the classroom can expand students' reception of learning "Standard" English. Another action we can take is ceasing to call this language construction "Standard" English (Dr. Lewis). The word "Standard" implies that other variations are incorrect formats, which is not necessarily true. Instead, we encourage the use of "academic" English. The concept of "right" and "wrong" only applies to the rules that every language/dialect construction holds, and the context in which one is speaking. |
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“To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.” |