I was at some event and I happened to listen to this college professor's lecture. He was a Korean who lived in many different countries like the US and Japan for many years to study. His lecture was on the importance of learning one's native language. He said that the language one speaks determines one's identity and emphasized that learning the native language is immensely significant.
I do agree that a person's ability to speak his native language plays a huge role in helping him to shape his identity, but I slightly disagree on his statement that language is everything that determines one's identity.
Any other ideas?
-Joanne Park
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Language is definitely a part of what shapes your identitiy. If you think of immigrants, the parents often hold onto the native values and language, where the children as they adapt to the new culture often lose the old culture and with it the old language. Those that learn the old language and speak it at home usually have better ties to their heritage.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember what he was selling, but there was a guy a few years ago who wouldn't sell to anyone that didn't speak English because it is the language of America. The public reaction was fairly negative to him, arguing that America was a land of immigrants who had every right to be American and still speak their old language. Does anyone agree with this, that you have to speak English to be American?
~Becca
Certainly, it's useful to know English as an American. But I think it's by no means a factor in determining one's "Americanness". While this comes down to opinion, its my personal belief that the United States is a land of diversity which draws much of its identity from the immigrants who came here and the culture they brought with them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, about that guy who wouldn't sell to non-English speakers, maybe your thinking of Geno's, the cheesesteak place?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geno's_Steaks
-Bryce Cody
I think that it's especially harder to define "Americanness" because people living in the US are so diverse. Countries where the people are less diverse such as Korea, have easier time identifying themselves as Korean because all of their ancestors are Koreans. The homogenuity of the people makes it easier to define their national identities and also helps in defining the "Koreanness". Defining the "Americanness" is the most difficult because there are such various traditions and ancestries among the people living in the US.
ReplyDelete-Joanne Park