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Final Research Paper
English Composition (ENGL 101)
Gonzaga University
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Milan Berry FYE Global Citizens Professor Alley 16 April 2017
Written Research Language Paper Language. This is something seemingly small that holds the very foundations of cultures and society’s. The French and their language are known for their romance and croissants, the Japanese are known for their hospitality and sushi, the American’s are known for their freedom and hamburgers. Language is something that carries the history of the people that speak it, their trials, tribulations and successes. I find that anyone that is able to internalize the culture, history, and mannerisms of their own language and then go on to learn another are people of utmost intelligence. This research paper documents the interview process of two non-native English speakers. Here, I tell you of their journey into learning the English language while maintaining the culture of another. My two interviewees are a mother and daughter duo; Alicea Mayra Rodriguez and Delize Torres. They are both native Spanish speakers and of Puerto Rican decent. They were both born in Puerto Rico, and began learning English in elementary school at a young age. Alicea Mayra Rodriguez is an older woman of 39 with two children. She was born and majority raised in Puerto Rico. At the age of four she began learning English in a classroom setting. She continued to learn English via school until she graduated and then moved to Georgia in 2000 while she was pregnant with Delize. Moving into an immersion like situation with English improved it vastly, as she from then on needed English on a constant basis to ultimately
survive on her own. Now speaking English for a majority of her life, she has become fluent. She still retains her accent and believes the hardest aspect of English is grammar and verbs, but usually she thinks in English and Spanish depending on the situation. At first, Alicea believed that America would be a fast paced, exciting place with lots of opportunities for people such as herself. She was met with a bit of culture shock, as she realized America was quieter but also overall more relaxed than Puerto Rico. Retaining Puerto Rican culture comes fairly easy, as she has placed her family in an overall Mexican and Puerto Rican neighborhood. Discipline, food, and music are abundant enough to where their heritage is often celebrated. Delize’s story is similar to her mother in multiple ways. She was also born in Puerto Rico, but raised in Alpharetta, Georgia. She speaks English as fluently as she speaks Spanish, if not more. Grammar is also the most challenging aspect of English to Delize. Both believe that speaking two languages can be beneficial in multiple ways, such as communication, networking, and sympathy for other people and cultures. In doing this research project, I have found I have a new respect for people whom take multiple languages into their minds eye. Foreigners from around the world claim that learning English is one of the hardest things to do, and anyone whom decides to do it voluntarily is commendable in my opinion. I have also found that we as Americans have an almost engrained bias that makes us believe everyone whom is not from our culture knows English. I now have new insight to the privilege that is of knowing English as my first language.
Final Research Paper
Course: English Composition (ENGL 101)
University: Gonzaga University
