By Anonymous
There are an abundance of different languages throughout the world that serve as a major bridge to connect a variety of cultures and people. Languages can help people strive to improve their communication abilities so that everyone can understand the similarities, differences, and challenges that native speakers face in comparison to non-native speakers. Language is fluid, and with every passing second, it is in a state of constant evolution. Since language is always steadily evolving, cultures can influence other cultures, to create an entirely new one to be shared amongst various people in the form of a language. With everything someone learns, adjustments should be expected to a certain extent. Adjustments to tone, grammar, and even cultural beliefs should be expected, especially when learning a new, foreign language. Languages often date back to time periods long ago, connecting very significant historical events and beliefs to the important events of the present. This connection allows all languages to grow with an enriched cultural history, while simultaneously spreading across the globe to people that intend to learn said language and the culture that inevitably is attached to it.
One of the main ways I typically adjust myself to prepare to learn a new language is by simply listening to the native speakers. I believe that languages have a very deep connection to the communities that were born speaking them. To ensure that certain languages do not die out, along with the important history of these languages, it is best to learn directly from the native speakers. Throughout my years of Spanish classes, I rarely had a teacher that was fluent in Spanish or used Spanish as their first language. Many of my classmates that were native speakers would often have to correct the teacher’s mistakes, and even sometimes the textbook’s mistakes. The mistakes may seem minor to some people, but even the smallest translation error or ignorant interpretation from a non-native Spanish speaker would erase the important meanings behind certain words that were linked to traditions and events throughout their culture. To ensure that I learn new languages with respect to their origin-countries, traditions, and rich culture, I always try to learn from native speakers so I gain a direct understanding and appreciation for the language. In today’s world, where many narrow-minded individuals view English as the “only language” or the “most important language”, it is especially necessary for everyone to acknowledge the importance of maintaining the beautiful languages that connect all of us, or we will erase countless years of history, as well.
With time, different dialects emerge in various cultures and become ingrained in the way a large group of people communicates with one another. Growing up, AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) was a dialect that came naturally to me as a black woman being raised in a black household. Attending a predominantly white school throughout my childhood, however, made it difficult for me to communicate with my peers and my instructors. AAVE is oftentimes overlooked by many people, and sometimes society as a whole, essentially making it seem “nonexistent” or “made up” when this is a dialect of the English language that many black people grew up using. Throughout school, and even today, many of my teachers would attempt to correct their black students for speaking “improper” when we were simply using AAVE. My fellow peers would imply that, by using AAVE, a natural dialect with its own rules like all languages that date back to many years ago, we were illiterate, uneducated, and ghetto. I often find myself having to code-switch from how I naturally speak using AAVE to a tone of voice that is deemed more acceptable by the ignorant white people that judge our dialect “improper”. To be respected and taken seriously outside of my family and black friends, I regularly feel as though I have to switch the way I naturally talk, which only reinforces the power imbalance in society between white people and black people. Languages often birth new dialects, and it is unfair to the people that use said dialects to be viewed with negative stereotypes, rather than accepting it as the beautiful culturally rich dialect it is – not only when phrases of AAVE are being taken by the same white people that condemned us for using it and being labeled as something “cool” or “trendy”.
While communicating through newly learned languages can offer many benefits and opportunities to absorb new cultures, it is important to understand the history behind all languages. Languages can connect all of us, but only if everyone is willing to accept and acknowledge the history, tragedies, beliefs, struggles, and important culture that still impacts the native speakers today. Since languages are spread easier through social media, tv shows, movies, and books, it is also important that the origins of the language are not erased in the process of it growing among all of us.