Essay on Writer's Letter - College Composition | ENG 111, Study notes of English Language

Download Essay on Writer's Letter - College Composition | ENG 111 and more Study notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! Brett Bishop ENG 111 Miss Watson 08 September 2010 Writer’s Letter When I first received the assignment for inquiry #1, I struggled to think what I would right 750-1000 words on different “Englishes” about, as I have not had many experiences with “Englishes” other than my own. After much deliberation, I decided to focus my essay on how those who speak differently are sometimes discriminated against for their different use of language, and relate it to the Amy Tan story we read, as well as examples from my personal life. While writing, I also decided to include the topic of slang use, as I felt many young adults can also be discriminated for their overuse of slang even if they do not have an accent. My first draft was fairly short, about 150 words short of the minimum 750. Therefore, I knew I must expand my examples even before the peer editing process had begun. From my peers, I received the criticisms to reword and generalize my introductory sentence, tie back my body paragraphs to the thesis, add more information and examples to my paragraph on slang terms, change up my transitions, and to lengthen my conclusion by relating back to my introduction more. I decided to implement all of these changes, as I felt that they would all help to improve the fluidity and length of my essay. I also received the criticisms to cut some of the Tan story and to again expand my personal examples from you, Miss Watson. I also tried my best to implement these changes, as I realized that the Tan story did not fit with the idea of this being a self-reflection. I also added an example of another friend of mine who spoke with a different accent to the paragraph about my ex-girlfriend, and I added more personal commentary to the paragraph about slang use. By implementing all of these changes, I feel my final essay looks much better than my first. I feel the fluidity has improved and I feel it now fits more into a self-reflection rather than an informative essay. Brett Bishop ENG 111 Miss Watson 08 September 2010 Dialect Discrimination It is well known that throughout America the primary language is English; however, what most do not know is that the simple language of English has many informal subcategories. One main subcategory is that of different dialects spoken in different regions of America, i.e. how people on the west coast talk versus how individuals from the east coast speak. Another immense subcategory is found with the use of slang in daily conversations. Many teens and young adults typically speak with vast amounts of slang in their conversations with friends and peers, and therefore must be careful how they present themselves to respected adults, as to not alienate themselves. Many times, individuals who speak and sound differently or even simply use slang terms in normal, everyday conversation are discriminated against because some view them as different. Not everyone who speaks English sounds alike, and that is mainly due to the fact that different regions of the United States, as well as those overseas who speak English, have variable ways of saying the same words or phrases. For example, in the south, many residents tend to speak with somewhat of a “twang”, while those in the north, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, etc., speak with “low vowels”. Although it is common in these areas to speak this way, problems in communication may arise when residents from one region move to another. These communication problems can in turn lead to discrimination. A perfect example of this discrimination can be seen in the short essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. In the story, the narrator, Tan, recounts how her mother, an immigrant from China, could only speak in broken English. Because of this, Tan’s mother was often discriminated against. Tan recalls the discrimination her mother would face, “…people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her”(2). It is stories like this that shed light to the topic of discrimination against immigrants on solely how they speak. Discrimination is not only reserved for those who speak “broken” English. In my own experience, I have found that those who speak fluent English but have thick accents are also ridiculed or stereotyped. One of my ex-girlfriends from high school, for example, was originally from Texas, and thus had somewhat of a southern accent. Although I found it adorable, many others would poke fun at her use of “ya’ll” or “reckon”, and often label her as stupid or less intelligent because of where she was raised. I also had a very good friend whose family was from New York, and thus he spoke with a very northern accent, different sounding “o’s” and “r’s”, as