A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood - Essay Example

Summary and Response of Richard Rodiriguezs Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood Richard Rodiriguezs’s essay delvesinto educational and language of a bilingual child and what it means for such a child to use different languages in the public and private spheres. The essay also delves on how language in a bilingual society can contribute to family intimacy, a sense of belonging as well as separateness both internally and externally. According to Rodriguez, speaking public language in private with family members makes a person less connected with his family which is a disadvantage. When a bilingual individual uses the second language at home, the first language starts undergoing alienation. In Rodriguez’s case, when his sibling started communicating to him in English at home in order to help him gain public confidence by learning a bit of English, the whole family underwent changes as the parents and the relatives were no longer at ease with him as marked by the silence spell in the house especially at dinner time. English transforms the entire family therefore limiting the intimacy they had with Spanish. This is a disadvantage to young children as supporters of bilingual education assert that children should first be taught in their first language. Rodriguez also argues that the ability of a bilingual person to speak two languages especially a language spoken by most people in public makes him more comfortable when speaking in public. The use of the first language only impedes social growth as one cannot communicate in English effectively thereby causing alienation from the public. When Rodriguez mastered English, he started viewing himself and his family as part of the American society as he could now fit in the public. He learned that Spanish is something that was not socially acceptable and appropriate in public and he got the feeling that he has the obligation and the right to communicate in English. This made him feel like a complete fully-fledged and worthy member of the American society. He says, "At last…I was an American citizen." Rodriguez also implies that speaking a language different than his private language in public makes the person lose a part of his identity. This is because bilingual education requires that the largest part of the first language is neglected thereby intensifying the separation among cultures. Rodriguez asserts that there must be a sacrifice in order to gain the acceptance and worthiness of being an American. His philosophy is that learning English requires that the native language is buried and forgotten in the mind of the students like the way he and his family sacrificed Spanish in order to English to flourish. However, although there is a reward of social and educational success in learning English, there is a sense of betrayal to the family members that implies that one has committed a sin. Rodriguez was playfully labeled a pocho - a person who had forgotten his native society to become an American. This can be very intimidating especially since his parents are no longer comfortable communicating in Spanish in his presence and he can no longer communicate with then as effectively as he did before. Rodriguez’s arguments and ideas regarding bilingualism and education are more nuanced especially taking into account that his thoughts are drawn from his experiences and beliefs. As such, I share in his earnestness in criticizing bilingualism while at the same time, I think there are some good points of view in favor of bilingualism. I would agree that speaking public language with family members creates a distance between us, especially while in public. I believe that allowing children to communicate in their native language after school helps them connect to their heritage thereby retaining their individuality in a more diverse community. As a family, people are united by their sense of belonging which is largely embodied in the ability to effectively communicate effortlessly with each other in pride. When people use public language at home, their sense of individuality and common identity is lost thereby creating a gap between the family members by destroying their closeness. In this case, I affirm Rodriguez’s view in his early life when he believed that it was the use of Spanish in his home that had solidified the intimacy and closeness they enjoyed despite being in a foreign society. I would agree that speaking the language spoken mostly in public connects us more with the public which would then make it easier. Public language enables an individual to develop into a full public individual and enjoy the benefits and opportunities of belonging to the broader society. Most of the bilingual environments make it very difficult for non-English speakers to adopt, learn and communicate in English. It makes it hard for such people to learn at the standard pace thereby locking them out of the many opportunities which are provided by the country. By speaking the public language in public, a bilingual student can speed up the learning and adaptation process in the foreign country thereby enhancing their education process. The ability of bilinguals to adjust their way of life in the foreign country is deeply rooted in their motivation to learn to fluently speak in English. I would disagree that speaking in a different language while in public makes a person lose a part of his identity, as long he still speaks his private language somewhere. While the use of a private language is effective in creating family intimacy, the family also risks being isolated by the same language from the rest of the society. This leads to codependency of family members on each other which inhibits personal growth and development. I believe that using a public language in public alternatively with a private language at home can retain one’s personal identity and individuality as long as one understands the inflections of intimacy of language and emotions. This is because the change in linguistic aspects does not imply a social change, and therefore, the intimacy with the family does not depend on words or the language, but within the inflections. Work Cited Rodriguez, Richard. “Aria: a Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood.” Comment and Controversy in Today’s World. Ed. Margot Harper Banks. Boston: Pearson, U.S. English, Inc. 2006. 54-71. Print. Read More