Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Identity Essay Example for Free

Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Identity Essay I grew up in a country whose native language is not English. But I grew up learning the English language nevertheless. In my home, we had access to English shows which I was constantly exposed to at a very young age. This is the reason why I learned English without much conscious effort. The language learning was taking place within the sub-conscious, which is the best way to learn any language: constant exposure at a very young age. Mei-Yu (1998, paragraph 2) once said that in the acquisition of oral language, â€Å"young children are active agents†, constantly refining and defining the inputs that they get from their surroundings in way that makes sense to them. Children create hypotheses about language rules, constantly filtering them through active engagement with the more competent language users in their immediate environment. Unconsciously, they learn to recognize contexts and begin acquiring fine discrimination in their use of a language. Looking back, I guess the constant exposure to the English language is the reason why I grew up knowing how to use it. There was never a conscious effort on my part to use or learn English, because it was already ingrained in my person. The people in my household knew English and spoke it on many occasions. I also had access to English books which strengthened my phonological awareness or sound-symbol relationships. This happened side by side while I was learning my mother language as well. As a child with a facility for the English language, I was subject to an excess of attention that I would not have received otherwise, had I just spoken our native tongue and nothing else. There is a prestige attached to the English language that makes people in my country take a second look and listen closely to what I have to say. They also make speculations as to whether my family is reach and if I grew up in the United States or have been travelling there on a regular basis. Such is the high stature of the English language in my country that if you speak it well enough, most people that you are rich or your family is. Growing up, my situation as a multi-lingual was even more fascinating. Perhaps it was because as I grew older, I became more aware of people’s actuations, and I am also more able to discern their motivations for why they act the way they do towards me. In my country there is a fascination for the English language because there is a fascination for the country. My people look at the United States as magical place where dreams come true, and life is generally better. To them, it seems like those who can speak the English language have greater chances of going to the United States as well. This general notion extends in every situation. That is why in every conversation where my ability to speak the English language is displayed, people seem to treat me better and pay me more attention. Sometimes, in order to avoid embarrassment, I hide my fluency in English when interacting with my community. Clearly, there is an overt favor towards those who speak the language, as if we are better than the rest of the local people. This is consistently true in all areas of endeavors, from school to social, to professional career. It is a sad situation, but true nevertheless, and I used my fluency in English and strive to make more of myself, in order to meet society’s expectations. Sometimes it can be difficult, trying to rise up to expectations, but I felt that it was my duty to do so, especially for those who sincerely believed that I could. The situation changed when I moved to the United States. If you are multi-lingual, you are regarded as ethnic, especially if your pronunciation has a very thick and recognizable accent. You will be subject to stereotyping, and in some cases, be even regarded as second class citizens. While I am not saying that everyone will react negatively to your accent or your use of your mother language, it is a reality that there are some people who will take it against you. If there is any field that multilingualism is always an advantage, and that is in the corporate world. This is especially true in the age of globalism, where most companies deal with overseas transactions. Being multilingual means that I can communicate with my colleagues, and at the same time be able to communicate with a client or supplier who speaks my mother tongue, but nothing else. Thus, I am able to bridge the communication gap and make sure that there will be no misunderstandings and conflict later on because of the language barrier. Actually, upon deeper reflection, I realize that people do not react to your multilingualism as much as they are reacting to the accent or how you speak the English language. The lesser your accent, the better people regard you. And this is true regardless or what place you are in. What we speak and how we speak, speak about our history as an individual. How we speak makes a statement towards who we are as a person. And people, for better or for worse, react to that. In an era of increasing globalization, more and more people want to learn English to make themselves more marketable and competitive. However, the value of the mother tongue should never be forgotten. Our mother language keeps our identity intact and sets us apart from the rest. Knowing English is the ship that will help us to get where we want to go, but it is our mother tongue that will be our anchor; the one that will help us find our way should we get lost. Reference Lu, Mei-Yu. (1998). Language Learning in Social and Cultural Contexts. ERIC Digest. Retrieved: April 14, 2007 from http://www. ericdigests. org/1999-2/language. htm

Essay on Stage Directions in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie e

Importance of Stage Directions in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, stage directions are as important to the theme of the play as the dialogue itself. Detailed stage directions intensify the unrealistic setting, foreshadow and emphasize events, and develop the characters. Dim colored lighting and symbolic melodies create the unrealistic setting for the memory play. In his opening narration Tom says, "Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen to music. That explains the fiddle in the wings" (699). Throughout the play the stage directions call for "a turgid smokey red glow," "gloomy gray" lighting and "deep blue dusk" which create the hazy images of a memory. For a short while, as Jim enters, there is a "delicate lemony light" (688), and a soft light from the new lamp brings out Laura's "unearthly prettiness" (695). Yet, at the end of the play, and throughout its majority, the set is grim, characteristic of Tom's sad memory. Music in the play can be symbolic or simply add to the emotion of a scene. In scene four, "Ave Maria" plays softly in the background, symbolizing Amanda's duties as a mother. Throughout the play, music swells and recedes with the rising and falling of the c haracters' emotions. For example, as Tom is confronting his mother with the reality of his sister's handicap, "the music changes to a tango that has a minor and somewhat ominous tone" (687). Describing characters' appearances and presenting messages upon the screen, the stage directions foreshadow and emphasize events. The description of Tom standing on the fire escape looking "like a voyager" (692) foreshadows his escape to th... ... actions of Amanda and Laura, an audience might believe that Laura has come out of her shell for good or that Amanda is simply an overprotective mother who cannot face reality. Yet, with the elaborate stage directions, Tennessee Williams creates a distinctive memory play with each character tragically failing to reach his or her goals. Works Cited Jolemore, Nancy.   "Lecture Notes and Study Guide Questions for Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie."   Old Dominion University.   18 January 2000.   Accessed:   29 June 2002. . Reser, Rob.   "A Touch of Glass."   29 June 2002. . Williams, Tennessee.   The Glass Menagerie.   Literature and The Writing Process. 5th ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 1999. 693-734.   

Sc300: Big Ideas in Science: from Methods to Mutation

Jennifer Rivera SC300: Big Ideas in Science: From Methods to Mutation Professor: Shalon Bull August 14, 2012 1. List all of the components of two of your meals. Meal #1 – Breakfast For breakfast I had a Tuna fish sandwich, with lettuce, two slices of tomato, sauteed onions, and Hellmann's mayonnaise. I also had approximately 10 ounces of Minute Maid Tropical fruit Juice. Meal #2 – Lunch My Lunch consisted of a grilled Tyson chicken breast fillets, with steamed mix vegetables, and 8 ounces of bottle purified Dasani water. 1A. Where did each component of your meal originate?List the country that each part of your meal came from. Meal #1 – Breakfast The origin of the Tuna fish sandwich is as follows; The bread for the sandwich was two slices of Holsum whole wheat bread which is made in Puerto Rico, one 5 ounce chicken of the sea tuna can which is made in San Diego California, The lettuce and tomato was locally grown on the US Virgin Islands St. Croix by local farmer s, the Hellmann’s Mayonnaise was made in New York and the Minute Maid Tropical fruit Juice is produced by the Coca Cola Bottling Co. f Atlanta, GA. Meal #2 – Lunch The Tyson Chicken Breast Fillets are from Springdale, Arkansas and the mix vegetables are locally grown on the US Virgin Islands St. Croix by local farmers. The Dasani water is produced by the Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Atlanta, GA. 1B. List where you purchased the products from. Being the St. Croix US Virgin Islands is only 84 square miles and has a population of about 60,000 people we only have two main grocery stores which are the same just two different locations, Plaza Extra East and Plaza Extra West.I do all my shopping for grocery in Plaza Extra East for the last 20 plus years. So Meal #1 – Breakfast, and Meal #2 – Lunch were all purchased from Plaza Extra East on St. Croix USVI. 1C. Consider the chain of events that took the product to get from the farm/laboratory to your table Being tha t St. Croix is located in the Caribbean, most of our foods supply come from the State of Florida and is ship by containers on ships. The fresh produce and bread are shipped from the island of Puerto Rico where they are made.The only thing that is grown on the Virgin Islands is fresh vegetables and some fruits. 2. What are some of the benefits of a global market and why? List at least 2 benefits, weighing any short-term and long-term impacts. Some of the benefits of global marketing would be that consumers would have a larger range of products to choose from. Another would be the opportunities to small companies which can expand to serve a global market instead of a small country. This would give consumers the opportunity to buy better products at lower cost.Another benefit would be that opening offices in other countries would provide jobs for locals in that country and for the country that is opening the office this means that they will be getting cheaper labor than that which they would pay in their home country for the same job. 3. What are some of the impacts of this global market and why? Considering both short-term and long-term impacts, provide at least 2 negative impacts. Some of the negative impacts that the global market can experience can be caused by poor management of these international markets and others can occur naturally like for example bad weather.Weather and natural disasters can affect the global market in many ways, for example a country like China which exports Rice, can experience bad weather for a year which would affect the production of rice, this would not only affect China economically but cause the global price of rice to rise and the availability of the produce to diminish. So can we as a Country trust the global market as our primary source of food? I would suggest developing the nation’s agriculture programs and the production of foods in our nation the United States of American, and all other countries should do the sa me.This would be like an emergency reserve in other words. Another negative impact would be regulating the rates of taxation from one country to another. For instance if the rates of taxes are higher in Mexico for an American company then the United States might then move that office to Brazil for example. This would affect the investments market for others which would affect the global market tremendously. 4. Consider the phrase Think Globally, Act Locally. What does it mean to you?This phrase in my opinion means that you are thinking beyond the horizon and understand the issues and needs of the entire world, but need to master and fix the issues of your own country before you can get involved with the rest of the world. I think that if we improve and expand our food production capabilities then we can move on to the global market and work together for the same cause which is to bring food to those places that lack it and so much desires it. 5. Has your research on the global marke t changed the way you will choose goods in the future?Why or why not? After my research on the global market I would say that I will not be changing the way I choose my goods in the future. I would still choose the things that I like and would not change these things just because a nation or country might be benefiting from my purchase more than another. The one thing that I now understand after my research is the reason why certain name brands of products are more expensive than others. The prices of products in the global market fluctuate based on the economical state of the producing country and the markets demands.I learned that the more money a country has the more food and better quality they get, this is why poor countries lack food, and even more have a smaller variety in the food choices. References J. C. Chavis. (April 2010) Negative Impacts of a Global Market for Investment. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/money/investing/articles/69512. aspx â€Å"Economic Glo balization† UC Atlas of Global Inequality. Retrieved from http://ucatlas. ucsc. edu/economic. php Global Marketing. Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/global-marketing. html

Ancient Bc Rome As A Collection Of Small Wooden Huts

753 BC: Rome is founded. Archaeologists believe that city of Rome began as a collection of small wooden huts on a group of 7 hills near the River Tiber in central Italy. Legend says however, that Romulus and his twin brother Remus founded the city of Rome on the 21st of April 753 BC. According to the legend, Rome’s origins can be traced back to Aeneas, who, after the destruction of Troy, approached the coasts of Latium and founded the city of Alba Longa after marrying the daughter of the Latin king. When Proclus, the last king died, he left the reign to his two sons and a rivalry rose between them resulting in Amulius, who had originally be exiled from the government, seizing the thrown and killing his brother. He then forbade his brother’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, from marrying and had her consecrated as a priestess. Rhea nevertheless gave birth to the twins Romulus and Remus, sons of Mars, the god of war. Amulius ordered the twins to be abandoned on the banks of the River Tiber. There they wer e found by a she-wolf who suckled them until a shepherd found them. When they grew up, they decided to found a city at the place where they had been exposed to die. A disagreement arose between Romulus and Remus on the hill that the city would be founded on, the Palatine or the Aventine. The omens gave Romulus victory but Remus disagreed. This angered Romulus, and in his rage he killed his brother, making him the sole founder of the new city. Romulus then went on to be the first ofShow MoreRelatedPre-Spanish Period8197 Words   |  33 Pagesliterature stamped in the history of our race. Our ancient literature shows our customs and traditions in everyday life as traced in our folk stories, old plays and short stories. Our ancestors also had their own alphabet which was different from that brought by the Spaniards. The first alphabet used by our ancestor was similar to that of the Malayo-Polynesian alphabet. Why certain things existed in their physical environment must have intrigued the ancient Filipinos as it did other early peoples. InRead MoreA Picatrix Miscellany52019 Words   |  209 Pagesreader’s task more difficult. This manner of writing may well be intentional, whether to make the magical sections appear less suspect by interlarding them with theoretical passages, or to make certain doctrines seem less strange by administering them in small doses, or to demonstrate the equal validity of the magical and philosophical material, or for a combination of all three reasons. At all events, a similar method of presentation is apparent in one of the principal sources of The Aim of the Sage, the