Daisy Sjolseth

Professor Hampton

English 105

March 24, 2018

How Our Dialects Define

Since language is regional and cultural, it can influence the way that we identify

ourselves and others. These regional languages are accompanied by certain cultural norms,

traditions, and foods that are specific to that culture and the people within it. Even though we can

see how they are communicating on the surface level, we are missing the cultural context and

what it means to them as an individual. Our diverse “language heritages” come from our various

backgrounds, so the meanings behind our languages will be different for everyone. These

differences in meanings are what makes us individuals, allowing us to have conversations so we

may all gain more insight into lives that we don’t live.

Growing up in Texas, I was exposed to a lot of Hispanic, especially Mexican, culture.

Because of this, a lot of the Spanish language and culture was incorporated into my everyday

life, particularly in the restaurants and grocery stores. In the donut sections of my local grocery

stores, there would always be “conchas” (a Mexican sweet bread) and many restaurant menus

also had the Spanish translation that would sometimes even come before the English one. I also

grew up with Jewish grandparents, so therefore Yiddish, and all of the cultural traditions that

accompany it, became a part of my world. Just like many others, the languages that I was

exposed to shaped my identity. With each came a new set of values and traditions which are

integral in developing the way I view myself. I am able to view and value the different parts of
my heritage: the history that came along with my grandparent’s immigration into the United

States, and the cultural melting pot that I was able to grow up in.

Language is more than just words, it has the ability to impact the way that people view us

and the way in which we view ourselves. In my family, we use Yiddish words to identify

specific family members. My grandmother is Bubbe and my great-grandmother was called

Bubbela. By incorporating Yiddish, I am always able to appreciate my past and my identity. This

is further explained in Anzaldúa’s essay, "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," when the author

describes how she knows seven different languages and/or dialects (Anzaldúa 36). They are all

different variations and dialects of one another, and they all carry different meanings. When she

speaks in "Tex-Mex," she feels comfortable and “at home”. When people tried to deter her from

speaking these languages, it caused her to feel as if they were deterring her from being who she

was. This isn't only applicable to people who speak a completely different language, but also to

people who may speak a different dialect of English. In "First They Changed My Name," Allen

describes how she grew up in a very rural area in Appalachia (Allen 1). When she went to school

in a more urban environment, the teacher told her that her name and the way that she spoke was

wrong. They changed her name and taught her how to speak correctly. By doing this, they

caused her to think that the way that she used to talk and act (and the way that her mother

currently talks and acts) was incorrect. She began to see her mom as ignorant just because she

talked a certain way. This can have a detrimental effect on the relationship that a parent and child

have. A child should respect and admire their parents, but this creates the opposite effect. Before

Allen attends school, she views her mother with such veneration, as most children do. But, when

she begins to see her mother as improper, she begins to lose respect for her mother and speaks to

her as if she were her own child. Similarly, in the essay, "Mother Tongue," the author is forced to
see how language affects the way that her mother is treated (Tan 1). She notices that they are

treated with a lot more respect when they speak "proper English." This was a clear demonstration

that the way her mother spoke affected the way people saw her. When she speaks in her "broken

English," people think that she isn't as intelligent as she would be if she spoke "correctly." But,

as the author describes, the way in which one speaks doesn’t correlate with their level of

intelligence. As I have progressed through my first year of college, I have seen a variety of

different vernaculars, ranging from the Caribbean, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, New York,

Louisiana, and everywhere in between. But, despite the large variety of languages and dialects, I

have not seen any relationship in terms of intelligence. Many of the people in the honors

programs at my school are international students, who while they may have a different way of

saying something, have incredibly intuitive and creative ideas and thoughts. Essentially, the way

in one talks or the place that they are from have no influence on their level of intellect.

The cultural aspects that accompany each language, such as food, dancing, or traditions,

show us that our language determines a large part of who we are. In my family, the food that we

cook helps us to identify ourselves. Because my grandparents are Jewish, we celebrate holidays

such as Hanukkah and Passover. For both of those celebrations, they cook a variety of foods that

signify who we are and where we came from. The latkes at Hanukkah denote a part of the

Hanukkah story in which the oil lasted for days beyond expected, so we eat food fried in oil to

signify that. For Passover, we eat the Seder plate, with each item signifying a different part of the

Passover story, along with unleavened bread to signify how we believe that the Israelites left so

fast, that they couldn’t wait for the bread to rise. Similarly, my dad’s cooking reminds us that we

live in Texas. Although many of the beliefs and people that live in Texas do not make me proud,

it helps me to remember the parts of Texas that do, including the incredible southern hospitality
and the eccentric city that I grew up in. His weekly cooking of fajitas and breakfast tacos remind

me of the diffusion of cultures occurring in my city and in my state. It is not only the food that

gives me and so many others that reminder of where they are from. Similar to food, dancing

carries identity as well. In Greece, they have festivals in which they participate in different

dances. The dances are extremely specific, so most everything that a participant does matters and

carries meaning. The speed, the position of the dancers (especially the women), the instruments

used to create the music, the spacing, and many more aspects characterize the meaning of the

dance and its place in their culture and identity (Filippou, 218). Each of these components help

them to recognize their past, present, and future as well as their social and economic standing in

society. More broadly, this idea can be seen in the traditions of different cultures. In the

Kumeyaay community in Baja California, there is a significant tradition of oral storytelling.

They audibly tell each other stories that explain who they are now, as well as their history.

Different dialects of storytelling denote a variety of meanings in the stories that they tell (Cuero).

With each story that they tell, dance they dance, and food they eat, they are able to learn about

and embrace a part of who they are.

Our language makes us who we are, and when someone forces you to “fit in” or change your

way of speaking, they are ignoring the meaning behind your language and essentially asking you

to disregard a part of your identity. In my hometown of Austin, we have a lot of words and

pronunciations that only “Austinites” would understand. Because we are so close to Mexico,

many of our street names are Hispanic. But, because we also are part of Texas and the United

States, there is still a rural accent added to the pronunciation. Even though we know that we are

saying it wrong, it has become a part of Austin and the way that we refer to our city. No one tried

to fit in either way, disregarding the rural or Hispanic identity of our town, but instead created an
identity that was specifically for us. We also saw this around 1940 when Lithuania became part

of the USSR and their literacy practices completely changed. Russian was declared the state

language and their vocabulary was stripped of certain words as a propaganda strategy. The

government of the USSR knew that by declaring the new state language, they would be able to

gain a sort of power over the Lithuanian people. If they don’t have their language to speak and

are forced to use another, it is hard for them to connect in the same way as they did before. When

people are able to connect in that way, they can build bonds and develop relationships with each

other that would make it difficult for them to fully lose their culture. In changing the state

language and outlawing certain words, they made it harder for people to rise against them, which

increased their power over the Lithuanian people. The Russians also taught literacy to the new

Soviet people. But, literacy was not “the simple ability to read and write,” but it was instead the

ability “to write properly” (Balockaite 3). This means that even if one is able to communicate,

they are considered illiterate if they can’t do so according to the “proper” way. Citizens are more

likely to seek help from Russian teachers if they believe themselves or others are uneducated,

which gives the teachers the opportunity to indoctrinate beliefs to the former Lithuanians. This is

demonstrated in the removal of certain words from their vocabulary. Words denoting one’s

power over another, such as miestras (master), policininkas (policeman), and nuomotojas

(landlord), were no longer taught or allowed to be in use. In the same manner, words that

indicated any economic advantage or disadvantage, such as turtingas (rich) or vargšas (poor),

were wiped from the vocabulary (Balockaite 4). This helped the USSR in their quest to institute

communism around the world. If there were no words that indicated any economic differences,

did those differences even exist? This self-doubt that occurred within many Lithuanians

demonstrated how ignoring a part of language can have a detrimental effect on our self-identity
and the way that we view the world. Poor and rich alike were not allowed to claim their identity,

causing the world to disregard a part of who they were.

Through my exposure to Yiddish, Hispanic, and mainstream American culture, I am able

to see how our language relates with the way that we carry ourselves and the traditions that we

hold. Because of this, it allowed me to see the importance of other’s cultural traditions,

languages, and beliefs, because when we are able to recognize our own identity, it can have a

profound impact on the way that we think about ourselves. It also helped me to realize how lucky

I was to know my past and be able to connect it to my present, since many people don’t know

their exact heritage or where they came from. Even though we are all different and have many

different backgrounds, these cultures can interact with one another and continue to keep its own

values, exposing everyone to more information than they would have every been introduced to

before. These values and traditions are a part of us, and it is something that no one should be able

to take away or “fix” to be more “proper.”

 Works Cited

Allen, Caffilene. “First They Changed My Name…: Deep in Appalachia, education came with a
price.” Prisms. Jan./Feb. 1994, https://supportingells.wikispaces.com/file/view/Allen.pdf.
Accessed 29 Oct. 2017

Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. 1987.

Balockaite, Rasa. “On Ideology, Language, and Identity: Language Politics in the Soviet and
Post-Soviet Lithuania.” Language Policy, vol. 13, no. 1, 2014.

Field, M. & Cuero, J.M. “Kumeyaay Oral Tradition, Cultural Identity, and Language
Revitalization.” Oral Tradition, vol. 27, no. 2, 2012.

Filippou, Filippos, Dimitris Goulimaris, Vasilis Serbezis, Maria Genti, & Dimos Davoras.
"Collective identity and dance in modern urban Greece." Issues in Ethnology and
Anthropology [Online], 5.1 (2010): 213 - 221. Web. 29 Oct. 2017

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” Home Is Where The Heart Dwells, Harvard Blogs, 6 Feb. 2008,
blogs.harvard.edu/guorui/2008/02/06/mother-tongue-by-amy-tan/.