The Value of Language

678 Words3 Pages
Foreigners often struggle with linguistic adaptation it is the single most difficult obstacle for immigrants to overcome, is the acquisition and utilization of a new language. For many immigrants, assimilating into a new culture is difficult. In “Aria”, Richard Rodriguez describes the social and cultural difficulties immigrants encounter in America. He describes his awkward childhood as he attempts to come to terms with his private identity (Spanish) and his public identity (English). Rodriguez emphasizes the need for a public language in order to function well and take in the “social and political advantages” (Rodriguez 440) of acquiring a “public language” (Rodriguez 435). Rodriguez’s experiences are mirrored in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” in which Tan details the experiences her mother faces because of her mother’s “broken” (Tan 442) English. Because of the nature of Rodriguez’s claims concerning the disadvantaged status of those who lack a public identity, we are able to apply his assertions to Tan’s essay to further critique and analyze the experiences that Tan’s mother went through. Rodriguez asserts “Only when I was able to think of myself as an American, no longer an alien in gringo society, could I seek the rights and opportunities necessary for public identity.” He further emphasizes that, “The social and political advantages I enjoy as a man result from the day that I came to believe that my name indeed is Rich-heard Road-ree-guess” (Rodriquez 440). Rodriguez claims that public language, which in this case happens to be English, provides the foundation for the rights and opportunities available for those who speak the “public language” (Rodriguez 435). This assertion implies that an individual must come to terms with his or her “public individuality” (Rodriguez 435) by speaking the “public language.” By public individuality, Rodriguez refers to a person
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