Language Rules My World

A rhetorical analysis of how language influences my behavioral expectations.

The mapping project has allowed me to realize that my life takes place in predominantly an area of 100 miles by 100 miles square: between the metropolitan areas of Tampa and Orlando. On the map on the left, I have included Medellin, Colombia as one of the spots for the project, as I go there on vacation at least once a year. I have labeled the spots on the map concentrating on Tampa from A-I. I will consider Medellin at spot J in order to

round up ten spots. Description of Pinpoints: A. My room in my apartment. I spend most of my time in here out of all ten spots marked. Whether it is doing homework, browsing the net, or talking on the phone, it is my personal sanctuary. B. My apartment in student housing. I consider this separate from my room because I know I act different around my roommates (not negatively). They both speak only English, so I must change what I talk about and how I talk to suit their cultures. C. My job in my neighborhood. I work in the maintenance office as a receptionist where I live. My co-workers are all predominantly Spanish speakers; a reason why I think I was chosen from the interview pool, where most of my competition only spoke English.

D. The Burnett Honors College. Most of my classes this semester took place in the Burnett Honors College. An aura of prestige and techonology welcomes you as you walk in to vaulted ceilings and flat-screen televisions mounted on the walls. E. The UCF Health Center. Being that I have a good insurance to take advantage of, I do many check ups both at the general doctor and at the dentist. F. The Altamonte Mall. I believe I frequent this mall a lot because it is where I shopped from middle school to the beginning of high school, when I lived around it. G. Carrollwood. Most of the time when I go home, my significant other picks me up and we usually spend a lot of time with his family at his home in Carrollwood. His mother is Colombian and his dad is Venezuelan. H. Ybor City. The weekends that I do go home, I hang out with a group of six, including me. We usually venture out to Ybor City and find clubs that are playing Hispanic music, such as bachata, salsa, and merengue. I. Home. Home, sweet home. This is where I spent my last three years of high school, and where I go every weekend possible. My immediate family lives here, and I wish I could go back. J. Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia. My place of birth. I visit Colombia every year and it is increasingly difficult not to come back with a thick, obnoxious accent.

Introduction Now that I have mapped out the spaces I most frequently occupy (and define me), I can begin my rhetorical analysis of language influencing my behavior. I believe that we all (whether monolingual, bilingual, or trilingual) go through some changes in language patterns in order to assimilate with others, and although it usually happens unconsciously, the research for this paper has given me a basis to identify a few reasons on why it happens. The primary reason we change our way of speaking and the language we speak, I believe, is to merge into a culture different from our own. Although we typically identify with members of our same culture, it is important to realize that we all have individual cultures, meaning that each person is different and diverse. Language is a way to glue those differences and allow us to seem truly similar to each other. Because of the freedom given to us with this project, I will be analyzing each of the spaces listed above separately, in a list form. A. My room in my apartment. Coming home from a long day at school or a long day at work, my room welcomes me with the idea of freedom. I have no one to act a certain way for awaiting me, I choose my own schedule of inane activities. My room is where I read, where I study, where I draw. In Hunger of Memory, the author, Richard Rodriguez, talks about the isolation that grew between his family and him as his English grew which caused his interests for intellect to grow. He described spending much alone time in his room, where he could read by himself (in English) with no one to judge him. That is similar to how I feel when I am in my room. All my thoughts are to myself and anything I

do is my own choice. Upon doing interviews for this projects annotated bibliography, I asked various bilingual students what language they think in. Many stated that though they speak both languages fluently, they thought in English. In my mind, all my thoughts are in English, too. Though in my room I download mostly Spanish music, and use the phone to talk mostly in Spanish, it is interesting to realize that in the place I consider my oasis, English is my language of choice. B. My apartment in student housing. I decided to list my room and my actual apartment (living room, kitchen, and other roommates rooms) separately, because my language patterns change. One of my roommates is Haitian, a creole and English speaker, and the other one is from New York, complete with the thick accent one might expect from someone on a Brooklyn subway. I, of course, have to accommodate my English in order to effectively communicate with them. According to Gloria Anzaldua in How to tame a wild tongue, she had to constantly adjust her Chicana accent in order to suit the needs of the gringos as if to be taken seriously. I understand where Anzaldua is coming from, but she has to be less ardent about the fact that sometimes we simply must adjust the way we speak in order to flow with others who might not speak as we do. To do this, I make sure I use my normal English accent, with average college slang, around my roommates. We all seem to understand each other fine like this, and although I hear them talk differently with their family and friends, its basically the language we have established in the common area of the apartment. C. My job in my neighborhood. When being interviewed, my future supervisor was enthralled by the fact that I spoke and wrote Spanish fluently. The reason being is that we have fifteen maintenance technicians who only speak and write in Spanish. Much like how Brent Staples in Just walk on by changed his way of going through his days in order to not scare others affected by stereotypes with his physical appearance, I attempt to use a Spanish that all the technicians find comfortable in order for them to feel comfortable working with me. They are mostly Puerto Rican, so I ditch my Colombian accent, and work with a neutral accent which I know most will understand. People want to talk to those they deem similar to them, and I find that my accent strategy works well, as all the technicians seem very comfortable when talking to me about work issues and concerns. D. The Burnett Honors College. At the University of Central Florida, the Burnett Honors College greets you with a mowed lawn, vaulted ceilings, and a grand piano. According to Richard Vatz, rhetoric causes a situation. The prestige and academia that surrounds the Honors College gives it a sense of a serious educational institution. Once there, my back straightens up, and my tongue programs itself to speak with the uttermost perfect grammar possible. The people that walk those halls are my peers, my professors, and perhaps my future writers for letters of recommendation. In the interviews I did for research on this project, many of my interviewees admitted ditching slang and using taller vocabulary when placed in situations that relate to their education and/or career. I

E.

F.

G.

H.

also have witnessed many of my fellow peers at the Honors College talk mostly with slang with their friends and then talk completely professionally when inside the halls. The UCF Health Center. As I mentioned before, I visit the health center plenty times throughout a semester. It would be ridiculous not to take advantage of health insurance while I still have it. Once here, I want all my concerns to be assessed immediately with little hesitation. To communicate best here, I use the same professional English I use in the Honors College. I have witnessed a couple of times students helping international students communicate with the receptionists and nurses. In the interviews conducted, students mentioned having to assist their non-English speaking family members in professional situations, such as the doctor, to help them get what they need. Now, I do not necesarrily have to use elevated vocabulary words with those who are assisting me there, but I do have to make sure that all communication is clear. I do not want to risk my health by lacking in effective communication. The Altamonte Mall. Most of the times I frequent the mall is when my mom comes to visit me from Tampa. Keep in mind, she only speaks Spanish fluently. Her English is what you would call choppy. One thing that genuinely frustrates is going to the higher end stores such as Bebe or Coach and the sales associates either refuse to assist us or take a while to assist us. Not only that, but if they do assist us, they have a tendency to recommend what is on sale. The experience has happened both with Spanish-speaking and English-speaking associates. I believe that they correlate my mom speaking only Spanish to lower income families. In Richard Rodriguezs autobiography, Hunger of Memory, he spoke of being embarrassed going to public spaces with his only Spanishspeaking parents. I think this is where his embarrassment arises. However, I realize that the experiences that happen at those higher-end stores will end there, and my mother is a bright individual. They marginalize her because of her language. Growing up and learning English, these occurrences did use to embarrass me, but I have outgrown the childish complexes I once had. Carrollwood. What person does not want to be liked by their significant others parents? In order to be liked, I believe humans have to find a sense of common ground and interests. Once I see Doa Maira, I instantly change my accent to suit her strong Colombian voice. I want her to think that her son is with someone who can identify with his culture. Much like Gloria Anzaldua, I feel at comfort using my original home accent (as her with her Chicano accent) with my boyfriends parents. I believe it establishes a sense of intimacy and family which is important to establish in a long-term relationship. Ybor City. The Saturday nights in my life when there is nothing to do, my group of friends and I head over to Ybor City in search of Hispanic music. With this group, I find myself talking very similar to them. They are all Colombian, and it almost seems as if there is an implicit competition of who can have the thickest accent in the group. In the interviews I conducted, most of the students admitted talking similar to their friends when they were around them. Just as Brent Staples altered his way of carrying himself physically to accommodate those around him, when I go out with my group of friends I

alter my accent to one similar to theirs. I believe it allows them to think we are all part of the same group and makes the sharing of interests and conversation topics easier, as they are likely to subconsciously believe we share the same cultures. I. Home. My mother, stepfather, brother, and little sister all live in Tampa. I frequent my home about twice a month. The amount of Spanglish that flows in the air is immense. Though my mom does not speak English fluently, she understands when I talk to her in Spanish. In the interviews, the students mentioned having a home language, and it was typically Spanish, followed by Spanglish. I believe the sense of comfort one feels at their own home opens the gate to talk a mixture of languages, and in my case, Spanish and English. As a family, our flow of ideas passes quickly, with tantrums and compliments and sarcasm being thrown constantly, and Spanglish is the fastest and most comfortable way to speak these ideas. J. Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia. Every single time I come back from Medellin, my Paisa accent is thicker and more obnoxious than ever. Over there, everyone chooses to speak Spanish, obviously. As Vatz said, rhetoric causes a situation. The television shows that play, the signs on the street, the books being read, the songs being sang, are all in Spanish. The talk being talked is Paisa. The situation that the rhetoric of Medellin caused for me was un-taming my tongue, as Anzaldua would agree. Once here, my accent goes back to a semi-neutral Paisa accent. Once there, I could not stand to hear a recording of my voice, with the ever laughably embarrassing accent I develop. The most interesting part of this project was realizing what a strong influence language has on my behavioral expectations (when it comes to choice of language and accent). I always wondered why I talked differently with people of different backgrounds, ages, etc. It was pleasant to get a bit of an insight on the question.

Works Cited

Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez: An Autobiography. Boston, MA: D.R. Godine, 1982. Print. Sousa, Maria. Personal interview. 31 Mar. 2014. Constantino, Diana. Personal interview. 31 Mar. 2014. Barrios, Ana. Personal interview. 31 Mar. 2014. Morales, Lisa. Personal interview. 31 Mar. 2014. Pastor, Maria. Personal interview. 1 Apr. 2014. Parra, Steven. Personal interview. 1 Apr. 2014. Vatz, Richard (1999). The myth of the rhetorical situation. Anzalda, Gloria. (1987). How to tame a wild tongue. Borderlands/la frontera: The new mestiza (pp. 53-63). Staples, B. (1998). Just walk on by: a Black man ponders his powers to alter public space. Literary Cavalcade, 50 (5), 38-42.