Daisy Sjolseth

Professor Relerford

English 104

6 October 2017

How Our Dialects Define

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

ourselves and others. 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.

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

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

particularly in the restaurants and grocery stores. I also grew up with Jewish grandparents so

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 we view ourselves.

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, but 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 make speak a different dialect of English. In "First They Changed My Name," Allen

describes how she grew up in a more 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.

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

affects the way people see 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

that you talk doesn't correlate with how smart you 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 saw this around 1940 when Lithuania became part of the

USSR and their literacy practices completely changed. Russian was declared as 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. By doing this, they

are making it harder for people to rise against them, increasing their power over them. 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. Also,

words that indicated any economic advantage or disadvantage 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.

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 to in oil to

signify that. For Passover, we eat the Seder plate and unleavened bread to signify other parts of

our beliefs. Also, my dad’s cooking reminds us that we live in Texas. His weekly cooking of

fajitas and breakfast tacos remind me of the diffusion of cultures occurring in my city and in my

state. Similar to food, dancing carries identity as well. In Greece, they have festivals in which

they participate in different dances. Most everything matters about these dances. The speed, the

position of everyone (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.
 Through my exposure to Yiddish, Hispanic, and mainstream American culture, I was able

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

hold. 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/.