languages have a deep connection to culture
Response One
In my opinion, one thing that is evident from the different texts is that languages have a deep connection to culture. In this instance, a language will be connected to a specific community and there many cases where inter-cultural relations often results in new languages. That is part of the reason why Gloria Anzaldua in How to Tame a Wild Tongue outlined that she can speak different “types” of English, Spanish, and Mexican. The variants of such languages are a result of differences in cultures and the efforts of one community to fit in with others. Given that she will speak different languages when interacting with people with different cultures.
The same case applies to Amy Tan, whereby when she is communicating with people in public, she chooses to use fluent English. Even so, when she goes home to her mother, she will use a different “type” of English, which can easily be understood by her mother. In my view, her actions are motivated by the difference in culture, and the need to assimilate (Beyond Exclamation Magazine, 2019). In addition to that, I agree that her usage of different types of English while at home is done in the effort to preserve her identity or connection to her people. While the interaction between communities and cultures all over the world leads to the emergence of new languages, smaller communities’ languages are being “swallowed up” by the larger cultures. So, it implies that the small communities will decide to abandon their language in an effort to fit into society. With their languages becoming extinct, their way of life will inevitably follow. In that way, the world will lose its diversity, which makes it a beautiful place to live in.
References
Beyond Exclamation Magazine. (2019, September 26). What is the relationship between language and culture? Retrieved from https://medium.com/@beyondexclamation/what-is-the-relationship-between-language-and-culture-9d43ad83aeea
Response Two.
From my perspective, gender stereotypes are often viewed as a convenient way which is used to understand the relationship between members of the opposite sex. With the use of stereotypes, it becomes easy to predict what a person of specific sex will do in a particular situation. Even so, there are instances whereby stereotypes are used in a discriminatory manner. In fact, stereotypes in the current setting are associated with a biased view of a member of a particular sex, mostly women. That is often fueled by the skewed distribution of roles in line with the gender of the person (Hentschel, Heilman, & Peus, 2019). For example, in Western society, men are supposed to be the breadwinners while women are supposed to take care of the home. In the contemporary setting, this characterization is being changed with women taking up roles that are not “traditional” and even becoming the breadwinners.
While the change is a welcomed one, it does not, in any way, mean that role segregation is a thing of the past. That is because even in the current setting, women are still concentrated in jobs that require communal attributes as compared to agentic. To give an example, women will mostly work in professions that involve taking care of other people, such as teachers and nurses. On the contrary, women are under-represented in jobs that are very competitive and need a high level of physical skills (Hentschel, Heilman, & Peus, 2019). In my view, men are accepting of the stereotypes that they are given and even treat them as positives. Due to that, they will perceive them as the standards that are needed for success and anything below that is considered weak and unacceptable. That is part of the reason why some men will be dismissive of women as not being fit for certain jobs.
References
Hentschel, T., Heilman, M. E., & Peus, C. V. (2019). The multiple dimensions of gender stereotypes: A current look at men’s and women’s characterizations of others and themselves. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(11), 1-19. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00011