I chose this article because I find it shocking
that the United States tried to strip Guam from their language. In my Spanish
class, our class agreed that language was a huge part of a culture. In a sense,
the United States was trying to “Americanize” the people. This is strictly my opinion. I understand that English is
important to learn, but I do not agree with how if one spoke his/her native
language, one would be punished. If you
disagree, that’s perfectly fine. This article is related to language
because it explains how the U.S. tried to force English to be the language of “success”
and reprimanded anyone who spoke Chamorro. Children were given these "cards" for
speaking Chamorro and if they had these “cards” at the end of the school day,
they received corporal punishment. I found it interesting that English was a
requirement for certain occupations like for nursing. Most of the people in
Guam were farmers and spoke Chamorro. One would think that they wanted a person
who spoke the language of the people in that particular field. I know that if
one speaks Spanish and English in Arizona, he/she would have a high chance of
landing a job. If they required both
languages, that would make more sense to me.
I would definitely like to learn more
about this topic. I have to write a paper on the Chamorro language and I can
say that some Chamorro words have English influence due to government
enforcement. This topic affects the world because it shows what happens when
another country has control of a foreign region. People will learn traditions
and languages of the dominating country.
To end this with two quotes:
To have another language is to possess a second soul. - Charlemagne
Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I don't really know much about this topic. However, I do find it cautionary. It is important to evaluate and consider differences in language and culture, especially where authority is concerned. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Introducing a new language to an area if fine, but when you try to force away what they already know, that is taking it too far.
ReplyDeleteIt's shocking to me that people were forced to stop using their native language. This seems like a big abuse of power by the people that were put in charge of the island.
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