English 210
Luis Batista
L&L Argumentative Essay Draft
February 6, 2023
Individuals in our society are constantly judged by their appearance, and how they portray themselves. Whether by looks, voice, or color, we humans are always prone to judging others. As I stated previously, one’s voice is very important to how others view us, this brings up the topic of a person’s Language and their way of speaking. There are a few languages/ways of speaking that makes you seem of a higher value to others, the strongest of them all being “Standard English”. The better you speak Standard English, the more respect you will receive from society. You will receive more opportunities, more respect, and an easier path through life in most places if you’re able to speak and write decent Standard English at will. In a ted-talk called “Why I Keep Speaking Up” the speaker Safwat Saleem talks about his experience of being discriminated against because of his inability to speak proper Standard English. In a similar text called “Mother Tongue” By Amy tan, the author Amy delves into the difference in treatment that her mother received because of her “Broken English”, while Amy could speak perfect standard English and get treated with respect, her mother did not get the same treatment. For these reasons, I believe Standard English is extremely important for the success of students outside of college; therefore, we should prioritize teaching Standard English when grading our students.
In the ted talk “Why I keep speaking up” Safwat Saleem experiences hate after publishing his work for the way he spoke. Saleem spoke with an accent, and the media response to his voice was mostly negative. The media loved the idea of the video, and what it represented, but most comments hated that Saleem was not able to speak proper English. For example, in the video, Saleem states “But comments like that kept coming in. so I figured I should just ignore them and start working on the second part of the video. I recorded my audio but every time I sat down to edit, I just could not do it.”(Saleem, Page N/A) This quote illustrates the main issue of only being able to speak a “broken” type of English. Saleem’s published video received a lot of criticism, but almost all the criticism was focused on only one thing, Saleem’s way of speaking. It affected him both mentally and emotionally, It negatively affected his work because every time he heard his voice he could not get those comments out of his head. Viewers enjoying his work less simply because of the way he spoke is a perfect example of why speaking your best version of Standard English is important in today’s society. Focusing on teaching our children Standard English should be a priority. It gives them an advantage in the already unfair society. We can’t change what has already been brought upon us because we as humans are naturally judgemental of others for their qualities.
A similar issue revolves around the text “Mother Tongue” By Amy Tan. In “Mother Tongue” Tan grew up being raised by a Mother who spoke “Broken English”. Tan learned to speak Standard English at school, but she would always have to help her mother with things that involved speaking because of the way her mother spoke the language. This led to Tan realizing how differently she was treated compared to her own mother because of the way she spoke. An example of Tan explaining this goes “And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her”(Tan, Page 603) This quote has the author explaining how her own Mother was experiencing linguistic discrimination, she was ignored and not taken seriously because of the way she spoke the Language. Unlike her mother, throughout the text, Tan explains that she would have to speak in her mother’s place to get the attention of these “Banks, Restaurants, Department Stores”. Situations like these show the disadvantages one receives when unable to speak proper English and the advantages people who can speak proper English have over others. Once again, one of the main reasons why I rather teachers grade by Standard English is because throughout your life you will be tested by society. Knowing Standard English in America will make your life a lot easier as a result.
Some individuals argue that It would be better to allow language differences in class and not penalize students for making “mistakes”, but I believe that would lead to more problems than not. No complex issues have black-and-white solutions. While allowing language differences could make the class easier and less stressful for the students, it will end up hindering their abilities to co-switch to Standard English when a serious moment arises, and it will hinder their ability to speak their best form of Standard English in a professional setting. Society will treat you better in every way imaginable if you are able to speak Standard English in a professional setting, and there’s nothing we can do as individuals to change that right now. Students pay money to take College Classes and I believe It is worth it to take an English class that will teach you how to speak and write during an interview, application, an important essay, etc. Allowing all students to do work in their own form of English will make it difficult to grade because of the countless different forms of writing and speaking, it can easily lead to students not receiving consistent and accurate grades. Others might say that only learning Standard English in classrooms will lead to a loss of one’s mother tongue, but I believe that the parents should be the ones to pass it down to their children. I do understand and agree with the statement that your mother tongue should be cherished and preserved through your family tree, but that is the parent’s job to teach, not an English teacher’s job.
I can speak from experience and say that not knowing Standard English in my younger years of school set me back tremendously, leading to many problems that could have been avoided if I was just put into an English class, not a Bilingual one. Just like Amy Tan’s mother and Safwat Saleem, I too have experienced linguistic discrimination in this country. As an immigrant, I am able to relate to their stories and what they’ve gone through. Despite all of this, I still truly believe that the idea of having Elective classes in college is a perfect way to balance the individuals who want to learn both Standard English and more about their own Languages or Culture.
Citations
Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan – University of Missouri–St. Louis.” UMSL, University of Missouri–St. Louis, https://umsl.edu/~alexanderjm/Mother%20Tongue%20by%20Tan.pdf.
“Why I Keep Speaking up, Even When People Mock My Accent.” Performance by Safwat Saleem, Safwat Saleem: Why I Keep Speaking up, Even When People Mock My Accent | TED Talk, Ted , 15 Aug. 2016, https://www.ted.com/talks/safwat_saleem_why_i_keep_speaking_up_even_when_people_mock_my_accent?language=en. Accessed 2 Mar. 2023.
