Richard Rodriguez’s Aria

Argument: Richard Rodriguez argues that there is a loss of individuality, particularly in children, when forced to assimilate into a public society.

Forcing a child to learn and use a language that is not their native tongue is extremely hard on every aspect of that child’s life.  The first and most obvious is when the child goes to school.  They are immediately classified as needing special assistance in order to catch up on the language that they missed out on.  They are constantly corrected by others which makes them self conscious and in turn very shy when it comes to socializing with others.  Being afraid to talk out only hurts the child more because then they don’t get to practice the language that they need help with.  When a child can’t master English, they are looked at as not being able to survive in society.  This is hard for the child to accept because they already feel like an outcast and know the rest of their life is being judged.  They are confused due to the fact that they don’t understand everything that people are saying around them and just want to feel the safety and comfort of their own language at home. 

When the language at home is different from the school system it also makes life hard for the child.  In Rodriguez’s argument he shows that it is hardest at two separate times in the child’s life.  The first is when the family as a whole makes a switch to the new language.  The child feels more confused because the safety of their native language is gone.  All they hear is the foreignness of people talking around them.  They want comfort but can’t find it.  The second part is when the child eventually passes the knowledge of their parents.  This is hard on the child because then they are forced to use their new language but also some of their old language to translate things their parents don’t understand.  The switch between the two can bring back the same feeling of discomfort for the child, and then the parents are left with the confusion and dissatisfaction of themselves.

Children often follow patterns of learning English as a second language.  As shown in this article, people usually make errors in trying to learn the new language.  When they make these errors they may become ashame and fall into a time of refusing to talk at all in this new language.  After that, they become able to speak alittle bit of both languages by using both to make sentences.  Once English is fluent for the person, they then begin to lose alittle of that native tongue.  These steps are explain by the ASLHS and demonstrated by Rodriguez's story.

Comments: I think that this article really shows the back side to the story.  When children in school seem to be acting out and not willing to learn the basics to switch languages, they really just want someone to confide in.  It would be easier if they felt comfortable to express themselves even if they were wrong.  It would allow most students to be a little more outspoken, which could potentially be brought home for their parents to learn as well.


Hahahaha....this made me laugh.