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Hey Stephanie, I completely agree with what you said in question 3. It is somewhat ironic how many around Oscar did not give him the proper credit and confidence when writing his novels and now they are the one thing they could use to continue his legacy.

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1. Much of Oscar's time in Santo Domingo was sad and concerning, like much of his life and the situations we are presented with throughout the book.  Oscar tries to approach Ybon who clearly does not want to be bothered at all and despises Oscar.  Oscar does not take know for an answer and essentially stalks Ybon by remaining on the island living with his grandmother.  He spends much of his time at his grandmothers researching and writing novels.
2. I think like most individuals, as sad as it may be, adrenaline takes over in a life or death situation.  I think the human body does many things when staring down death, like Oscar tragically was, and the mind goes in a million directions.  I think it was almost impossible for Oscar to use any other language form at that point.
3. Like we have discussed so much, adolescence is a critical point in ones life for language development and gaining an understanding of language and grammar.  Lola's daughter will read Oscar's work and hear his language uttered by her inner monologue and the more she reads, the more she will pick up on Oscar's tendencies and it will continue Oscar's language even after he is gone.

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Thank you for your hard work this semester in exploring Spanglish. I am looking forward to the final portions of the project from your group. As I listened to your feedback, I asked myself why are we holding on practices that harm others? What is our obsession with teaching grammar, because it is the right thing to do? What do we lose by embracing diversity? Who loses when we don't? It's just some questions that I want you all to consider as you finish the final sections of this project. Thanks.

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This is a picture of the community expectations we created from this class. I think this was the first English class I've taken that doesn't focus mainly on mainstream grammar and correcting others grammar as well. I know in younger grades mainstream English is still required to be taught but I think having community expectations about language and grammar is important to have. I think also trying to incorporate diverse English learning along of mixed into their regular learning times. One thing this class has taught me that I will incorporate into teaching is not to police language like my teachers used to do and let the students speak and feel confident when speaking in the class.

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This is a picture taken my senior year of high school. I think my high school had the potential to show how grammar should be taught because it was a diverse school. We had students from many different cultures and backgrounds that were able to speak freely in classrooms without being reprimanded or judged.

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I added a picture of the canvas page for this class. I think that the way this class approaches grammar is different than anything I have seen before and has given me new ideas of ways that I could conduct grammar lessons in my own future classroom. In my opinion, mainstream grammar still needs to be taught (as required by school objectives); however, teachers should also remain inclusive and understanding of all grammar in addition to teaching about diverse Englishes.

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I chose this picture because it represented a slightly diverse group of students and I think that's the way grammar needs to be taught. You have to include a wide range of grammar, not just focus on one type and deem that one the correct one. Students need to learn all the different ones that they can.

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This is the only picture I have from my english classroom in highschool. I am using this because of the picture of "world languages" on the right side of the picture. I thought it was special that my teacher was promoting and showing different languages. I think teachers should incorporate 15 minutes into each lesson to talk about different grammars.

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This photo shows students of all different races, genders, and ethnicities having access to the same opportunity to learn grammar and language skills as they all demonstrate an enthusiastic understanding of their taught material.  Grammar should be taught with this level of inclusion and cultural diversity in order to further promote equality and unity in our world.

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This is a picture of one of the charts my mom makes for her 4th grade class when teaching reading. I think that grammar and language should be taught this way because students are able to visually see what is happening in the lesson and the students have interaction during the lesson by answering questions and giving opinions.

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I had a similar response to question three. I, too, thought Lola's daughter would be able to make a connection with her uncle, but his possessions will have a minimal effect on her language and grammar. I think she could pick up on slang used in his writing and use it in her day-to-day life. I also think Lola's daughter's age will play a significant role in what will happen after reading Oscar's belongings.

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1. In Santo Domingo, Oscar spent most of his time obsessing over Ybon. He would stalk her at her house and write many love letters to her even though she wanted nothing to do with him. During his time, he stayed with his grandmother.
2. I think during this time, Oscar was not speaking the way he usually did because this was a life or death situation. I believe he was trying to make himself seem like he had a reason to live, and by speaking in "proper English," he thought he had a better chance of convincing the men trying to kill him. I also think he spoke this way because it was a serious situation, and most people will speak "properly" or "formally" when in these situations.
3. I don't necessarily think that her language or grammar will be affected when Lola's daughter reads Oscar's books. I think Lola's daughter will be at an age where she has a language and grammar already established for herself. She may learn new slang or words that she had never heard of and begin using them, but other than that, I don't think there will be much of an impact. I do believe that she will be able to feel a connection with her uncle through his belongings and writings.

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Hey Sofia! I liked your point about Lola's daughter being impressionable and being influenced by Oscar's words. I thought of it as her daughter being older and less impressionable when reading everything, so I am intrigued by our different perceptions of the situation.

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1. Oscar spent the majority of his time in Santo Domingo pursing Ybon. Despite Ybon telling him to go home and to leave her alone, Oscar refused to listen to reason and continued to chase after her. He consistently ignored the dangers that came with messing with Ybon’s husband. He would wait outside of her house, going to the club where she danced, and professing his love to her. Additionally, he spent his time writing his novels and researching his family’s history.
2. I think that Oscar’s speaking was different from how he normally spoke because he was put in a life or death situation. I feel like anyone who was put in a situation like would feel the pressure and the fear of the environment and it would cause them to speak differently. Additionally, he probably thought that speaking in clear, “good Spanish” would help him talk his way out of the death that he faced. This situation was one of the most important and serious moments of his life and he was attempting to reason with his kidnappers in an attempt to change his fate.
3. I definitely feel like all of these books, games, manuscripts, etc. will make Lola’s daughter feel connected with Oscar and allow her to get to know him better. I do think that it will affect Lola’s language and grammar; although, I think that the effects will be minimal. I feel as if her grammar and language will be more or less developed by the time she is able to fully read and interact with the documents. However, I definitely think that Lola’s daughter will pick up little bits and idiosyncrasies from Oscar’s language that she will be able to adopt into her life.

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Hi Elana! I thought your answer to the third question was very interesting. I saw it very differently I think but your perspective is one I'm thinking about more now. The connection that could form could be a really positive thing for everyone in the situation.

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1. When he went to Santo Domingo, Oscar lived with his grandmother during his time there, working on different things for books and such. Initially, he went with the intention of visiting Ybon, but this went negatively when Ybon told him to leave. Stubbornly, Oscar decided to stay on the island in order to keep Ybon close by.

2. Oscar spoke differently in this situation because, unlike the other instances in his life, this one was extremely serious to the point where it was his life at risk. In any other circumstance, when he spoke it was in casual conversation and stuff like that. This situation of course demanded him to be aware of what he was saying, demanding him to be a new version of himself.

3. It’ll affect her language and grammar because it will show her what it looks like to have “poor” grammar for lack of a better word. Children learn a lot of the way they speak from reading, so showing her this form of grammar runs the risk of her adopting that grammar. Especially at a young age, it is possible something as small as this can change everything. None of this is negative or positive, it is just a possibility that could come from her reading anything.

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Elana Abrams Response to Stephanie Gaynor

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Elana Abrams Response to Stephanie Gaynor

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Hi Stephanie! I also saw Oscar's use of "proper" English as an attempt to save his own life. Why do you think Oscar made this decision in the moment? The significance of this scene in the book speaks numbers to the values of the world we live in today!

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1. During his time in Santo Domingo, Oscar was stalking Ybon.  He stalked her at her house, workplace, supermarket, and even on her beeper.  He also wrote her love letters, but she despised him nonetheless.

2. I think Oscar’s words were described as belonging to someone else because of the position he was put in.  In Oscar’s attempt to make it out of this scenario alive, he had been speaking with “proper” English in order to have himself seen in a better light.  I find it to be really sad thatOscar felt using a more traditional form of English would help save his life; I also think the inclusion of this scene was written in an attempt to open the reader's eyes to the world we live in.

3. I think keeping Oscar’s books, games, manuscript, comic books, and papers for Lola’s daughter is done in an attempt to be connected to Oscar.  Not only will Lola’s daughter be able to learn more about her family history and expanded grammar, but this also may help Lola be connected to her brother as her daughter’s ;language skills may resemble that of which Oscar’s literary works reflect.

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I agree with you for question 2. I think that because of the situation Oscar was in at the moment, his Spanish was good in order to try to save his life.

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Stephanie Gaynor response to Sydney Krupnick 

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Stephanie Gaynor response to Sydney Krupnick 

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For question number 3, I actually think Lola’s daughter would learn grammar from Oscar even if it is not necessarily considered “good grammar” to a lot of people. I think especially if she read it a lot and was very intrigued by it because the more and more she reads of it, the more it will come into her mind.

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1. Oscars time in Santo Domingo was summarized by stalking Ybon. He sat in front of her house, called her on her beeper, went to her worksite, and went to the supermarket when he saw she was leaving her house. He would also give her love letters that were written in English, however she did not love them and wanted him dead.

2. I think Oscar’s words sounded like they belonged to someone else since he was using "good Spanish" because he was not in the right headspace. The person he wad talking to in this scene were people who were trying to kill him and he was trying to convince them not to. Oscar may have thought using proper or good English could get him out alive.

3. I think keeping Oscar’s books, games, manuscript, comic books, and papers for Lola’s daughter will allow her to have a similar language to Oscar. Sort of like a mothers tongue the daughter will now be able to see Oscar’s “mother tongue” and can see what Oscar’s grammar was like.

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1. When Oscar returned to Santa Domingo, the first thing he did was visit Ybon, who kicked him out right away. Oscar refused to leave the island and wanted to be near Ybon so he decided to stay at his grandmother's house. While he was there he would try to get Ybon back, research his family history, and write novels.
2. I think Oscar was speaking differently in this situation than in all other situations because he was looking death in the eyes. He was trying to convince these men not to kill him but he failed.
3. I think that by reading this, Lola's daughter will see how imperfect Oscar's language was. I'm not positive if she would learn anything grammar and language wise from Oscar's things but I think she could learn what strategies to use and not to use when speaking language and using grammar.

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1. After arriving to Santo Domingo Oscar did two things for twenty seven days, researched wrote and chased after Ybon. Describe his time in Santo Domingo.
2. On page 321 Oscar begins to speak and they say that the words coming out sounded like they belonged to someone else because he was using "good Spanish" for once. Why do you think they way he was speaking in this situation was different from how he normally spoke?
3. On page 330 it talks about storing Oscar's books, games, manuscript, comic books, and papers in a refrigerator to protect them against anything and keeping them for Lola's daughter. How do you think that will affect her language and grammar after she sees them?

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First let me begin by saying, Stephanie, these questions are 🔥! Your questions pushed your group to do some deep thinking and analysis of how curriculum is bias. One thing I want everyone to think about, is why are we holding on to the current curriculum when we know it doesn't work for everyone? What will be your role when you enter the classroom to make it more inclusive so that other's curriculum is not an elective?

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In regards to your answer for the 3rd question I agree that a perfect world all cultures and grammar should be taught in core curriculum, but with everything else that is packed into the core curriculum it would be hard to do. I like the idea of creating optional classes where students can choose to take the class and learn about various cultures. I think if classes were offered like this or even English classes were more relaxed and not stressed about having "perfect" grammar from every student that would be a start too.

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1. After Oscar graduated from college he started teaching at his old high school. He referred to this time as the dark age because he experienced the same misery from when he was in school. He would notice people talking behind his back and the meetings he held nobody would show up to. He was reminded during this time he lonely he was.
2. I don't think immigrants want to completely forget about their "Dominican/Spanish" names since they are a part of who they are and where they came from. They may avoid using their name to fit in where they are now to avoid judgement from others who are unfamiliar with "Dominican or Spanish" names.
3. This class has taught me a lot about language and grammar and how it differs for different cultures and languages. I think it is important to have knowledge about various cultures and how their language differs. By understanding difference in language it creates a connection to the two people talking without judgement and it may be easier to speak and listen to the person as well. I think different cultures of grammar should be introduced so more people have experience with it.

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1. During the period Oscar referred to as the "Dark Age," he returned to teach at his old high school. While teaching there, it made him relive the terrible times he had in high school. He was treated poorly by students, who made fun of him and talked about him behind his back. Oscar also tried creating a fantasy and sci-fi club, but no one showed up to the interest meeting he started for the students.
2. I don't think most immigrants want to forget about their "Dominican" or "Spanish" names. I believe some immigrants go by nicknames to make it easier on themselves. When they have a name that may be difficult to pronounce, and they hear it mispronounced many times, they may feel the need to change it. I don't think it has anything to do with forgetting about their names and more as a name to fit the "American" culture. I don't know for sure, but I would think that immigrants would take pride in their names because it reminds them of where they came from.
3. Until now, I would have never have thought about this topic. After reading this quote, I do believe that in the "perfect world," all cultures and grammar should be taught in the core curriculum, but sadly I don't see it being possible because of the number of different cultures. I think that the best way of including different cultures in schools is with optional classes for students to choose from. On the other hand, all cultures and grammar should be accepted and appreciated in the classrooms.

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I think it is common for immigrants to choose a nickname to fit the American culture better. I think they could be embarrassed because their names are often mispronounced. On the other hand, many people have a sentimental connection to their names and take pride in them. For the last question, I agree that it's essential for everyone to experience a complete education and learn about different cultures. It is interesting to see how many students never get to learn about their own cultures in schools.

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Hey Ben! I think that you have a valid point here of it being almost an unrealistic expectation for all students to learn the core curriculum in alliance with all different cultures. This would also be extremely difficult for staff and administrators. Any ideas on how a further inclusion of diverse cultures could be taught in classrooms?

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1. The period of Oscar’s life that is referred to as “The Dark Age '' is noted as such because for Oscar, this time is when he had to relive pains of the past.  Oscar began teaching at his former school, and quickly fell right back into old patterns of being an outcast.  This was extremely difficult and traumatizing as he was right back in his old, bullied shoes.

2. This is an interesting question that you raise here Stephanie.  I don’t know if I think that immigrants want to forget about their “Dominican” or “Spanish” names in order to fit in more.  I suppose it would depend on the person.  All I can say is that from personal experience with a rather unique spelling of my name that reflects my Hebrew background, I hated my name growing up.  It wasn’t until I was older and more comfortable in my own shoes that I appreciated how special it actually is.

3. I think it’s amazing how you were able to connect two of your courses Stephanie! I think that I am in agreement with the quote “Privilege is when your culture is taught as a core curriculum, and mine is taught as an elective.” My hesitation here comes from my own lack of similarity in experience as Cho, but I do still feel that her statement is valid and holds true.  I never had to struggle with my classes being taught in a language that isn’t my first, but I can only imagine the difficulty and frustration of such an experience.

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Hi Caitlyn! We had very similar answers to the third question, but I find it interesting that you brought up the difficulty of trying to teach different forms of grammar and culture in a core curriculum. I honestly didn't think of that when I was answering, but you're right it could be a lot to stick into one curriculum but maybe they can choose a couple to try and add in.

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1. During this period, he was essentially digging up old trauma. He had a terrible high school experience as we know, something that didn’t improve once he went to college. Now he was working at a highschool, putting himself in a position to be reminded of all he endured, all he suffered from. High School was never a safe space for him and now he has to be put back in that space.

2. I think this is probably a very common thing that immigrants may want to do. If they feel like they stick out, like they aren’t melding into the “american” culture, then maybe they would decide to drop names that remind them of their roots. Of course, there are people who are really proud of where they come from and may choose to keep these names, to remind themselves who they are and what they’ve done in their lives.

3. I have to agree with this statement. Almost every class we learn in, the core curriculum is always american, english, however you want to put it. Then you see other cultures taught in smaller sections, optional classes, something that everyone doesn’t have to learn about or be taught. I think that all cultures and grammar should be taught in the core curriculum. It's important that everyone gets a full education and learns about all the different cultures and ways of speaking.

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Hey Sydney! Yes I completely agree with what you said about Immigrants and their untranslated names I think it is definitely a large part of their identity and is something that they cannot have taken from them and will not give up.

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1. Oscar's "Dark Age" was almost identical to his high school life in which we saw in the earlier chapter.  He is essentially reliving those days only now as a grown educator.  He starts a book club focused heavily around science fiction and fantasy novels, which he was ridiculed for by his own mother at the beginning of the book and no one has come, which is metaphorical to the way he was treated originally.  His only other friend in the administration was a female teacher who's departure deeply impacted Oscar, leading to depression.  Again this was very similar to the heartbreak Oscar has at the beginning of the novel with Maritza and the downward spiral in which that sent his adolescence.
2. I wouldn't really say that Immigrants try to hide their untranslated names, I just feel that it is perhaps easier in certain situations.  Oscar is quite common in the United States as well so I am sure when people hear "Huascar", they just assume it is the American spelling and pronunciation.  I know my dad, who's name is Carlos which translates to Charles, will use Chuck in many different instances and he says it's just "easier".
3. I think to have all forms of grammar and cultures taught in the core curriculum would be a really tough task for developing kids and teens in schools. I think it is important to be taught in college and as people grow but I think that could be a very difficult task for young kids who still forming a general foundation into culture and grammar; it could be overwhelming.

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Hi Caitlyn! I agree with what you said to the second question. I think that immigrants would want to keep their previous names to keep in touch with their culture and their families. If they changed these names, I think it would be suppressing a part of their identity and who they are as a person. I also agree with you that if I was an immigrant I would not want to get rid of the name I had.

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Caitlyn Kirk: Response to Sydney Krupnick

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Caitlyn Kirk: Response to Sydney Krupnick

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Hey Sydney! I agree with your answer to question 2. I also think that immigrants would lose a part of their identity if they hid their Dominican or Spanish names. Additionally, I also do not feel as if I was properly exposed to new cultures and diverse Englishes until taking this class. The sad part about this question though is that it is extremely difficult to fit all of the important learning into the core curriculum.

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1. During the “Dark Age,” Oscar graduated from Rutgers and returns to Patterson to teach at his old high school. Oscar was made fun of by the students and laughed at behind his back. Additionally, he started a fantasy and sci-fi club for the students, but no one came to the meetings. He was only able to befriend one other teacher; however, she left the school and Oscar felt extremely lonely. This loneliness eventually led to depression and suicidal thoughts once again.
2.  I would not say that most immigrants want to forget their “Dominican” or “Spanish” names in order to fit in. Although I believe that there are some immigrants who think that way, I would think that most of them would actually feel attached to their Dominican or Spanish names. These names connect them to the culture and the home that they left. Additionally, these names could be the last connection that they feel to the family that they may have had to leave in order to come to America. By forgetting their names, immigrants could be completely forgetting their old lives and everything that is connected to it. I do not know what it is like to be an immigrant, but I imagine that I would want to maintain my connection to my home and to my family.
3. I want to start by saying that this quote actually made me stop and think about it for a while because it was that powerful. I feel that this statement has a lot of truth to it. We can see this statement in action based on what classes are required in high school and college (i.e. ENGL110, some sort of grammar, etc.) and what classes you can take as electives (i.e. African American history, Spanish, Asian culture, etc.). I do believe that more diverse cultures and grammar should be taught in school as opposed to drilling down on mainstream English and calling all other Englishes “incorrect.” However, I do see the issue with attempting to teach all cultures/grammars in the core curriculum. It is quite impossible to do. I think that the first step should be to teach inclusivity when it comes to diverse languages and grammar.

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1. Once Oscar graduated from Rutgers, he began teaching at his old high school. This was referred to as the "Dark Age" because during this time he relived the misery of high school. Students would talk about him behind his back and nobody wanted to go to the club meeting for the club that Oscar created for students.
2. I don't think that immigrants want to forget about their "dominican" or "spanish" names to fit in more because they would loose a part of their identity. I think that they want to be able to fit in with everyone around them and not be judged for who they are but not having to hide an important part of their identity.
3. This is something I've never thought about before until taking this class. I think it is important to learn about different cultures and grammar because this is something that I have not learned about much until this course and I am now realizing how important it is to learn.

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Within my nuclear family, I do not think that I notice a lot of diverse English. However, within my extended family, I would say that there are some variations on the types of English that is utilized. These differences are especially evident when comparing my dad's side of the family and my mom's side of the family. My mom's family is Italian and they utilize more diverse slang phrases and expressive language than my dad's primarily German and Scottish family does. I am not sure if this occurs just because of where they grew up and the people they surround themselves with or if there is some other underlying reason.

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Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses about Diverse English. I noticed that many of you talked about your school or work life experiences with Diverse English. I was wondering if you all thought specifically about your experiences with diverse English in your family. In your community at home, more specifically at church, on your street, family gatherings, etc, did you notice Diverse English or embracing of it? Do you think this by accident?

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Stephanie Gaynor: Discussion Facilitator  

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Stephanie Gaynor: Discussion Facilitator  

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1. After Oscar graduated from Rutgers he described this period as the “Dark Age” where he had a change in his mood and his lifestyle. Describe what was happening in this period.

2. On page 276 Oscar talks about people being called Huascar which is someone's Dominican name. He forgot about being called Huascar because that name reminds him that he is still an immigrant and does not belong anywhere else. Do you think most immigrants want to forget about their “Dominican” or “Spanish” names to fit in more?

3. In a different class I am taking this semester we have been discussing this quote: "Privilege is when your culture is taught as a core curriculum, and mine is taught as an elective." by Jasmine Cho. This quote made me think back to this class a lot, do you agree with this statement? Do you think all cultures or grammar should be taught in the core curriculum?

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Hi Ben. I totally agree that with the various dialects there are it is hard to have a common ground, which I think it should make people more open to various dialects. It is a great learning experience and is really interesting on how they learned to speak based on where and who they grew up by. It kind of reminds me of when I was little and was told everyone was one of a kind and I can relate that to language. Because even in our book where Lola and Oscar grew up in the same house they still had differences in their language and it is what sets everyone apart.

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When looking at examples of diverse language around the community, we can differences between them and mainstream English. Mainstream English is known as the perfect English but it does not apply to everyone. Like I mentioned in my photo I speak with many people throughout working, and when I first started I would get frustrated when people would ask me questions and I first thought they couldn't speak their language well. So I was able to relate my experience with the article these students speak perfect Spanglish, where it says " what bothers me is that they only speak one language, how are you going to correct me when you don't even know what I'm saying". This took me a long time to understand and to be able to use in daily life but after reading this article I was able to understand better on how they can be upset from being corrected and to try and avoid it. The article love it or hate it Spanglish is here to stay relates to my picture as well, I have a coworker who is super friendly and speaks both English and Spanish, from daily conversations with him or even conversations with customers I can notice him code-switching while speaking. The article talks about how language combinations were seen as poor language skills but then they realized the brain work needed to code switch.

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Hey Rebecca, I wanted to touch on what you said about Willey Farms and how it can be a learning experience, I completely agree! Where I worked, there was a very large Hispanic population. It was confusing at first the different accents and dialects. When asking for a product, there was a language barrier but after a while I began to pick up and understand what was being asked and how different words were pronounced and it led to a much more positive experience with customers.

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What I find most surprising about this continuing notion of "mainstream English" is that what we believe is mainstream English is often a language we hear so little each day. "These Kids Speak Perfect Spanglish" is a perfect example of this where the argument is made that there is no perfect way to speak English or language in general. There are numerous dialects across the US that impact language. The way we blend our parents language, which is largely based on their parents and language they were exposed to. As a result, it is impossible to establish a common ground when everyone is coming from different places.

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This is a picture from me working at Willey Farms. From working with customers I come across different people who have grown up in various places, and sometimes people to stop by from other states as well. I think it is interesting the different ways people talk when they come in and even my co workers and how they speak differently from each other. It sometimes is confusing when people come in and they ask for something and don't pronounce the plant correctly or even have a different name for it all together but it is a great learning experience and a way to get to understand their dialect is different because of where they grew up from.

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Caitlyn Kirk: Response to Sydney Krupnick

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Caitlyn Kirk: Response to Sydney Krupnick

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Hey Sydney, I completely agree with the fact that just being on campus places us in a community that highlights many different backgrounds and diverse grammars. I also wrote something similar in my post. I find it very interesting that you have not noticed much code-switching being used in your immediate circle. This really just comes down to who we hang out with while on campus. I think that it is very cool that our experience with diverse languages on campus entirely depends on who we choose to surround ourselves with.

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This is a picture of part of my friend group here at UD. We all currently live in the same residence hall on campus so I consider them my community while at UD.

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In my community, I see many different examples of diverse languages and grammar that class with the idea of mainstream English that is taught in the classroom. As you can see, I have a pretty diverse friend group; I have friends who are African American, Dominican, Puerto Rican, etc. All of these different backgrounds led to various different language structures, slang terms, vocabularies, and more when it comes to language. Many of my friends code-switch as they speak; they will switch back and forth between the languages depending on what they remember and what suits them best at the moment. For example, they will lean into English when they speak to the rest of the friend group, but when they speak to their parents on the phone, they will mainly use Spanish and sprinkle English words in. Although code-switching does not seem like mainstream English, scholars from the article Keeping the Language Pure: Does Mixing Chinese
& English have a Negative Impact state that it is "a natural and normal product of a bilingual or multilingual environment." Additionally, my friend Yanelis speaks a mix of Spanish and English; however, she does not speak either of them entirely "correctly" based on the rules of mainstream English and Spanish. She does not have a perfect understanding of either language, but that does not matter because no one has had any issues understanding her. As mentioned in the These Kids Speak perfect Spanglish article, people assume that she should be speaking perfect Spanish because she is brown. Even some of her other Hispanic friends believe that statement to be true, but that is a really damaging belief to have about yourself or about others. She may not speak mainstream English, but she has a better grasp on languages than some of us will ever have.

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I have been watching this season of the reality show The Bachelor. I think this season, they did a good job at being inclusive and picking people from different cultures and communities. As I was watching this season, I was able to hear the differences in these women's language and grammar. For example, many of the women used slang from their hometowns.

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I found it interesting that you mentioned when you learned language in school they didn't focus on you having a full understanding and instead focused on you just learning it. This is something that also happened in my school, causing us to not fully understand the language we were supposed to be able to talk in. We didn't learn it conversationally but instead learned it just to learn it.

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I notice that a lot of how people speak around me is very similar, but not something I would refer to as “mainstream” English. We all speak in a very specific way for our area, and what we say is very different from how others talk from different states. Our slang and such are very different. In “These Kids Speak Perfect Spanglish”, a part of the article says that there was nothing wrong with the way the person spoke, there are just different dialects depending on where they are from. Like I said in my photo explanation, people in my town all have very different dialects because of the part of New York that they grew up in. One thing that I did find interesting, in the article “Love it or hate it, Spanglish is here to stay”, was the mention of New York and the embracing of learning more than one language in school. I did see this a lot in my school, the mix of languages from other students.

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I love that you chose Survivor for your example this week. I have watched every season, and I think it is a great example of all types of language and grammar usage. Since the people on the show are from different places, they have different dialects. I think the show does a good job creating a diverse cast for all of America to relate to.

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This is a picture of my town. There is a lot of different dialects throughout my town because people who live here are from different parts of New York. It's small changes but you can hear the difference in dialect depending on if a person is from Queens or from Brooklyn or the city, etc.

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After taking a deeper look into examples of diverse language and grammar around our community, you can see the differences between them and mainstream English. Mainstream English is considered the "perfect" English language that everyone is supposed to confide in, but in reality, it is only looking at one group of people. Spanglish, for example, is often stereotyped as unintelligent due to slang and the use of code-switching. After reading "Love it or Hate it, Spanglish is Here to Stay," we can see that code-switching is a sophisticated brain work between two languages in one conversation, and it is the opposite of unintelligent. I have also learned that it is common for people of different languages and grammar to try and hide the way they speak in fear of being judged.

On the other hand, after reading Keeping the Language Pure, the author notes that the Chinese language should maintain purity. Miao Xiaowu mentions that "people believe that mixing languages makes them look more stylish and like they have good taste...this idea is superficial and makes it seem like they have no confidence in their own culture". This shows that it is a lose-lose situation for bilingual speakers. If they try and fit into mainstream English, it could be seen that they have no respect for their culture, but if they speak in their native language, they may get stereotyped as well.

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I find it so interesting how people in the same friend groups can have different slangs or ways of speaking language. My roommates and I all come from different areas and its interesting to me to be able to see the different phrases that each of us use and how some of us pick up and start using phrases we never heard or said before.

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As I said with my photo above, I think the difference I see in grammar and language around me here, on campus, would be the different backgrounds and hometowns each student has. There is different slang and pronunciation based off of what state and what part of a state each person is from. In the article, Keeping the Language Pure, it mentions that when a person cannot think of a certain word in their foreign language, they will replace the word with english. This is not something that I have seen in my community because there are not really other languages spoken besides english. I can relate this to our book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao because I never understood why the characters used a mix of languages when speaking so often. In the Garcia article, I found it interesting that teachers are supposed to teach their students how to learn a language as quickly as possible. This is something I realized in my community in my hometown. When we had to take a second language corse in high school, they did not focus on our understanding of the language and trying to have us incorporate our understanding in the classroom while we were learning and would just continue on with the lessons.

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One of my favorite shows of all time, Everybody Hates Chris, is a perfect show to use to show diversity in language. It is a satirical take on race in the US, specifically Brooklyn in the 80's. Being so centered around race, the way in which certain characters talk is a bit exaggerated. The perfect example would be Chris' two only friends, Greg and Jerome. Greg is a nerdy, white kid who doesn't use any slang coming from a completely different area than where Chris lives. Chris' only other friend Jerome isn't really a friend more so just a character who resides on the corner of Chris' street asking him for a dollar. He is quite different from Greg and his relationship with Chris and that is emphasized in part by the difference of language. Jerome calls Chris "Li'l Dude" and is always getting a dollar from Chris by saying "lemme hold a dollar", while Greg speaks a much more "formal" way.

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I also find it hard to compare to a "standard" dialect because there is no one standard. It was hard to answer that question when there weren't two major set points.

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Something I noticed about some of the students in my high school who speak Spanish is that they do not always speak the same Spanish that is taught in the Spanish class. There are different dialects of Spanish and it is not always the same one. They also may be used to speaking in Spanglish, which means they code-switch. Code-switching is when they go back and forth in between English and Spanish in one conversation. I also noticed that most of the students who spoke mainstream English typically said some words a certain way. I am from New York so a lot of people in my town pronounce dog as “dawg”.

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This is a photo taken from one of my favorite tv shows “survivor” in this episode they were talking about what it is like to be a person of color. Survivor is a show where around 20 people all get dropped off on an island and have to win challenges and vote people off and then vote someone the winner. From watching 20 different people interact you can see all different kinds of languages and grammar.

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One thing in particular that I notice about the examples of diverse languages and grammar around your community in comparison to mainstream English is that there really is no such “standard” dialect of English, thus making it truly hard to define what “mainstream” English really is.  My friends and I all use different words and phrases to describe the same things.  As mentioned in the article “These Kids Speak Perfect English”, pure languages just simply don’t exist, and that statement feels more true to me now than ever before.  Additionally, when language users are able to utilize the grammar and language rules of two languages and code-switch, as mentioned in the article “Love it or Hate it, Spanglish is Here to Stay”, it should be seen for how difficult and impressive of a task it actually is.

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While it is a somewhat comedic/drama, the show Jane the Virgin does serve as a public representation of Spanglish through the media.  Viewers of the show are unknowingly witnessing, and understanding, spanglish as the characters words and actions are quite literally being acted out and displayed in their everyday lives.

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Hi Sydney! I actually noticed that too. For instance, the way my friends from Delaware or Pennsylvania pronounce my friend's name (Sophie) is different than how my friends from NY or NJ would.

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When thinking about the different types of english here, at UD, there are many different types based off of where each student lives at home. Different states have different phrases, slang, and even accents. I find it so interesting to hear the different ways students talk here because of where they grew up.

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Thank you Cameron for your questions. I do want to address our language use. Please be careful of the use of "illegal immigrant." No human is illegal. The appropriate term is undocumented. Also note, that the land we occupy is stolen and belongs originally to the Indigenous people of this land.

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Hey Everyone! Thank you so much for your responses. What I found most interesting with your responses, is that many of you have not had real authentic relationships with people of color; however, there is still the use of "informal" to describe their language. I am wondering where those perspectives came from? How do you know something you have never experienced? As you continue on this journey, I want you to continue to interrogate how and why you categorize language you have no experience of? Why are you making those choices?

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Hi Caitlyn. I know most of us talked about Beli and how she lacked schooling and learning opportunities for her language skills for the typical person. However the part where you said she has a mix of language structures and grammar rules made me think that the way she speaks is more informal than others but she had to piece together different parts of language to be able to speak and has to remember all the structures when she speaks. I think that is kind of impressive given her childhood and that language structures are not the easiest things to do.

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1. After reading that Albelard hid his own daughter from Trujillo (the president of Dominican Republic) I felt uncomfortable. I could not imagine having to hide just because of my appearance. I think this could be related to many immigrants that are in the US illegally. They have to hide and are always in fear of getting caught.
2. I think the code switching in this book is really interesting, many of the characters are able to do it and it is not always easy. But in this case it is helpful to them when speaking if they don't know the word in one language they can use the other language to still get their point across.
3. I think Beli has more of an informal way of speaking. I think it was because she was an orphan and did have the language practice talking to her parents or her parents helping learn, she kinda picked up language from whoever she was around so she doesn't have her "home" language, it was more a mix between the different people she was sold to and around.

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Hi Caitlyn! I think your personal experience of seeing your friend and her family speak to each other is really unique. I think its interesting hearing that they even switch their language depending on what family they are talking too.

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I have learned that the grammar of black and brown students in their home is more informal than what they might use in a classroom. When they feel uncomfortable in a setting they may speak more formally when talking to someone they don't know. The people they feel comfortable with they will use their "slang" in conversations because its their normal way of speaking.

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This is a photo of my high school. I think my school had some diversity, and I was able to notice some of the mainstream english spoken by poc. They mostly talked formally to teachers, and noticed more "slang" when they were with their friends. I didn't pay attention to how others were speaking and how their language changed depending on who they were speaking with, moslty because I was focused on keeping my grades good and trying to maintain an A in my english courses.

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Hey Ben! I really like your point in question one about how police treat African Americans today. I think this is a perfect example of people having the regulate their life and live in fear strictly because of how they look. Additionally, I agree with your answer to question two. I believe that code-switching is more of a normalized, unconscious action as opposed to something that they actively think about doing. I think that that actually makes code-switching so much more interesting than if it was something they had to learn and practice.

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1. I could not imagine having to go into hiding solely because of my looks. I think that this one is especially disgusting because it has nothing to do with "looking different" which is a common reason to hide throughout history. In this instance, it is just because she is extremely beautiful and she has to worry about someone taking advantage of her because of that. This issue is extremely prevalent in the United States both now and in ever other decade of our history. In this country at one point or another many different people had to hide or restrict themselves due to their look: African Americans, Asians, transgender people, Hispanics, etc.
2. I think that the people in the book code-switch so much because it is part of being bilingual or multilingual. As we learned, code-switching is actually a difficult process that requires intelligence, so they code-switch in order to show what they know. However, I also see code-switching as something that bilingual people just do naturally. I do not think that they consciously do it most of the time. Instead, it could just be because they forgot a word in one of their languages or because they think the other language would more clearly display their meaning in certain instances.
3. After learning more about Beli's childhood, I would imagine that her language was probably a bit stunted. Whether it be from the fear of speaking to the people she was sold to, the lack of proper schooling/learning opportunities, or the general trauma that she experienced, Beli most likely struggled to properly develop a set of language/grammar skills at what is considered a typical rate. Additionally, we have learned that people can pull a lot about the way they speak from the people around them. Since Beli constantly moved around and lived with different people during her formative years, she most likely has developed an eclectic mix of language structures and grammar rules.

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Hey Elana, I definitely agree with the idea that Spanglish is the result of imperfect Spanish and English. Sports is a great place to see this as a sport like baseball has so many Hispanic born and Spanish speaking players that oftentimes their interviews are Spanglish as they are trying to learn the language but don't know enough to form a full conversation.

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1.  I cannot imagine being locked up due to my appearance and yet I think it is a large fear among immigrants and other minority groups.  Even not necessarily in terms of illegal immigrants being held in detention camps, but life in America.  We know how police groups treat minorities in this country and I think the fear of law enforcement and falling victim to the system is enough to force immigrants to attempt to whitewash themselves so in a sense they are almost always locked in a "mental" cage if you will, with the fears that come with living in this country.

2. I think code switching is so habitually built into each and every one of us in so many different ways that characters do not realize they are doing it and it is just a part of their culture.  As someone who comes from a house with a Cuban dad, I definitely have picked up on different slang terms that come up in different situations.  Oftentimes I find myself using random Spanish phrases around my friends without much of a thought yet that is only really the place I use them and none of my friends are remotely Hispanic so I think it just depends a lot on the persons environment and upbringing.

3. I think when you live the life that Beli did as a child, there is no way to build off of a set foundation of grammar. She was never in a set environment to gain a foundation for "proper" grammar so it comes off as informal sounding. I think a perfect example of this would be Spanish and the way it is taught as a language. We learn about verb conjugations and other ways to formulate words in Spanish in a way that is so foreign to the way traditional Spanish speakers learn the language.

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Hi Stephanie! I think you raised a really valid point here about women and immigrants in this country. It speaks a lot about our society and changes that need to be made in this world!

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1. I honestly could never imagine having to hide just because of my appearance or something about my identity.  I can't think of anything that this truly relates to in the US in  particular, but having attended hebrew school growing up, this question was often raised when learning about the holocause, so I can say that this situation somewhat reminds me of how Jews were forced into hiding as a result of persecution against their religion.

2. I think we see a greater amount of code-switching during dialogue between characters because most if not all characters in the book speak both Spanish and English, and Spanglish has thus resulted for them.  It’s their comfortable, natural way of expressing themselves with one another.

3. I think that Beli's childhood was probably very traumatizing for her, and she thus likely did not feel very comfortable around the family she was sold to.  As a result, Beli probably didn't speak much and didn't have much linguistic development from a young age. This lack of comfort may be why Beli grew up to speak so formally in every given situation.

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I agree with you for the first question. I also mentioned illegal immigrants in my response. I think that hiding because of your appearance would be traumatizing like you said and that it would really affect a person in the long run.

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Sofia Edri Response to Stephanie Gaynor 

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Sofia Edri Response to Stephanie Gaynor 

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I think it is really interesting that you mentioned women in your response to the first question. I honestly didn't even think of that, but after reading your response I did realize how similar the two scenarios are.

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1. I could not imagine having to be locked away because of my appearance, but I would think it would be a terrifying, upsetting, and traumatizing experience for anyone that does happen to. This part could be compared to illegal immigrants in the United States, having to hide themselves away and live in constant fear of being taken away from their family.

2. We see so much code-switching as the characters speak to one another because the author may be trying to show Spanglish to its full extent. We learn a lot about how people who know how to speak both Spanish and English talk throughout the book, so it makes sense that there would be a specific stress on code-switching. It is a common phenomenon among Spanish speakers for them to do so, leaving out would not only hinder our full understanding, but it would also take something away from the culture of Spanglish.

3. I think this affected her language and grammar because she was learning the dialect of two different places, instead of just being raised with one singular dialect. This probably caused her language to be a mix of the two places, robbing her of a mother tongue. Her grammar would see a similar effect, from learning two different dialects as well as lacking proper education.

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I agree with number 1, I also thought about illegal immigrants and how they need to hide in fear of being caught. I find it sad that they need to hide.

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1. After learning that Albelard hid his daughter from Trujillo, the president of the Dominican Republic, just because of her appearance I felt disgusted. I could not imagine having to hide based on my appearance. I thought of women and illegal immigrants when I was reading this part. I think a lot of women hide and fear the outside world because of past experiences and events. Illegal immigrants may have to hide in fear of being deported back to their home country.

2. I have a few different understandings of why we see so much code-switching throughout the book. First, I think it is because they have the ability to. I mean I think being bilingual is amazing and I would love to show it off. I know that is not always the case but it may also be to emphasize certain parts of the sentence. I also think code-switching is great for when you cannot remember a word in the language you are currently speaking. I actually had a high school teacher who told me whenever she forgot a word in Spanish she would just replace it with a word in Italian and none of the students would even notice. I realized today that that was code-switching.

3. I do not think Beli was ever able to adopt a single mother language. Since she was an orphan and was continuously being sold to strangers, she never got to have one mother to learn their home language. She was also not getting the correct grammar schooling when she was being sold around to different people.

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1. I personally could not image having to be hidden based on my appearance. I think this can relate to illegal immigrants in the United States in a sense. They need to always be careful and afraid of getting caught.
2. I think we see so much code switching between the characters throughout the book because they all have different types of Spanish they speak. We saw this when we compared the ways that Oscar, Belo, and Lola all spoke in their chapters they narrated.
3. I feel lie Beli's language and grammar is more informal because of her experiences as a child because of her surroundings. She obviously did not receive the proper learning of language, like in a school for example, while she was being sold and most likely picked up on her language skills from whoever she was around at the time.

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1. We learned about Oscar and Lola’s grandfather, Abelard Luis Cabral, at the beginning of chapter five. After learning that Abelard had to hide his daughter from Trujillo, the president of the Dominican Republic, could you imagine having to be locked away just because of your appearance? Are there any connections about this scenario related to living in the United States today?

2. After completing our presentation on Spanglish, we learned about code-switching. Throughout this book, we have heard many of the characters code-switch. For example, on page 229, Lydia states, “Jesu Cristo, Abelard, what options are there.” Why do you think we see so much code-switching as the characters speak to one another?

3. How do you think Beli's (Oscar's mom) early life, knowing that she was an orphan and sold to strangers in another part of Azua, affected her language and grammar?

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Hi Elana! Vera is someone who also had such an impact on my life. She was also like a second mother to me since I spent so much time at your house growing up. Like you said, I also felt that I also spoke the same way to Vera as I did to my parents or your parents!

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Hi Ben! I think your perspective from the liquor store is very unique and stands out from the rest of our responses. I think that it is cool the different types of slang that you got to experience while working there. I also agree with the fact that it is easy to find yourself picking up the casual language of the people around you. I tend to pick up some of the speech patterns that my best friend utilizes because I spend so much time around her.

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This is a picture of me and my best friend Kendall. She is half Puerto Rican and half African American. 

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I do not know that much about the home grammars and language of Black and Brown people. The little bit that I do know comes from hanging out at Kendall's house and listening to her and her family talk. From the little that I know, her family spoke extremely fast with no fear or care for mistakes. They would blend speech patterns from their Hispanic and African American backgrounds while occasionally mimicking mainstream English. Her family tends to code-switch a lot depending on what part of the extended family they are around. I mainly see the language that they use focused in the home because there is no fear of failure. Outside of the home, they face judgement and are constantly told that how they speak is "wrong."

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Hey Stephanie! I also went to John F. Kennedy High School! That's an interesting point that stood out to you about how colored students were more formal to teachers than in the halls with their friends... it's not something I noticed at first, but now that you mention it, I do recall that sometimes being the case!

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Even though I grew up in a white household, someone who is like a mother to me and lived with me for almost a decade, is Vera.  Vera is colored and, while I don’t know much about how she was raised, I know that at home Vera and I spoke with each other the same way I would with any other parent or guardian.  At school, I see the language and grammar of black or brown people being used every day in my classes, at local shops, when I go out to eat, and when I just hang out with my friends.  We all have slight differences in our speech and grammar just as a result of where we grew up and went to school but I don't notice any drastic differences other than that

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Yes I wanted to respond to your final line about learning slang from their parents. My dad would tell me about so many random lines and slang terms he knew and grew to use that were centered around his family only. So I think lots of slang words and terms are unique to different people.

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Having grown up in a predominantly white neighborhood, my high school reflected that in such a lack of diversity.  As a result, I have had very limited exposure to the use of mainstream English and grammar in relation to students of color.  And to be quite frank, in high school I put a lot of pressure on myself and was mostly consumed with the need to improve my own grades as much as possible, so I suppose I did not pay much attention to how my fellow students were learning.  However, what I can say is that every colored student that I had encountered in my high school, as well as UD, has been just as – if not more – proficient in the English language and grammar as students of any other race.

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I think in so many ways the language of "Black and Brown" people is heavy in society in many different ways.  When you look at the genre of rap and its rise to dominance throughout the 2000's and decades to follow, there's no denying who it was who was dominating the genre.  So much of the slang used by people I know, including myself, comes in part from the music we are listening to which is rap.  In terms of the home grammar and language of Black and Brown people, that I would not be able to understand. I grew up with a Cuban father so I was used to Spanish and Spanglish used around the house so I would assume the home language of Black and Brown people depends on the background of their parents.

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After working in a liquor store for the past year, located in a predominately area of color, I definitely felt out of my comfort zone. This photo features three of my coworkers. On top of the cases of beer is Dino, who lives in Brooklyn and travels by train and was very close with Darius, Dennis, and Abdul. The conversation with Darius, Dennis, Dino and Abdul was dominated by rap. Dino would use slang terms like "'preciate you" and "bro- bro" in almost every exchange we shared. The brick building featured in the picture was building run by Nunes, a Dominican man whom everyone in the area was very familiar with. Our daily exchanges consisted of him repeating back "pastrami egg y cheese?" to me over a thick Hispanic accent. Having come from a white background and beginning to work in this setting, where slang dominated exchanges, I definitely felt somewhat out of my comfort zone. I did not want to try and sound like I was code switching when talking. Quickly though I began to speak and use similar slang terms and conform to my environment. Everyone in and around the store became some of my closest friends and we all looked and came from extremely different backgrounds with even more different understandings of "mainstream English".