2. I’m not entirely sure about this question. Yes, I think there could be some similarities seen, some inspiration taken from hip hop and rap music in his speaking. Just in the way his conversation and language flows and such, but I don’t think it is something I picked up on necessarily and isn’t something I can answer definitively. He definitely speaks in an interesting and different way to the rest of the characters, you can tell that there are different influences in his speaking. 

3. It should definitely be taught/encouraged in a classroom environment. In any highschool, you will find that Spanish is being taught, but a lot of the time it is just proper Spanish and doesn’t approach conversational Spanish, how Spanish is actually taught my native Spanish speakers. It's important to look at how native Spanish speakers talk, and for those who speak Spanglish, it's important to allow them to do so, encourage them even. It is a form of speaking, it is a language in itself, and there's nothing to say that it isn’t the correct or formal way to speak. 

 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. 

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. 

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? 

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. 

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.