Question 2: How has your experience of language shaped your identity?
Being raised as a first generation Chinese-American, I have always known two languages, having been taught both English and Mandarin. This identity is so closely tied to the way I act and think, especially as both languages come naturally to me, and both cultures are also very heavily embedded in my life. I was always exposed to both English and Chinese ways of talking and ways of understanding grammar and words. Additionally, as I am a hearing person who was raised in a hearing family, I never had to learn ASL and learn how to sign and interpret the ways that other people sign. I’d always wondered what the differences between specific spoken languages and their respective sign languages are, and whether there is a significant divide. Knowing two languages helps me feel more connected to two cultures, and it adds a whole new layer of understanding what it means to learn a different language.
I moved from India the United States when I was 5 years old. My mom tells me how I would argue with my grandma in Malayalam, our mother tongue. I was that fluent. I’ve completely lost any fluency I ever had, and I’m 19 years old. As my parents get older, as I get older, it is starting to hit me that so much of my culture, including my language, may disappear in the next generation of my family. My experience of language is directly tied to having immigrated to the US and feeling the need to assimilate.
Question 2: How has your experience of language shaped your identity?
Being raised as a first generation Chinese-American, I have always known two languages, having been taught both English and Mandarin. This identity is so closely tied to the way I act and think, especially as both languages come naturally to me, and both cultures are also very heavily embedded in my life. I was always exposed to both English and Chinese ways of talking and ways of understanding grammar and words. Additionally, as I am a hearing person who was raised in a hearing family, I never had to learn ASL and learn how to sign and interpret the ways that other people sign. I’d always wondered what the differences between specific spoken languages and their respective sign languages are, and whether there is a significant divide. Knowing two languages helps me feel more connected to two cultures, and it adds a whole new layer of understanding what it means to learn a different language.
I moved from India the United States when I was 5 years old. My mom tells me how I would argue with my grandma in Malayalam, our mother tongue. I was that fluent. I’ve completely lost any fluency I ever had, and I’m 19 years old. As my parents get older, as I get older, it is starting to hit me that so much of my culture, including my language, may disappear in the next generation of my family. My experience of language is directly tied to having immigrated to the US and feeling the need to assimilate.