Language Autobiography

Reflection

We had to write a paper that was 750-1000 words about language, it could be about any thing. As long as it envolved language. I felt like I was expressing my feelings that I didn't even know I had on this topic. When I started to write it all poured out of me. I didn't really have any big struggles during the writing process. I have so many memories of different accents, the paper just came together. I think this was a good topic for us to write on, especially  for our age group.

Paper 

Helen Kilmartin

12/12/11

 

            What is language? There are a variety of different types of language, but what is it? Language is something that is changing day by day. Every sentence we speak, and all of the mistakes we make are a form of language. We make language and soon we will all speak the same language. We change language daily. What this means is that everything we say or do has and influence on our language. By going down to southern states you might catch some of their accent, by watching a British show you could catch some of their dialect. The more diverse we become and the more we start going to new places our language will change. Were we go, what we do, whom we communicate with, all has an impact on language.

            When the Europeans came to the Colonies they were all from different places inside of Europe. They needed to communicate for all purposes, so they mixed their languages and slang together. Then language started to mix again when the Colonist brought over Africans. The Africans needed a way to communicate, and since they all spoke different languages they needed to make up a new one. Then the Colonists had to adjust to this new language. 

                        When I was five my parents took me up to main. When we went there we sounded funny to everyone else because we had south Philly accents. We only stayed for a week, but in that weeks time they managed to change the way I spoke. I had a Main/Massachusetts accent. As I we traveled back home my accent grew softer, but I kept some of it.

            I always knew I spoke different. I first realized how I spoke this year when my parents and I were discussing SAT scores. “Mom, what will happen if I get a bad grade on the SATs?” I asked. “Well you might not get into the school you want- wait, what school do you want to go to?” My mom wondered. “Well I have been debating on going to either University of Pennsylvania or Bawstan.” “What did you just say?” “I said I want to go to either University of Pennsylvania or Bawstan.” My mom laughed really loud when she tried to talk she paused with laughs in between. “Wait, wait…BAWSTAN?!” Then she continued laughing. “I can’t help it mahm!” “You have such a northern accent its insane!” 

            Who we hang out with also has an effect on our language. When my parents and I went to Jamaica in 2006 we hung out with a great variety of people. As soon as we landed the Jamaican accents were flying everywhere. Of course I picked up some of the words. Then when we went to the resort the accents were mild. I was very friendly with this one Jamaican worker, she was a young adult and very friendly. I picked up some of her Central Jamaican accent. Then I met these nice Canadian kids, Sarah and Rachel. We were close friends; we would hang out every day. Their father would take us out scuba diving on the surface of the water and my dad would take us to the buffet. I picked up some of their Canadian accent and they picked up some of mine.

            What we do also affects our language. My mother is a travel agent and this allows her to meet many different people. She has met people from all over the world, just from working! Although my mom hasn’t picked up any accents from working she has picked up some different slang. Other things that could change our language are watching movies and reading books. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. The way that the dialect is written or acted could change the way we speak. For instance my family and I were watching this old southern movie from 1945, and for a moment we all had a slight old southern accent. It’s incredible that the smallest thing could change our language.

            We all didn’t start off speaking the same language, but we will end speaking the same. Schools are forcing children to learn different languages so they will be better off in life and be able to speak to many different types of people. What they are actually doing is making all of us the same. Soon we will all be able to speak different languages and be able to communicate to everyone. It will end off with us comingling our languages and slang to create, yet another language. But, this time everyone will speak it.