From Lost In Translation Hoffman Analysis

¨The receptionist asked me in Spanish, ’Are you here for the English class?’... ‘I’m sorry. Our new session starts today, so I just assumed that’s why you were here.’ I was about to say no, but I stopped myself. Maybe it was luck that brought me here, or maybe it was providence... Maybe I would even learn enough to be able to help Maribel with her homework¨ (Henríquez 58). Alma does not know how to speak English when she comes to America. She is willing to learn and her sole motive is to make Maribel do well on her homework. Language is a huge part of life since it is a major way to communicate with other people. If she knew how to speak English, she would be capable to talk to Maribel’s teacher and discuss her advance and problems. Thence, they can get a better plan of education for

“When I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to

I truly agree to the statement of Fareed Zakaria on why political polarization has gone wild in America. He said over the last few decades, the rules of organizing American politics have changed. This is in regards to the changes in congressional rules that made it more difficult to enact large compromise legislation (Zakaria, 2011). This is the type of problem, we as citizens of this country and the nation will compel to face if no changes will occur.

Like Amy Tan and her mother, I also was not a natural-born citizen of the USA. I, too, had parents who had their own way of speaking and understanding the English language. Tan’s personal stories are very similar to mine; they remind me of my very own memories with my parents, who are both bright and intelligent individuals. I was my parents' translator for as long as I can remember. Amy Tan states that “like others, I have described it to people as 'broken' or 'fractured' English" (Tan, 181). Having to constantly be

On the other hand the “public” language was the language that he felt threatened by. He says that he can only hear sounds people make while speaking English instead of the actual words. He remembers that those words sounded like ,"So many words were still unknown to me that when the butcher or the lady at the drugstore said something, exotic polysyllabic sounds would bloom in the midst of their sentences. Often speech in public seemed to me very loud, booming with confidence"(449) . To him whenever someone spoke English it was a complete blur .It was like he was living in a different world different to what he was used to. It wasn't until he realised that everyone around him aside from his family spoke the English language .Once he started learning English, he slowly began to realize that he needed to learn it in order to fit in society. Receiving bilingual education taught him that it was a must to learn both Spanish language and English language in order fit into the American society. And with that came the losse of his closeness to his family.

On the one hand, English was the language used to communicate with outsiders. It was a tool for survival and held no personal meaning. It was crucial for public success. On the other hand, in Richard Rodriguez’s own words: “Spanish was associated with closeness”. By reading the previous passage, we can clearly infer that Spanish was the key to Richard’s confort. Hearing Spanish brought Rodriguez feelings of love, acceptance, family, and security. Spanish was a reminder of home and seemed to him a private language. In other words, he was surrounded by a web built by the family love and security which is conveyed by using the Spanish language, as the following passage shows: “...Spanish seemed to me the language of home...It became the language of joyful return...”. Moreover, if we consider the following passage:”You belong here. We are family members. Related. Special to one another” it is possible to say that Spanish language made Rodriguez felt as part of his family, creating a feeling of belonging and reinforcing family ties and ethnic heritage.

Linda had an easier time learning English than her parents did because of help she received at school. Upon enrolling in public school in the third grade, Linda was immediately sent to ESL class where she quickly picked up on the new language. Her parents, on the other hand, had a more difficult time adapting to American culture and the English language. Linda’s parents started out working low-wage jobs and eventually, through hard work and dedication, saved enough money to open their own travel-agency business. Linda’s father even had to enroll in language school in addition to his undergraduate education in order to increase his chances of

I chose to write about the Baca essay, “Coming into Language” because it stood out to me the most and it was very different from the other essays we had talked about in class. Baca had a tough time growing up and attending school, “Ashamed of not understanding and fearful of asking questions, I dropped out of school in the ninth grade” (53). Although Baca’s trips to jail became a frequent event he discovered the art of language, “It scared me that I had been reduced to this to find comfort. I always had thought reading a waste of time, that nothing could be gained by it” (54). Ever since Baca taught himself to read and write, his desires became enraged and passionate, “But now I had become as the burning ember floating in darkness that descends

There are many reasons why society creates and has an interest in monsters. Noteworthy resources and authors have shed some light and have given evidence to this argument. A few that stand out are; Andrew Hoffman, Jeff Cohen and Patricia Donovan. In Hoffman's book he quotes Stephen Asma, "Monsters and the moral imagination". "Monsters have a purpose--not merely to express our fears but also to test our sense of morality". He begins to explain why society is obsessed with imaginary, deformed, cruel and freakish creatures also known as monsters.

Learning a new language seems to have only positive effects. However, for a Mexican American, accomplishing this goal brought him drawbacks in the interaction with his family. In his essay, ‘’Public and Private language,’’ Richard Rodriguez describes the difficulty in learning a new language and the sacrifice he makes to accomplish his goal. Richard Rodriguez shares the difficulty for older people, as they learn a new language; however, for younger generations is easier to learn a new language. Also, the new language creates a lack of communication for Richard Rodriguez.

As person living with the gift of dual language, Tan’s essay allowed some insight into my own life. She argued that a person’s limitation on language does not reflect their perspective on society or events of the world. The limitation is more of a token than a deficiency, people having these language issues must come up with an exclusive way to portray thoughts and ideas; therefore, enhancing their perceptual knowledge of the world around. Growing up listening to my mother’s English, I have learned to adapt and am able to fully understand her, even though I constantly catch myself trying to correct her. The way she conveys her thoughts and ideas is what makes her unique and who am I to change her by correcting her idiosyncrasies. Although I have become accustomed to my mother’s English there are certain things she says that even

In the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell depicts the events that occurred during the Russian Revolution through the analogy of animals living on a farm. Throughout the novel, Orwell incorporates the theme of the dangers of a naive working class, which is demonstrated through the pigs use of manipulation over the rest of the farm. “He would be only too happy to let you make your own decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where would we be?” (Orwell 69).

After identifying common elements found in most definitions of terrorism, Hoffman distinguished the difference between terrorism and other types of crime. He emphasized five characteristics that define terrorism. However, if one takes into consideration the type of victim of people target by the terrorism and incorporated into his definition of terrorism, would this change if an act is considered terrorism? Take for example a religious Muslim group who targets Christian and other group who targets any victim regardless of their religion. Would the first example just be considered a hate group since they are target a specific type of victims ?

The author’s purpose in writing this essay is to show that there are different forms of English – there is no one way of speaking the language. The moment of realization for Tan occurs when she is speaking to a group of professionals and notices that she is speaking to them differently than she would her mother. Tan obviously sees the difference in her speech pattern when she notes, “Just last week, as I was walking down the street with her, I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her.” (Tan, 2006) In spotting her different versions of English with her mother, Tan proves the point of her essay. She is correct in her theory that we speak to different people in our lives in a variety of different manners. She brings to light an occasion with her mother’s stockbroker where her mother’s “broken” English would have caused confusion and Tan had to represent her mother with a clearer English to make the point adequately. In that one memory, Tan integrates the English people believe they should hear and the English that exists in her life.

“Her language, as I hear it, vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (7). The author talked about her personal experiences with the different kinds of English. She talked about how her