Languages and Power Project

Languages tend to have more power than we lend them credit sometimes. This is especially true for colonized areas, such as Hawaii. I had the opportunity to spend about a year in total on the Big Island of Hawaii in a town called Hilo, where I went to the University of Hawaii at Hilo. There I experienced a culture that I had never been in before, and also experience the variety of languages that exist in the area. One of the most prominent languages is Hawaiian Pidgin, a mixture of local languages such as English, Japanese, and Hawaiian [an appositive used after a language in order to better describe it].

The issue that many people who speak this particular language face, however, is that because it is a mixture of languages, largely based in English, it is seen as a more uneducated form of communication. A typical Hawaiian Pidgin phrase, for example, might be something like, "Ho brah, you like go beach, ya?" which simply means "Hey dude, do you want to go to the beach?", a phrase that would be considered "proper English". If a phrase in Hawaiian Pidgin can translate exactly into a "proper English" phrase, then why should it be viewed as less educated in the first place? I assert this challenge: it is viewed this way because the colonizing country, America, is inherently attempting to make it seem less educated simply by bringing their own cultural values to Hawaii and warping the view of this language into debauchery.

For my project, I will bring attention to this issue of colonization inherently devaluing and damaging local languages focusing specifically on colonization's effect on Hawaiian Pidgin. I will delve a bit into the history of the Hawaiian Pidgin language, and utilize the resources I have back in Hawaii--a friend who was born in Hilo but refuses to use Pidgin himself because it is seen as uneducated even by some locals. I hope by utlizing this resource, as well as journal articles and other sources online, I can form an argument for why Pidgin should have this stigma removed from it.

I believe that I incorporated the pattern of the week pretty well into my post. I was able to use it effectively in order to give the reader a better idea of what Hawaiian Pidgin is precisely, and do so in a concise manner.

Language and Power

After reading the Christensen Article, I began to understand that colonization and the erasure of languages is going to be a vital part of understanding the English language as it is today [complex sentence: dependent clause first, followed by a comma and an independent clause in order to emphasize the gaining of a new, and deeper understanding]. I think that I was able to incorporate the first pattern of the week well into my introduction, however, I also used essentially the same formula as the provided pattern of the week. In this sense, I believe that it was used well, but I didn't take any risks either so I maybe did not learn as much as I would have otherwise had I chosen to experiment a bit more. After experimenting a bit though, I think that I will be able to use the pattern more effectively than prior to my practice.

As far as the rest of the Christensen article is concerned, I believe that the author is absolutely right in calling upon teachers to help fight against the abolition of native, or non-English languages in schools. With the tea party exercise, it really helped put priorities in regard to the teaching of languages into perspective: We have to be able to recognize the the erasure of languages in order to understand why there are the dominant languages, and recognize the importance and relevance of this to our world today. The revival of languages is equally important and there are many things that teachers and schools can do in order to at least do their best in not being part of the colonial movement and erasure of students' native languages: They can make sure to not penalize students who choose to communicate with others in their native tongue because far too often students are forced to cease this type of communication and encouraged to use English instead--a terrible double standard to place on students considering that students with English as a primary tongue are often encouraged to speak the same languages that other students are denied.

The erasure of languages is something that is far too oft considered a relic of the past, however, this couldn't be further from the truth. Colonization and the erasure of languages is a brutal act this is still being carried out upon many populations today. That is why it is so important to go over this situation with students, allowing them to gain perspective on the matter as well as to ensure that they are cognizant enough to not contribute to the problem to the best of their ability. Whilst this erasure is occurring, it is negligence that will bring about the demise of other languages; not the act itself.

Ch. 7 Response

Sentence diagramming seems to be a good way to help students understand (for visual learners at least) the structure of sentences [an aside set off by parentheses; I used parentheses to insert a little detail that adds to the point of my sentence]. While I did not completely understand the way that the sentence diagramming was structured, I was able to get an idea of how I would be able to utilize this technique in order to give my students a better overall understanding of the way that sentences are formed and how different parts of grammar are to be used in conjunction with the rest of the sentence. Of course, I myself need a better understanding of how sentence diagramming works before I am able to use it and teach my students how to use this method as well [reflexive pronoun to show emphasis].

I think that one of the biggest difficulties with teaching sentence diagramming is understanding it actually. It uses a language of its own almost, at least it uses symbols in a way that directly correlate to an understood meaning, much like a key for a map. In a sense, sentence diagramming really is a map, it is just simply a map that is meant to show the directions of how to structure a sentence.

There are many reasons someone would have difficulties understanding sentence diagramming though: They could not understand the symbols used to denote certain meaning within the context of the diagram, they could be confused on how to properly use a certain part of grammar, they could simply have difficulty remembering the correct way to structure the diagram as well--there are a multitude of reasons why sentence diagramming cold be difficult for a student to learn [last and cut off of the list; I used a dash in order to offset the interrupted flow of the sentence].

Despite the difficulty in learning sentence diagramming, I believe that it could still be a valuable tool, although its initial complexity is certainly something that is going to be hard for some students to work past. Visual learners especially be gain the most information from sentence diagramming. The disadvantages of sentence diagramming is that some students may find that it is counter-intuitive to their own personal learning philosophy. If a person just doesn't learn well visually, sentence diagramming is only going to serve to confuse the student instead of help them. I think it will be important during sentence diagramming to be able to recognize the certain strengths and weaknesses that each student posses in regards to learning styles and then to utilize that information in a manner that allows one to teach to each student the best way for that student personally.

How do Christensen and GA! challenge (or confirm) your understanding of what it means to teach grammar?

I would have to say that, in regard to the readings we did, they neither confirmed nor challenged my understanding of what it means to teach grammar; I previously had little opinion -- or knowledge -- on the matter. I did thoroughly agree with what was said in the readings though. I believe that language diversity and understanding context are very important in teaching grammar.

If I did have any presuppositions about teaching grammar, I thought it would be the way that I learned; mindless worksheets that only served to frustrate the majority of my classmates and me. In this way, these readings really opened my eyes about the advancements that have been made in recent years in regard to learning, and understanding that the context of language heavily dictates what has been deemed "acceptable" grammar.

As the readings say though, we all develop grammar as a child, in order to speak. In fact, it is the spoken language where we spend most of our time using language, and what is deemed acceptable speech is governed not by a dictionary, but by your geographic and cultural location. Having lived in Hawaii for around a year in total -- and especially since I went to school with a bunch of locals -- I have experience with the pigeon language that is spoken on the island. A typical sentence in pigeon might be, "Ho, brah, you like go beach, ya?". To tourists and those unfamiliar with the culture/language, this might seem hard to understand, perhaps even unintelligible to some degree. All the sentence means however is "dude, do you want to go to the beach?", a phrase that would be recognizable across the continental United States. Sadly, I know tourists will hear the language and assume and impose stereotypical thinking upon the speaker. To them, the language doesn't sound "educated", or like what they are culturally accustomed to; even some of the locals refuse to speak in pigeon because they think it sounds too uneducated.

This is the way that the misunderstanding of grammar can infect, and affect people's lives. We don't often view grammar as a source of agency in our lives; the truth of the matter is that the opposite is true. Differences in language have fueled prejudice and destruction in many circumstances. One such circumstance would be when the American Colonies formed, and the difference in language between the Native Americans and the colonists was used to dehumanize an entire population, whose numbers were extremely devastated as a result of this discrimination and prejudice. Language matters. Language brings us together, but it can also drive us apart. This is why, as an instructor of grammar, it is paramount to remember the importance of understanding and appreciating language diversity. Edited American English has its place in the professional world, but grammar is very much alive in every culture; regardless of the languages' manifestations Context is the most vital key to understanding how to teach grammar.

"What Grammar and Puncuation Issues do You, as a Writer, Need to Focus on this Semester?"

I would say that one of the biggest issues I have as a writer -- in regard to grammar -- is that I usually only use dashes or commas. I think that taking this class will help me to be able to use many different types of grammatical tools with confidence instead of being unsure if I am using one correctly. One of the main types of punctuation I am never sure if I am using correctly is the colon. I understand that whatever is written after a colon has to relate back to what was previously said in the sentence, but I am still unsure when it is necessary or useful to use that type of punctuation. I can't remember much formal grammar education that I have received; any education I have received was simply worksheets as well.

Basically I feel like I have an idea how to use different punctuation and grammar correctly, but my formal education never provided me with the confidence I needed to be able to use these tools to their fullest abilities. That is why I like the approach that Grammar Alive! takes, in that it recognizes the inefficiency of worksheets, and the need to relate grammar to real life situations.