The Insufficency of Monoliongualism

"Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war?" - Ray Gwyn Smith The line above is quoted in Gloria Anzaldua's essay "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." Lately, I've been reading autobiographical essays by Sandra Cisneros and through her described experiences of growing up as a Chicana it has …

Language – “Speak American”

Last week I had discussed prescriptive vs. descriptive language; how people "should" speak vs. how people actually speak. In the news recently, an incident at a New Jersey high school occurred which helps illustrate this issue in education.  An English teacher, overhearing students speaking Spanish, told them that U.S. Soldiers are "not fighting for your …

Language – The Associated Press and Pronouns.

Today I came across this article, "The Associated Press and the Pronoun Wars" by Sohrab Ahmari. The article begins by stating: "The transgender movement is at war with the English language," and explains that The Associated Press has proposed updates to its style guide with regards to gendered language. These changes include different rules regarding …