US College Writing Teachers Should Allow Students to Write Essays in Languages Other Than English

Breaking the Language Barriers

Once Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” To speak more than one language is a great gift that many people have. One can express themselves in many ways because there isn’t just a certain way to do it. Sometimes things can’t be explained when the writer is trying to show something without incorporating the words or phrases from his/her culture or language to give the reader a better understanding. As Gloria Anzaldua writes in her chapter, How to Tame a Wild Tongue in the book Borderlands La Frontera, “Until I am free to write bilingually and to switch codes without having always to translate... as long as I have to accommodate the English speaker rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate” (30). I firmly believe that the US college writing teachers should allow students to write essays that contain their languages/dialects other than English because it shows the writer’s culture, defies ignorance of the people, and let multilingual be confident about themselves and their nationality.

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Everyone is entitled to express their opinions without any restraint according to the first amendment. Since a part of the first amendment is freedom of speech, then writers should be allowed to incorporate their language in an essay. These dialects and phrases allow the reader to picture and analyze what the writer is saying and gives a better understanding of how the writer feels. As Anzaldua makes a claim in her chapter, “There are more subtle ways that we internalize identification, especially in the forms of images and emotions. For me food and certain smells are tied to my identity, to my homeland” (83). Just like Anzaldua said, it also applies to words.

Certain words or phrases that the writer uses can make the reader relate to it. These sensory words can bring out memories and let the reader know what kind of tone is expressed through the writing. In some cases, it is very hard for writers to exactly express their message in English, especially when they must translate while keeping the same tone. On the contrary, Ann Rhimes on the blog Me Fail English? That's Unpossible! states that, “...interjecting World Englishes into the academic sphere means that the students who use such dialects will not be able to effectively convey their meaning to all readers because their dialects of English will not be accepted or understood by the majority of society.” I partially disagree because students can try to understand a passage or piece of literature and relate to it because it is being expressed in a whole different way which will open a whole new world of understanding. It doesn’t take much, but having a dictionary along while reading and eventually the readers will have enough vocabulary to understand it with ease.

While reading in English, readers occasionally ignore a part of the sentence because it has a fancy word or it is too hard to understand. They are ignorant to the meaning that the writer is trying to convey and it just goes over their heads at times. They give up instead of going back, and reading it carefully until they comprehend the meaning of the context. This is a common thing that also happens while reading a piece of writing that includes foreign words. These foreign words can be the core structure in writing as it might bring the whole thing together. We live in a culture where everybody is influenced globally. The tendencies that are present in the United States are the same tendencies that are present in China respectively.

As it is explained on the “The Debate” on Me Fail English? That's Unpossible! by Suresh Canagarajah, “...to combine their unique, local dialects of English with Standard Written English on formal writing assignments, in order to reflect the changing face of society and to highlight the fact that we live in a more multicultural world than we ever have in the past.” Having to incorporate different dialects is essential because we are a very diverse and inclusive community. We live in a world where everybody is influenced by different cultures and different types of people in one way or another. Just as we are culturally aware, we should also be lingually aware to better understand how cultures can influence greatly in someone’s social and academic behavior.

Some ethnic groups have different dialects within a broader language, but still judge and look down upon some dialects because they feel that it's not correct. However, they should come together as a group through affiliation of their culture. According to Anzaldua in her chapter, “There is no one Chicano language just as there is no one Chicano experience” (80). She furthers her claim by stating that no Chicana is weighed differently even if she talks just plain Spanish or have different variants. They feel that belonging in a culture is not the way you speak or the way you act, but the way you present and carry yourself.

College professors should allow students to include phrases/words of their native language in their essays because it will make the writing more realistic, improve the vocabulary of the reader, and let them feel like they belong without changing themselves. Languages are dying as different ethnic groups assimilate into different places and cultures. They are not able to pass these languages to the future generation since people are learning the same language by default. The only way we can preserve languages is by keeping them in use and teaching the importance to the people. By using these dialects and phrases in the writings, people will start appreciating different languages cultures. Native writers will also be less inclined to be embarrassed to express themselves, and the people will understand how to work as an intercultural society with less ignorance.

Work Cited

1. "Me Fail English? That's Unpossible!" » Ann Rdimes Me Fail English? That's Unpossible! Ed. Anthony Forgione and Ariana Radcliffe. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
2. Anzaldua, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." Borderlands = La Frontera. 4th ed. San Francisco: Aunt Lute, 1999. 75-86. Print.
3. "Me Fail English? That's Unpossible!" » Suresh Canagarajah Me Fail English? That's Unpossible! Ed. Anthony Forgione and Ariana Radcliffe. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

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