Language of Human Rights- Final ENG 101

Human Rights are known as the legitimate rights we all are born with. Those Rights are the privileges we have for being members of the human kind. As the simplest definition to language, we can consider it as an indispensable tool to our relations with others. Even if in linguistic we learn in reference to the innateness hypothesis, that linguistic knowledge exists in humans at birth, however it is not given to all the gift of being a charismatic person. In law and Human Rights class, we also learn that even if today many organizations struggle to implement these Rights, there is still a huge gap between the theory and the reality.  In this blog, I will show how language can reinforce someone’s Rights and how it can be used to do the opposite as well: deprive a person from it Human rights. I will also demonstrate how Martin Luther King’s struggle used the language of Human Rights for the recognition of Black people’s rights in the United States with the Civil Rights Movement.

We live in a society where all nations, from different cultural background and religious beliefs interact with each other every day. We are called to be tolerant and respect everyone’s opinion, beliefs and customs. However no one can use its freedom of expression to harm someone else’s   integrity, whereby the “no harm principle”. When judging a person for it acts or behavior we must take into account its culture, since we know that every culture has its own norms and practices. Nevertheless no one should base the action of take away someone’s life on the purpose of religion. Cultural relativism is respected by law because culture it part of our identity, but it cannot be used to deprive others from any of their rights. However this remains an issue for the Human Rights organizations, it is not easy to fulfill this task everywhere on the planet.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ratified after World War II is the recognition of the right of speech and right to social security, the right to education, shelter, health care, our Rights as workers… of all human being on hearth. This document stipules in the first of its thirty articles, that everyone is born free and equal. Martin Luther King used the language of economy to implement the Rights of black citizens to equal opportunities. He appealed to the conscience of those who had the economic power to reduce poverty and let his people access a minimum wage to response to their obligations. When King used the expression “starvation wages”, he reinforced their rights as workers, advocating they deserved to be compensated for the effort they produced.  By accessing a minimum standard of life people can choose the life they value.

Linguistic determinism lets us understand that language determines thoughts. Yet, when referring to the Language of Human Rights we don’t always think of our personal wellbeing, we talk in term of justice and equality for everyone. It is the ideal of those who wrote and signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to live and govern in a word where everyone’s right would be equally respected. This is why we always choose our words with precaution in our relations with others, since anyone would like to be accused of violation of Human Rights. The Language of Human Rights helps us to keep the balance between what it is fair to do say, how to present the final decisions when resolving legal or civil issues and to analyze and judge what it is arbitrary done to people. However, even if the Language of Human Rights is powerful and indispensable in relations with others, it is limited. These limits come into the Language of Human rights when we use our judicial activism to react toward a situation, because we are all human beings. The human kind cannot be totally radical, because diversity, similarity and particularity are what influence our judicial restraint when we talk about Human Rights.  

Power of speech (Eng 101- blog 5)

The charisma that characterizes Dr. King’s speeches is what makes them so effective. In this blog I will discuss effect of his speeches upon his listeners. I will also describe the strategies used to spread his ideology and implant his theory into the mentally of his followers, thereby I will demonstrate how the practice of non-violence is related to the power of speech based on two of Dr. King’s speech; How Long? Not Long! in Alabama in 1965 and the Last Speech in 1968.

  How Long? Not Long! is a remarkable moment in Dr. King’s motivational campaign against segregation and interracial issues in the United States. His speech is not to raise violent feelings among the black community but to open their mind towards a more just society. King is establishing a revolution into the mentality of the people of color. His message does not invite them to reverse the system but to change it, in order for them to fit in, without having to be humiliated.

  The language Dr. King used also played an important role in his campaign of non-violence. His gestures as well, when he is giving his speeches, are among the factors that touched the autonomic nervous system of his audience. King didn’t only sensitize his listeners through charismatic speeches but brought God into their struggle. He placed their faith on the spot as a guide to their battle; arousing thus deep feeling such as joy and confidence. When he placed his hand in the air and evoked the name of God, this is a sign of blessing. The repetition of this phrase as well had a powerful meaning to his audience “do it for him”. This refers us to the ideology of the agape love level. He is not preaching his people to be non-violent because he believes in this concept but he is calling them to be non-violent against their oppressor and also love them because God loves them and because the universe is on the side of justice. This is a call to spiritually regardless your religion, because his struggle assembled a wide range of religions.

   Another remarkable speech which had influences his followers is the one he gave before he got killed in 1968; the Last Speech. In this speech Dr. King is more than ever deep into his struggle. The tone of his voice changed, but not because he got mad; it changed because he implicitly evoked that he knew his time will come soon and he could not see this freedom. But his willingness to suffer for those he loves is more important than the satisfaction of this desire. Yet the confidence he had already spread into his audience and followers is significant. When he said: “I have seen the promised land”, this prophetic address of Dr. King to his people is a message to strengthen their faith even if he knew that it’s going to be hard to get there. Martin Luther King was confident that the battle will continue until they reach this land of peace social respect and good will. 

Non-violence Eng 101

In this blog I will discuss the third chapter of A Testament of Hope: The Power of Non-Violence. Martin Luther king, in his speech on non-violence method is promoting this strategy in order to approach his opponents at an emotional level. King brought the topic of love, universality and faith into his struggle. His philosophy targeted the sensibility of the white citizens by promoting a brotherhood behavior, while demonstrated how this method lead to a united and stronger spiritual society. Spiritually in King's method is fundamental; since those who he is trying to convert believe that God is their guide.

Eng 101 blog 4.

  Since I started this cluster found it interesting. The courses on human rights, the new knowledge I acquired in the linguistic courses and the skills I learn in eng 101 are very effective and helpful.

 In law class I learn about rights that I didn’t know that I had and how they affect me and my surrounding. The notion of legality and the application of what it says in the constitution is not something that I am familiar with, but in professor Bojana’s class and Dr. Cooper’s class I definitely got. Even if the courses sound different but in reality they are not and with the cluster I quickly assimilated the topics study in class and the materials used such as videos and documents; they are relevant. The books choose by the instructors are very effective, the texts they contain are explicit which help us understand the subject easily.

  Since the first day of class, professor Bojana, in her introduction said that this cluster should be considered as a learning community. Therefore, in a community diversity is what makes it interesting and the interactions and exchanges between the members of this community is what makes the learning process richer. We are all different from each other; ethnicity, cultural background, religion, nationality… but we all respect each other’s opinion customs and beliefs even if we might personally disagree. I personally find the connections between the Law and English 101 classes right away. I found it interesting and very helpful because it helps us understand better what it says in the constitution. The way you, Dr. Cooper explain us help us understand better the reality in today’s socity with your speeches on actual events they make it more evident. This is where I found the relation to language; the language we use gives form to what we think and expose who we are with clarity to others. I learn how it can be used to deny or reinforce someone’s rights, and how it used by law to achieve the government’s goals and satisfies it needs. Nevertheless it took me a while to finally understand the relation to the ELL 101 courses. Sometimes I’m still confusing but its ok, I’m getting it. As long as I understand what is being thought in class I’m fine.

  The LIB 110 class is like the instructors said a space to share who we are with others, so I think is well connected to the cluster because in the learning community in which we are interacting during the semester, having this space to explore other’s diversity and discover from their personal experience is part of what we call community interexchange, whereby the book we are working on now. I think it’s a great initiative because it will be the portrait of our learning community and will show how together, regardless our origin’s differences, we can produce something amazing. For my part everything is well connected so far in the cluster.

Violence towards AA before and after the civil war (contradiction)

There were contrasting strategies of violence towards the African American community before and after the Civil War in the Southern United States. Both periods tended to promote the same ideology; imposing the white’s rules on a race of people judged bestial, inferior. Their bodies were the element which their racism and sadism had targeted.

Before the Civil War the Afro American community was considered as properties of the white men, their bodies didn’t mean so much to the white owners but the amount of black they had at their service was all that matters. They could beat them to death but would to keep them alive to ensure the prosperity of their lands. Mary Reynolds, an Ex-slave who has undergone the barbarism of slavery at these times reported: “He hanged me by the wrists from a limb on a tree and spraddled my legs round the trunk and tied my feet together. Then he beat me. He beat me worser than I ever been beat before, and I faints dead away” (M. Reynolds 109). This slave, Mary Reynolds, has experienced the hate of those people because of their thirst of wealth and prosperity. The part of her body that was targeted to inflict the punishments was the ones she needed to produce the work in the fields. At that point, we could say that the physical punishments they received were not to exterminate them rather to teach them a lesson.   Whereas, the violence used against the black community was to keep them from being self-sufficient and multiplied their race. The extension of African American’s population in the society represented a danger for white citizens. They reinforced their rules and applied their laws through some lethal methods such as lynching and sadistic reactions. The purpose of the violence exercised towards the black community was not to make them obeying the white laws nevertheless it was to control their lives.

LIB 110 intergrated project and bio.

  

Moreen Valerie Narah. Tonny, I was born in Haiti in April 14th 1991. I am the youngest of a family of four children. I moved to the United States few months after the earthquake that devastated my country in January 12th 2010.  I am a native French speaker. I grew up speaking French and Creole, my ancestry’s language. In the Haitian society the languages you speak tell a lot about your education and open you to better opportunities. My first contact with English was at 5 years old, when I first came to the United States. Few years later, I started learning Spanish in school and by traveling to the Dominican Republic.     I lived in Haiti my entire childhood. I was raised in the French educational system. I went to a catholic school The Sisters of Sainte Anne for three years then I left because I felt oppressed there. Then I went to a unisex school named Cours Prives Edme, a private institution, whereby I first understand the real meaning of human rights, and I discovered there my passion for arts and languages.

My project for this book will be something inspired by my personal experience I am orphaned of father, but that never affected me like many children who have been raised by a single mother. Because my mother made the impossible becomes possible to ensure me a brighter future. She is my heroin. Nevertheless one thing about the sad reality of my country that has always intrigued me, was the situation of children living in the streets, being prostituted, abused, those who cannot receive at least a primary education and those dying with diseases that could be cured but because they have not access to health care are not getting any attention.

I have witnessed all forms of violations of human rights in my country. I lived in the capital, where everyone from the country side thinks if they move there, they will have more chance to have a better life. Most of them believe if they give their child to a relative out there this child will have a decent life, which is most of the time 75% false.

 I am a defender of Human Rights, since they are known as the rights we are all equally born with. They are the privileges that every single human being in the world is protected by and entitled to enjoy. Therefore I feel responsible for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, and do not have the knowledge necessary to express their thoughts and claim their rights.  By that I mean the rights of the children to have access to the minimum standard of life; the right to health, shelter and food, education and social security.  The United Nations states in article 26 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights that everyone have the right to education, but the theme of education is a major issue in Haiti. Language is the base of this issue, whereby 65% of the population is illiterate. Education is transmitted in a foreign language they teach in French when only 1/3 of the population can properly speak it. Therefore the lack of education becomes an obstacle for people over there to claim their rights, based on what is written in the constitution. Their limited knowledge obstructs them to plenty enjoy the rights they are entitled to.

A red record

 

In her the book titled "A Red Record", Ida B. Wells raised many ideas among which constitutional equality, indignation, outlawry, sadism, anarchy. All her thoughts and work went against the exercise of racism established in the society by the white men.

 She argued that the black men are part of the nation, therefore they should be protected by the laws and the government who gave those rights is responsible to preserve the integrity of their person. She is outraged to see how a class of people, in order to preserve their supremacy upon another can denied the laws of a land based on human rights, equality and social security, whereby the outlawry sight of her campaign. Wells also mentioned the sadism with which white men shot into pieces the black people bodies. Pointed lynching as an act of terror perpetrated against the African American population in order to maintain their power and control over their lives. The absent of government's interference as Wells revealed it boosted the anarchy that was going on in the southern states in the early 1890.

Lynch Law in All It Phases

   Southern horrors, edited by Jacqueline Jones Roster in 1997 is the chronic of the a courageous black woman, Ida B. Wells, an African American who achieved national and international fame as journalist, public speaker and community activist. Wells dared, through her anti-lynching campaign, to bring the unspoken of the barbarous threats of whites in the southern states of a country that claimed values of equality and dignity for all in the society. She brought to paper the untold of the black and white relationship around the question of lynching. In my blog I will focus on one passage that caught my attention.

   Wells always talked of lynching with hate and never missed an occasion to tell her readers how she felt about it. Wells expressed herself on the issue of lynching that was going on in the south of the

United States in the early 1890, but one case brought her to the true meaning of such method. Her understanding of lynching began on the morning of March 9, 1892 when the bodies of three friends of hers were found shot to pieces. Those men were not charged for rapt of white women as the practice of lynching stands for. They simply owned and operated a grocery store in competition with another one across the street, owned and operated by white men. With this lynching of leading citizens of Memphis, Wells opened her eyes on the real use of lynching and argued: “Lynching was not simply a spontaneous punishment for crimes but an act of terror perpetrated against a race of people in order to maintain power and control” (Wells 3). Wells understood that lynching didn’t need a case based on evidence of guilty but was an instinct of nature nourished by the white men to “protect themselves and preserve their supremacy over the African-American. 

   Whites used such methods not to reinforce the penalty laws but to maintain the power and controlled the colored people lives. They kept these practices throughout the civil war in order to avoid any alliance that could affect their social and economic dominance. White men perpetrated the acts of terrors against African American with a specific goal: to prevent their extension in the society. By extension in the society, I mean their economic and social implication in the social life in the south. The white men implemented their practices by the belief that the white men must rule because it is a white men country. Therefore, under such oppression the black community would never attempt any revolt against them. Their supremacy would never be jeopardized.

Freewrite of the language of Human Rights.

  Human Rights are known as the rights equaly we are born with. They are the privileges that every single human being in the world are protected by and entitled to enjoy. We could also see them as the rights we have to choose the life that we value.
  The Human Rights are classified under 30 articles that define how humans, in a universal point of view, should enjoy these freedom wich are naturally their. Nevertheless we can't talk about Human Right without mentionning how they are reinforced in apply by laws, whereby the relation between Human Rights and language.
  Language is how we give Human Rights a signification. This how they take start having a meaning. The language we use can eighter to strengthen someone's rights or denie them. The more a specific and clear language is used to affirm Human rights the more they are respected.
 

Topic proposal ssp245

 Every day hundreds of children around the world die of starvation. Those poor innocents die because they don’t have access to health care, or can’t have at least one healthy meal a day. They die of depression and stigmatization. On the other side we are have to face those who are doomed from birth to be subjected to all the meanness and cruelty established by their society.

 

   Children are the innocence in its pure form. They are the hope of a better tomorrow.  They deserve the opportunity to live with all their rights and to choose the life they want to live. Many of them would like to have a brighter future. Or just experience a day without sorrow, or receive a plate of food, some medications to soothe their pains. Unfortunately they have to face this reality every single day until someone takes the initiative to help them out, or for them to find the courage to escape from their nightmare.

    I found myself concerned about the situation of children around the world, especially about two groups of victims: those in poor countries like Somalia and Haiti. The second group is those who are doomed to the arbitrariness of their religious beliefs and practices.  They are the most in need. They need people to make their rights respected and to support their cause.

   To support my arguments, I will base my researches on the rights of children to have access to health, education, food and recreation, also their right to have a decent life. I will expose that in a national and international level.  My work will find it sources on two novels based on true events: “Brulee vive” by Souad and “I am Nujood, age 10 and divorced” by Nujood Ali.  I will also use online resources and some extracts from articles to illustrate my opinions.

Contradictions (revisions)

In an extract of the autobiographic book of Equiano, titled "The interesting life of Olaudah Equiano" the author tells his adventures as a slave. In these passages he refers to himself as on object at the service of the white man. He is confessing to his readers his secret fears. Equiano opens himself with no limits to tell us about his feelings. But his avowals contradicted themselves. He is split between two contradictory feelings: the aspiration to freedom and his fear to fail his escape and the consequences.

   It's true that slavery has generated the most complexes emotions on its victims. But Equiano was seized between two contradictory feelings; the abandon of himself to despair and his quest of freedom. We notice that contradiction in his feelings when he revealed how scared he was to be found on his hidden spot. He said: "I expected every moment, when I heard a rustling among the trees to be found out, and punished by my master" (Equiano 11). Everything around Equiano scared him when he attempted to escape the thraldom in which he was living. Equiano confessed how the anxiety got into him and how easy he started to give up on his situation. He said: "I was seized with a violent panic, and abandoned myself to despair" (Equiano 11). Equiano felt so weak that the anguish that invaded him got over his aspiration to liberty.
   Faced to his fear, he also nourished a dream, he had an ideal. All he wanted at this point was to find a way to go back home, back to freedom. This contrast in his daily life is demonstrated with evidence since the beginning of the chapter two, when he used an oxymoron to relate the souvenir of the free life he had before: “I still look back with pleasure on the first scenes of my life, though that pleasure has been for the most part mingled with sorrow” (Equiano 8). The word “pleasure” used in this sentence is a way to communicate his sensation of comfort even oppressed by his situation. Here comes this question: how could someone who’s going through such terrors can talk about any type of pleasure?

    Equiano’s aspiration to freedom and the abandon of himself to despair are two opposite visions. Nevertheless both were the summary of his emotional knowledge. Into this man devastated by the barbarism of his colonists, we have two contrary emotions. However, they were the daily life of this slave who has spent the major part of it discovering new civilizations following his masters. 
  Therefore, we can come to the view that the existence of those who are deprived of liberty is subject to be infused with contradictions. Contradictions that make up their emotional knowledge. It can also reflect their identity quest.

Contradictions

In an extract of the autobiographic book of Equiano, titled "The interesting life of Olaudah Equiano" the author tells his adventures as a slave. In these passages he refers to himself as on object at the service of the white man. He is confessing to his readers his secrets fears. Equiano opens himself with no limits to tell us about his feelings.

  It's true that slavery has generated the most complexes emotional knowledge on its victims. But Equiano was seized between two contradictory feelings; the abandon of himself to despair and his quest of freedom. A contradiction that appears in the description of his situation. We notice that contradiction in his feelings when he revealed how scared he was to be found on his hidden spot. He said: "I expected every moment, when I heard a rustling among the trees to be found out, and punished by my master." (Equiano, page11) Everything around Equiano scared him when he attempted to escape the thraldom in which he was living. Equiano confessed how the anxiety got into him and how easy he started to give up on his situation. He said: "I was seized with a violent panic, and abandoned myself to despair." (Equiano, page 11)
  
Faced to his fear he nourished also a dream, he has an ideal. All he wanted at this point was to find a way to go back home, back to freedom. Equiano was consumed by despair and the fair of being caught during his escape. Nevertheless his desire of freedom has motivated him to continue his quest. So now we have two contrary emotions however, they are the daily life of this slave how have spent the major part of it discovering new civilizations following his masters.
 
So we can come to the view that the existence of those who are deprived of liberty is subject to be infused with contradictions. Contradictions that make up their emotional knowledge. It can also reflect their identity quest.

Neologism

Basically neologism is a new word that comes into a language through creatively using that language. Borrowed words from other languages and dialects are not neologism. (Urban dictionnary, online sources)

APIS This word its used in the airport check-in precedures. It stands for Advanced. Passenger. Iinformation. System. It is the summary of all the informations you receive about a passport when you swipe it during the check-in process. This acronym is created by using the initial letters of a set of words.
"I updated the passenger's APIS but he still needs to be cleared."

Bullying

   In humans interactions we dont think about the power and effect of the words we use on others. We need to take a distance from these behaviors to analyze the impact we do in others lives. Language is an important factor on how others see themselves.
   The autor uses the word "drama" instead of  "bullying" to better discribe the teenagers language when refering to the stigmatization they impose on those who are different from the majority. As well it is use in the intent of trivalizing the situation. Those who use this therme do it also to prevent themselves from trouble if the oppressed person comes to the suicide. So they would not have to feel any type of guilty. For the victim it can be a way to give himself a reason to keep going. He might say "ok, drama always happens in life, i will be strong and get over it..." But never thinks about the consequences on his psychology. This might kill him inside day after day. This is where comes the danger.
   Teenagers always use the word "nigger" in conversations between them. This is sign of love. Meaning most of the time that they belong to the same group. When they say: "He is my nigger don't play with him." He means this guy is his friend, so he won't accept that you hurt him. But when a slave-trader or the slave owner said: "This is my nigger i don't want nobody to approach him." This phrase finds its meaning in the upper line of the human rights question. They were not talking about them as human beings, but they reffered to them as their properties.

twitter id

moreen_tonny

How language and human rights are related.

Language is part of everyone's identity in a community. No matter what your religion, culture, sexe or nationality is. There is different way to communicate, different forma of language. People use them to express their thoughts and their feelings. As we know of, body language, litterture, art... are many type of language that can be used to enforced human rights.  The natural rights that we born with. And because laws says that they should not be taking away from us so we use these diferents types of language to communicate how we feel under opression and violation of our properties.

Phonetic pronunciation of my name

Hi everyone! My name is Moreen. For those who have encountered difficulties to pronounce it, I will give you a hand.

The first syllable of Moreen has the onset of a voiced bilabial consonant and a low back vowel: “Mo” [ɱɒ]

The second syllable has the onset of a voiced glottal stop and flaps high front vowel, and its ends with a voiced alveolar nasals consonant:”Reen” [ɾɪŋ]. This is the correct way to pronounce my name “ɱɒɾɪŋ”

Banneker and Equiano

  In his letter to Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Banneker humbly introduces himself as a concerned citizen of color, arguing the unjust treatment of his peers. In his correspondence, he reveals his thoughts about the situation of his brethren, arming himself with the thesis that all men were created equal and at the image of God, therefore entitled to the same rights. Banneker is compelling Sir Jefferson, president of the United States of America, author of the Constitution to take a stand for the enslaved minority, referring to the human kind as a” big family” .He is shaming those who turn a blind eye to the inhuman manipulation of Blacks in America. “If you believe that everyone is created equal, the slave’s inhumanness condition should be abolished”. 

   “The narrative of the life of Aquiano Olaudah, depicts the sad journey of a man made prisoner on a slave ship. Taken from his homeland, he is separated from his sister and reduced to slavery.  Feeling deprived of all humanity; he refers to himself as an object at the service of the white man. Throughout his miserable existence as a slave he discovers new land and is taught different language as he is sold every so often to new masters. The slave expresses his deepest thoughts and secret hopes with such clarity that the reader can almost feel the sorrow and despair that fill the pages of his story.

    The two stories previously discussed, expose the pain of black folks, victims of slavery in America. Two men of color, from different walks of life, share the same thirst for freedom and equality. Both stories lead to the same question: How could we explain Equiano’s experience on the slave ship? If humans feel the same sensations, then wouldn’t the slave-traders have been capable of practicing slavery and enforcing it through such lethal methods?  

  Equiano’s narrative faces its readers with a cruel reality. He uses an oxymoron to express his agony: “I still look back with the pleasure on the first scenes of my life, though that pleasure has been for the most part mingled with sorrow.” This is where all the complexity of the human being is exposed. Even during the worst of times, we still have hope for a better tomorrow.

   Men have an innate taste for dominance. For centuries, megalomaniac world leaders caused great suffering to humanity by war, political instability and genocides. We must follow Banneker’s gaze. We mustn’t take one’s precious life for granted, nor can we violate one’s inalienable right to freedom and happiness.  Slave-traders once thought that the only people who were to be called and treated like human beings were those who looked and thought like them. Slave owners once said that “the black skin tone is the inferior category of the mankind.” And they enforced their beliefs by keeping the black man in chains in the cotton fields, by depriving him of all basics rights.            

  The oppression and humiliation that blacks have undergone in America and throughout the world should serve as ammunition to fight racism that is unfortunately persisting. As a nation under God, we must stand together as one and join forces to prevent such plague from happening again. We must not forget the sacrifice of those who came before us. When slaves in America rebelled and fought for their rights, it was to assure that the shackles wouldn’t close once more around the ankles and necks of future generations. They fought, in order for us to no longer feel the lashes on our backs. They fought for freedom, justice. 

My concept of human rights.

  Human rights, wherever we are in the the world remain the same. When it comes to the rights of each human being, thoughts and opinions in any language tend to protect everyone's integrity
  This cluster will help me explore the diversity of our rights and the difference between what it says about them and what is the reality. Through the different books i will read i hope to learn more about what is to be an human being fighting for his rights to be respected and accepted equal as everyone in a society. I expect to have a better understanding of what is the theory of the human rights and how the are applied to us in the 21 century.

My access to the world

“Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run in and out of which they grow” – Oliver Wendell Holmes.

                I am a native French speaker. I was born in Haiti. I grew up speaking French and Creole, my ancestry’s language. My first contact with English was at 5 years old, when I first came to the United States. Few years later, I started learning Spanish in school and by traveling to the Dominican Republic. But my relationship with languages has always been affected by many factors: education, society, and my surrounding.     

               

                Everyone have a different relationship with languages; especially those who are bilingual or multilingual. They communicate in different languages but they do not use the same with everyone and everywhere. I do speak, read, write and understand English, French, Spanish and Creole. However my ability to speak or perform in each one is at different level.

                As a multilingual, I have a preferred language to communicate with different group of people. When I was in my country, I used to speak Creole with everyone. But French I usually speak it in school, with older and important people, like my teachers, doctors or my friend’s parents. Since I was studying English, I started speaking it with my friends, at school and with my family. Now that I am a check-in agent at the airport, I meet people from different countries in a daily basis and they speak different languages, so I’m called to do so.

                Speaking in your native language is always something you feel comfortable to do. I personally rather speak French or Creole even Spanish, than speaking English. I am still in the process of learning English. I make a lot of progress speaking with my family and being in contact with people who speak English around me every day at school or at work. And Spanish, I learned it in school but my brother who lives in Dominican Republic has influenced me a lot too. We used to have long conversations in Spanish only. So that helped me improve my skills and helped me expand my vocabulary.

                I think that everyone have a special way in whatever the language they speak, to express themselves. And I think it’s where all the creativity comes from. I can put words together to say what I want to say in each language that I speak. But to create something really amazing, so far French is the only language in which I am able to.

              Like everyone I have my own experience with languages. I learned different ones and can express myself in them. I know languages will have a major role in my career. After obtaining my associate degree, I want to do my bachelor in International relations. And I believe that languages are fundamental to get alone with the world, to make more connections with other nations. Because the more languages you know, the more opened the world’s opportunities will be to you.

             Language in my country is a sign of good education. Socially, I received a different treatment there. The better you speak a foreign language, the more you are welcome to the community. In fact, languages were for me a form of identity. Based on my own experience, I could say that languages are everyone’s access to more and better opportunities.

                Since I was a kid, languages have always fascinated me. I always wanted to speak more than the ones I know, which were French and Creole. Being able to speak all these languages gave me more confidence. When you can express yourself in different languages you don’t hesitate to take initiatives or to corporate with other nations. For example I won’t be afraid to be a part of a French or Spanish group, or even to take the lead, because I will be able to communicate with them. And that is essential. Although Creole is my favorite, I express myself better in French.

                I grew up speaking French and Creole. As the year went by, I learned new languages which are English and Spanish. They have exposed me more to the world. Through them, I discovered more cultures and learned how to get alone better with people from different origins. Languages are for me to the world’s access.