Week 7 & 8: Reading Response 1

MARQUEZ/Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public

2. What are the specific ways in which Marquez relies on arguments based on values, arguments from the heart, arguments based on character, and arguments based on reason to make her point? What values does Marquez appeal to when she explains why bilinguals like her speak Spanish in public?

Myrian Marquez’s expresses to her reader’s or the non-bilingual audience that speaking her language in public is not to “balkanize” anyone, but merely using a language that is unique to her in this country. The values she brings to our attention are respect for others languages. And, the respect she carries for her parents. She also shows how history has dealt with language barriers by translated voting ballots into the desired measure that matched the English language of another language. She makes her point by addressing these issues including the cultural root aspect along with what is allowed when speaking Spanish in public.

After I read this essay, I was able to relate to the word “balkanize.” There were times when I would be in a group of three persons and two began to speak in Yupik Eskimo making me feel left out, if I was the discussion, and thinking to myself, this is rude. Although I am half Yupik Eskimo, I lost my language after my mother died and my siblings and I were sent to the lower 48 where my father lived. We were made to feel ashamed of our language by our step-mother and were not allowed to speak it. Language can make people feel inferior to others. The educational system is an example for those whose first language may be something other than English. Not being able to understand what is being expressed can be very frustrating even if no harm is really intended for those who merely use their language of choice, their first language.