Yeny Urrea

Identity is on the Brink of Disaster

Introduction

It is very close the relation between the Zentella's article and the movie Spanglish. They talk about the persons' identities. People who have lived in other contry can demostrate how the culture aspects affect their own culture and identity. Children are more vulnerable people than adults when they are speaking other language. They are like sponges that absord all around them. For example in the Cristina's case, she learned the English language easier than her mother. Cristina adjusted to her a new environment very easy, because she liked what she was living, she was fascinated and attracted by the contact with the other culture. To be comfortable, to have many things from her other mother, to join to school, etc, are aspects that changed Cristina's life and affect her Mexican identity. Cristina's identity was affected due to the influence of other culture in her life.

However, it depends on ourselves whether we allow that other backgrounds modify our identities. It depends on our beliefs, personalities, age, background and other sociocultural aspects (Zentella, 2000) if we reinforce our original identity,, or we change it for other. It is true that to speak another language, to live in a foreign country and to interact with people from different backgrounds, influece meaningful our identities, but that does not mean we have to change them. We can modify our cultural behaviors and perspectives according to the new system rules, without throw away what we are, without change what we have lived and experienced. For Cristina was difficult to accept her identity due to the strong influence that the new culture had in her short life. Besides, her age helps to new environments take place. She was vulnerable to change; she had not powerful beliefs about her identity as her mother did. Thereby, the age plays an important role in the preserving or changing the identity. Children are more open to modify and even change their original identities.

People from Puerto Rico preserve their identity

The Puerto Ricans are an example of preserving the identity. They defend their identity by keeping their language and using it among them in spite of the dominant society rules of using only English and the discrimination. They interact using their own language and interact with the Americans using English without to deny who they are, (Zentella, 2000).

The Puerto Rican children in New York are an example of multiple codes and multiple identities as Ana Celia Zentella cited in her article. She talks about "El bloque", a community of Puerto Ricans who live in El Barrio (East Harlem). Children of that community hear at least four dialects of Spanish and five of English. Puerto Rican children do not use all the dialects; they use the closest codes around them. Puerto Ricans suffer discrimination because they speak Spanish. United States officials have imposed different rules about Puerto Ricans have to speak English only, (Zentella, 2000). However Puerto Ricans speak Spanish when they consider appropriate and even they use different dialects of Spanish and English in response to the need to accommodate interlocutors who spoke different languages. Besides, second generation of Puerto Ricans identify as Nuyoricans, that means, they identify as Puerto Ricans and Americans, (Zentella, 2000),

Paca's case

Paca's case is the example that Zentella refers to. This girl is the youngest in the El Bloque. She developed a bilingual, multidialectal speech because the places where she lived such as home, school, block, and surrounding communities. Paca and in general, second generation of Puerto Ricans uses codeswitching to belong to the both cultures and do not use their native language. Therefore, Paca and her community alternate and talk both languages according to who are talking to.

Thereby, in the Paca and Puerto Ricans' case the codeswitching is the way by which they recover their language. When they speak English, the dominant community, they notice that they are Puerto Ricans, they speak English influenced by Spanish grammar and pronunciation. They identify not only as Puerto Ricans but Nuyoricans.

To speak other language, to live in a foreign country and to interact with people from different backgrounds, influence meaningful to reinforce our original identity, to have multiple identities or to chance it for other. The choice depends on each person, his/her beliefs, personality, background and other sociocultural apsects. To shift Spanish to English would be a form to chance our identities. To forget our native language and speak only English would be a way to say we are not Colombians. For that reason I understand why Puerto Ricans go on speaking Spanish in New York city, they want to keep their language; they want to conserve their identity in spite of the discrimination given by the dominant community.

Conclusion

Then, we must keep our native language and our identities. Wherever we go and interact with other thoughts, beliefs, customs, we must conserve what we are, the essence of our blood. Maybe is some circunstances we have to modify some behaviors, but these are influenced by specific society rules. It depends on ourselves if we throw away our identities or we keep them. We can learn many things from other cultures without deny who we are amd what we have lived.

References

• Stavans, I. (2003). Film: Spanish
• Zentella, A. (2000). Multiple Codes, Multiple Identities: Puerto Rican Children in New York City.