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Every day, Americans of all races encounter the problem of walking into a store and
hearing people of other ethnicities speaking other languages. It is frustrating to have to interact
with other people and not be able to communicate fully with them because of a language
barrier. Many immigrants have this issue. Every day, they endure many obstacles such as not
being understood, having to learn a new language, and preserving their cultures while trying to
fit in.
Anyone who has taken a trip somewhere and had at least one person not to understand
them knows how frustrating that can be. The smallest thing, such as an accent can determine
whether or not communication is effective. Imagine going to another state, such as Louisiana.
The Cajun accent is different from that spoken in Georgia. Those two groups of people might
not be able to understand each other. Many immigrants have overcome the obstacles of not
being understood. Amy Tan, an Asian immigrant, had to translate for her mother at times. Her
mother spoke English, but not clearly. She would at times feel embarrassed because she spoke
a different dialect of English from what her mother did. A person generally knows when they
cannot be communicated with efficiently. “My mother has longed realized her limitations of her
English…” Amy’s mother knew that she was not easily understood when she spoke, so she
would have her daughter talk to important figures such as doctors. She would tell Amy to say
something, but Amy would not say it exactly the way that she did. She would say it the
understandable way, “in perfect English” (Tan). Any immigrant knows that moving to another
country will be difficult. However, in Firoozeh Dumas’ case, she did not think that it would be so
difficult just because of her name. The “F” Word, an article written by Firoozeh Dumas, is an
account of how Firoozeh and her family moved to America and faced their challenges. At a
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young age, Firoozeh decided to change her name to “Julie” (753). After doing this, she felt like
she connected with the people more. People now remembered her name. Once she started
college, she started using her real name again. She could not get a job interview for anything.
But, then she added Julie to her name again. “Call it a coincidence, but the job offers started
coming in” (Dumas). Americans are blinded by the fact that just because people may have a
different name does not mean that they any different than they are. If someone has a different
name, they will not even look through the applicants’ application even if they are the only that
is qualified for the job. Not knowing how to speak the native language of where you live can
damper your life in many ways. “It’s a serious barrier for them, hampering not only their job
prospects, but also their ability to get emergency help from doctors, police or firefighters”
(Sharpe). Having so many linguistically challenged people has caused the Americans to adapt to
their needs.
While knowing your first language may be comfortable, learning a new language can be
hard and frustrating. It can be extremely difficult especially if there are not enough resources at
hand. “But there aren’t enough places that teach the language” (Sharpe). Learning a new
language is considered a necessity if you want to be understood. Sao Yee Cha, a woman who
moved to Portland, Oregon with her family after her people were targeted after The Vietnam
War, had never even attended school before. “Then she had to sit in a classroom studying
English. Sao Yee had never been to school” (Starke 774). If you have never been to school, then
you would not quite know how to apply yourself in a way that you could learn. Although
Marjorie Agosín had attended school before, “the new and learned English” gave her new
difficulties such as being ridiculed for having such a thick accent (746). She continued to write in
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her native language so that she would have a general sense of feeling like she belonged.
Overall, learning a new language is difficult.
The most important challenge of all for immigrants is trying to preserve their culture
while trying to adapt to a new culture. After moving to America in 1978, Sao Yee Cha had
already faced the difficulty of learning a new language. Now, she had to face the difficulty of
preserving her traditional Hmong culture and trying to pass this culture on to her family. She
attempted to teach her children, their spouses, and their children the old Hmong ways. “The
tiny woman who had borne so much now had to bear the burden of enforcing the old ways”
(Starke). Cha was the only one in her family that could really teach the old traditional ways to
her family. She would literally cry because her daughter in-laws had too many “Americanized”
ways instilled in them. “When they resisted, and told her of the new ways, she cried” (Starke). It
hurt her to know that her culture in a sense was dying down because of her new home. The
smallest things, such as shopping, have immigrants trying to preserve their culture. Most
immigrants are used to open outdoor markets where the meat is cut to order and still have
blood dripping in the package (Cao 756). Firoozeh Dumas ran into the problem of people not
knowing her name. She changed her name to a more Americanized one. “I finally chose the
name Julie…..” (753). Doing this, it helped her to “fit in” more. All the while, however, she did
not change her culture one bit.
Facing new challenges comes with new difficulties. If you are not understood then you
have to learn a new language. When you have to learn a new language, you find it difficult to
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preserve your culture. While trying to preserve your culture, you realize that the new culture
that you are trying to adapt to is not so bad after all.
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Works Cited
Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. everything's an argument with
readings. 5th ed. 1. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's , 2010. 719-776.
Agosín, Marorie, comp. Always Living in Spanish. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin's, 2010.
745-747.
Cao, Lan, comp. The Gift of Language. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2010. 756-761.
Cisneros, Sandra, comp. From "Bien Pretty". 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2010. 743-747.
Dumas, Firoozeh, comp. The "F Word". 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2010. 751-754.
Sharpe, Rochelle, comp. English Loses Ground. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2010. 721722.
Starke, Amy Martinez, comp. Hmong Elder Didn't Forget the Old Ways. 5th ed. Boston:
Bedford/ St Martin, 2010. 773-775.
Tan, Amy, comp. Mother Tongue. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2010. 763-768.
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Outline Format
Every day, Americans of all races encounter the problem of walking into a store and
hearing people of other ethnicities speaking other languages. It is frustrating to have to interact
with other people and not be able to communicate fully with them because of a language
barrier. Many immigrants have this issue. Every day, they endure many obstacles such as not
being understood, having to learn a new language, and preserving their cultures while trying to
fit in.
I. The challenge of not being understood.
A. Mother Tongue
B. The “F” Word
C. English Loses Ground
II. Immigrants have to learn a new language.
A. English Loses Ground
B. Hmong Elder Didn’t Forget the Old Ways
C. Always Living in Spanish
III. Immigrants try to preserve their culture while trying to fit in.
A. Hmong Elder Didn’t Forget the Old Ways
B. The Gift of Language
C. The “F” Word
Facing new challenges comes with new difficulties. If you are not understood then you have to
learn a new language. When you have to learn a new language, you find it difficult to preserve
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your culture. While trying to preserve your culture, you realize that the new culture that you
are trying to adapt to is not so bad after all.