Native Language And American Culture - 989 Words

I was born and raised in America, my native language is English, I love rock music and American food; people often think I am white because of the way I look and act. However, my ethnicity is Hispanic American. My parents were born and raised in El Salvador, I have only been there once when I was younger and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was hit with a bit of culture shock because there were things I was not used to. As a kid, my Spanish was not that great so being in a country where everyone speaks perfect Spanish and little to no English was difficult. If we wanted to ride the bus it would not come to a full stop instead you would have to hop on while someone helped you up. People often walked around with huge guns for protection and every restaurant, even the fast food places, had a doorman with a gun. I was only there for two weeks and the first few days I showed a bit of ethnocentrism because I was not used to those kind of things. In America the majority speak English, guns are usually illegal, and busses usually stop for you to get on so experiencing all these new things all at once was a bit overwhelming. But, after getting used to it I expressed cultural relativism and accepted it and even thought it was cool. In El Salvador being American makes you the minority group, but in America it is the opposite. Some Americans create these stereotypes about Hispanics saying that we are all lazy, are criminals, or only work blue-collar jobs. I have had peopleShow MoreRelatedLanguage : A Key Element Essay1584 Words   |  7 PagesLanguage: a key element to any society. Inside of a language there is a whole network of stories, living tales that pass through generations of families, a rich history that cannot be destroyed, only forgotten. The language, the structure of a society, is dissipating into the past. Communication, the glue which holds a society together, is being lost to the diminishing numbers of Native Americans due to the influence of coloniz ation and government policies. Endangerment of languages exist acrossRead MoreMahatma Ghandi, An Indian Philosopher1424 Words   |  6 Pagessource provided displays such a stance, in regards to cultural distortion, as a result of globalization. Mahatma Ghandi, an Indian philosopher, states, â€Å"I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.† Acculturation is looked upon favourably by the speaker; he attempts to communicate how cultural exchange is a wonderful opportunity, whereRead MoreNative American Paper1353 Words   |  6 PagesNative American Storytelling Paper Rashmi Price ENG/301 August 26, 2013 Dr. Gregory Beatty Native American Storytelling Paper Native American literature is considered by many as the traditional written and oral literature of Native cultures around the world. Many of these literatures are transmitted over periods of time by storytellers. This particular literature has many features that includes a mixture of oral tradition techniques along with tribal mythology. The majorityRead MoreNative American And The American Of Native Americans1451 Words   |  6 PagesThe Native American population has suffered many tragedies at the hands of the United States government, from their first interactions through the mid-twentieth century. Government policies concerning American Indians worked in conjunction with the prejudices harbored by the majority of the white population in the United States to suppress Native American liberties and strip them of their cultural identity. These policies gave little to no regard for Native American customs, personal expression,Read MoreNative American Influences on Modern Americ an Culture727 Words   |  3 PagesWhen the first Europeans came to the North American continent. they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects. must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact. there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted some of the Europeans ways. and the EuropeansRead MoreNative American Tribe As The Kickapoo1726 Words   |  7 PagesLocation The Native American tribe known as the Kickapoo would have been more important to Illinois’ history if they would have stayed longer. The Kickapoo had originally lived in Illinois. They were later moved away from the states that they lived in which were Illinois and Indiana. They moved to Missouri after leaving their homelands (â€Å"Indians†). Some of the other Kickapoo chose to move southward, and the reason they moved is because they wanted to get away from the americans and explorersRead MoreCultural Readjustment In The Native American Culture1132 Words   |  5 Pagessettings gave an opportunity to the Europeans to visit the primitive cultures of the world. As time progress the settling of the Europeans in different areas provided an accumulated firsthand knowledge which defined the means for existence for human beings. By looking around us we can observe the later stages on cultures that are as a result of the process that was initiated at the late age of co lonization and exploration. The culture of the people has spontaneously been affected by this occurring changesRead MoreNative American Tribe As The Kickapoo1726 Words   |  7 PagesLocation The Native American tribe known as the Kickapoo would have been more important to Illinois’ history if they would have stayed longer. The Kickapoo had originally lived in Illinois. They were later moved away from the states that they lived in which were Illinois and Indiana. They moved to Missouri after leaving their homelands (â€Å"Indians†). Some of the other Kickapoo chose to move southward, and the reason they moved is because they wanted to get away from the americans and explorersRead MoreHow Native Language Influences Perception Of The World880 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent cultures have emerged all throughout the world. With these cultures has come the development of thousands of different languages, each encompassing unique characteristics, stories, ideals, and beliefs embodied by these cultures. As the world continues to be in constant change and growth, globalization has caused many of these languages to become extinct. Linguistic anthropologists a re working hard to prevent this from happening any further and are also attempting to revive lost native languagesRead MoreIndian Gaming Regulatory Act Of 19881337 Words   |  6 Pagessignificant part of tribal economic development. Gaming has brought about economic self-determination for Native Americans for the first time in over two hundred years (Neath, 1995). Over two hundred of the United States’ 544 federally recognized tribes have established gaming on tribal lands (Neath, 1995). However, along with the economic profits, Indian gaming has brought many Native Americans back to reservations after many years of living off-reservation. The IGRA, or Indian Gaming Regulatory