Aria by Richard Rodriguez Quotations
"The odd truth is that my first grade classmates could have become bilingual, in the conventional sense of that word, more easily than I. Had they been taught (as upper-middle-class children are often taught early) a second language like Spanish or French" (Page 34).
In using this statement by Richard Rodriguez it shows his thoughts on having to learn a public language as a child going to school. He is put in a position where he has to learn a second language because that's the language everyone else speaks. His point is that as a young child who didn't come from a higher middle-class family he didn't already know a second language, but a lot of his peers were already taught a second language. Even still he is forced to learn a public language because his peers only use English as a public language.
"I needed a full year of special attention. I also needed my teachers to keep my attention from straying in class by calling out, Rich-heard- their English voices slowly prying loose my ties to my other name, its three notes, Ri-car-do" (Page 35).
I don't understand why Ricardo had to have his name turned into the English version of itself. I understand that he is learning English and becoming apart of the American world, but everything doesn't have to be taken from the child in order to learn English. The more things that are changed, such as speaking English at home with his parents, to having his name changed I can see how the adjustment could be difficult for children. To see that even their names change I'm surprised that Richard didn't need longer than a year for his special attention in his school setting.
"But my father was not shy, I realized, when I'd watch him speaking Spanish with relatives. Using Spanish, he was quickly effusive. Especially talking with other men, his voice would spark, flicker, flare alive with sounds" (Pages 37-38).
This quote shows that although Richard's father acted like he was happy speaking English at home to help his children learn English, he missed speaking Spanish just as much as his son missed hearing it in his life. When his father speaks using Spanish he connects back to his roots of growing up in a world where only Spanish was spoken, but now that his children are supposed to know English because it't the public language he feels its best to change his ways and speak English in his household as well. He does this because he thinks it's the best thing for his children's education and to be able to succeed. I looked for information about raising bilingual children, but mostly what I found was starting children as toddlers to speak multiple languages. It was still interesting to see what some parents might be worried about when raising bilingual children.
In using this statement by Richard Rodriguez it shows his thoughts on having to learn a public language as a child going to school. He is put in a position where he has to learn a second language because that's the language everyone else speaks. His point is that as a young child who didn't come from a higher middle-class family he didn't already know a second language, but a lot of his peers were already taught a second language. Even still he is forced to learn a public language because his peers only use English as a public language.
"I needed a full year of special attention. I also needed my teachers to keep my attention from straying in class by calling out, Rich-heard- their English voices slowly prying loose my ties to my other name, its three notes, Ri-car-do" (Page 35).
I don't understand why Ricardo had to have his name turned into the English version of itself. I understand that he is learning English and becoming apart of the American world, but everything doesn't have to be taken from the child in order to learn English. The more things that are changed, such as speaking English at home with his parents, to having his name changed I can see how the adjustment could be difficult for children. To see that even their names change I'm surprised that Richard didn't need longer than a year for his special attention in his school setting.
"But my father was not shy, I realized, when I'd watch him speaking Spanish with relatives. Using Spanish, he was quickly effusive. Especially talking with other men, his voice would spark, flicker, flare alive with sounds" (Pages 37-38).
This quote shows that although Richard's father acted like he was happy speaking English at home to help his children learn English, he missed speaking Spanish just as much as his son missed hearing it in his life. When his father speaks using Spanish he connects back to his roots of growing up in a world where only Spanish was spoken, but now that his children are supposed to know English because it't the public language he feels its best to change his ways and speak English in his household as well. He does this because he thinks it's the best thing for his children's education and to be able to succeed. I looked for information about raising bilingual children, but mostly what I found was starting children as toddlers to speak multiple languages. It was still interesting to see what some parents might be worried about when raising bilingual children.
for your second quote you took the words right out of my mouth, I feel very strongly about that quote from the text. I felt as if they where taking away what made him himself.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! As I was reading this piece, these quotes also stuck out to me. In your second quote, it is crazy how he was completely stripped of his actual name and he just went along with it because the rules and codes of power told him he had to, I cannot even imagine that.
ReplyDeleteGreat quotes! Love the first one and how something that may seem so small clearly had an impact on the student and was necessary and important to him regarding his identity.
ReplyDelete