Language Shapes Perceptions
Gabriel
Teddy Chocos
English 101
2.27.2013
Language is the ability for human beings, which plays an important role in
people’s lives for surviving. It is a dissemination medium, which people can use it for
exchanging and expressing ideas and information. Moreover, language is vital for
personal growth because it is connected with people’s cognitions. Every growth is base
on the self-understanding and self-development. At the same time, people have given
language different meanings so that it can be used in various ways. Speaking, reading and
writing are some of the forms of language. Those forms are like the embodiments of
language, which will affect one’s perception about the individual, the society and the
globe directly.
Language is the most direct and convenient way to communicate with others. It
reflects one’s thought directly, which affects how people see others and how they see
themselves. Amy Tan, the second generations of Chinese immigrant in her paper “My
Mother’s English” states that her mother has been neglected all the time under the
American standard because of her broken English. Those people consider that the mother
is both limited in English and as a person. However, Tan argues that neither the language
nor her mother is limited; but because those people’s thoughts are limited which causes
them to see everything in a limited point of view. She writes, “But they seem just as bad,
as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions of the Limited English Speaker.”
(Tan 49). Tan is correct. Those people don’t see either the physical limitations of an aged
person to understand a totally new language or the language is regional. Her mother may
be terrible at English but she is good at her native language. In most people’s eyes, Tan’s
mother’s English is valueless. They can’t see that the speaking can be improved. They
have denied the mother’s capability of learning. For Tan’s mother herself, she does
realize that she has the obstacle of speaking English well but she doesn’t surrender.
Instead, she tries to fulfill herself by reading Forbes Report, listens to Wall Street Week.
Yet she is still weak in English, she is not limited, she is getting better and better. In
Tan’s view, her mother’s broken English is priceless to Tan. Tan perceives that her
perfect English is shaped and influenced by her mother’s English. The perception of
others towards her mother urges her to move on in case of getting the same treatment
from the American standard. Her mother’s persistence in learning English also inspires
her on her way to be a perfect English speaker. She sees that language is developing, so is
to the personal growth. The language causes the American’s perception toward Tan’s
mother that the mother is limited, which affects Tan and her mother’s cognition that they
can be developing.
Since language can be promoted gradually by learning; it will be shaped by one’s
knowledge. It also can reshape the knowledge. Sherman Alexie is a poet and he shows
how he interpret the word “paragraph” by his own understanding which extends his
thinking connected with the society in his article “the joys of reading & writing:
superman & me”. When Alexie is reading, he is reading about the language because
words are one of the forms of language. Alexie doesn’t know the definition of paragraph
but he tries to understand it as a metaphor of fence. In his opinion, a paragraph is like a
fence which can hold words. Words construct a paragraph, form the language and shape
his view of world. He explains that: “This knowledge delighted me. I began to think of
everything in terms of paragraphs.” (Alexie 1) Alexie is right. Everything, even if the
society is like a “paragraph”, everything is related and connected to each other. Like the
paragraph is consisted of the words; the society is made up of people. It means nothing
without human beings. Everyone works together to contribute to this huge “paragraph”.
People are responsible for the construction of the society. They aspire to make it more
fascinating. At the same time, people are also restricted by the rules of the society. It is
like every paragraph has its own frame, everyone in this “paragraph” should follow the
regulations. Language broadens Alexie’s horizon by transferring itself to the form of
words. He is not simply seeking for the definitions of the words instead he tries to
understand the meaning. That promotes him to have a better understanding of the people,
the community and the society. The Language teaches him to avoid himself being selfcentered. The society is not all about someone. How can people improve themselves if
they don’t see the function of society? How can they develop the society if they only see
everything is about themselves. When people have a better comprehension of the society,
they are pushing themselves to a new growth. Alexie’s knowledge determines his
thinking, which reshapes his knowledge and gives him a better perception of the society.
As language is developing all the time, it will promote people’s perception to a
more advancer place. Pat Mora, a professor who comes up with a social issue that
Spanish people is being discriminated by the American society in her paper “Why I Am a
Writer”. The racist scatters the partial news about Spanish through the TV which brings
negative effects to Spanish people. Mora references that, “Some are proud of their culture
roots. But television commercials are busy trying to convince us that our cars, clothes,
and even our families aren’t good enough” (Mora37). As a resident of United States but
who grows up in the Hispanic community, Mora criticizes this kind of racism. Mora
fights with these discriminations by writing a paper to argue the prejudice. She feels
angry about this disrespectful behavior and she worries about that the America will be
affected by those racisms’ irrational conduct. Since the American TV commercial keeps
attacking other countries verbally, other people may think that the Americans are
barbarous. They will misunderstand that America is a country of ethnocentrism. What’s
more, the racism will stop the America society from making progress. The development
of the civilization is relying on the understanding but not the excluding of each other.
The racism can evolve to be an international issue. It is like the American society
is insulting the Spanish. That breaks the friendship between these two counties. Moreover,
it may develop to a global issue. Since every country has a common goal that to provide a
peaceful environment for people, they would not allow anyone to break down the peace.
Unfortunately, racism is one of the phenomenon that may do harm to the peace. As a part
of the society, people are also responsible to against it, too. Mora acknowledges that so
she tries to change it. Her feelings of anger, worry are transforming into the language,
which turns out to be her writing. Mora is brave. Since no one stands up for Hispanic,
and she has no idea how many “enemies” she is confronting but she is still willing to
struggle with the “dark power”. However, she is not alone. She gets Spanish people’s
support. Maybe the TV commercial is more influential than an essay; the latter is more
powerful because it is the voice of justice. This is the sublimation of perception because
she is not only thinking but also acting. She attempts to make a contribution to the society
and the global within her ability to stop the prejudice. This is an advancer perception,
because Mora is not just seeking for her own growth, instead she is trying to appeal
others to fight for the racism.
The development of the perception can be roughly divided into three stages,
which comes with the each developing of the language. The initial is for individual’s
perception which is like Amy Tan’s family, they learn how to perceive themselves
positively in spite of what other people see them from the “Englsih”. As long as the
perceptions which they have are not limited, as a person, they will never be limited.
When people have grown to a certain degree, their perceptions will move to another stage
which is linked with the society. The language helps them to be more open-minded. The
language teaches Alexie the society is not about one person. It is a big family which is
made up of people. Everyone should try to understand each other because the
development of the society depends on the co-working among people. After suffering the
second stage, people have made a qualitative change about their perceptions. They start
to quest for influencing others besides looking for more developing of thinking. As Mora
connects her thoughts to the globe, she realizes that she should do something to
contribute the society. To awaken others’ awareness of all the factors that may prevent
the society from making progress. This is an advanced stage because it combines
perception with action.
Learning language is not only the external requirement for people to adapt to the
environment; but also it is the internal demand for people to seek for their growth. With
the process of learning and developing language, people are also getting improvement for
themselves. The developed language shapes their perceptions and helps them to
understand themselves, the society and the globe better. Eventually, with the better
understanding, people can devote themselves into constructing the “paragraph”; and this
is the best meaning of growth.
Work Cited
Alexie, Sherman. “Superman & Me”, Gwendolyn alley aka art predator, June 22, 2010.
[http://whisperdownthewritealley.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/sherman-alexies-the-joysof-reading-writing-superman-me/.]
Mora, Pat. “Why I am a Writer”. Visions Across The Americas, Wadsworth Cengage
Learning, 2010, Boston MA.
Tan, Amy. “My Mother’s English”, Visions Across The Americas, Wadsworth Cengage
Learning, 2010, Boston MA.