Though I can only really speak English, I’m trilingual. How is that? Well, I speak English in three different ways. With my friends, I’m able to be myself. I can speak MY English how I wish to. I typically am bold in my words and have confidence in my voice, but slang is also very common as I’m with my friends. Sometimes, my mom is shocked with how I speak with my friends, but with them I am the most relaxed. At home, on the other hand, I must speak with the upmost respect as well as a little bit of formality. I am able to joke with my family, but often times find myself biting my tongue. My family is very casual, but I have to make sure everything I say oozes respect, simply out of the fear of being misinterpreted and getting in trouble. That may seem like a lot of pressure, but speaking at church is by far the hardest and also where I am least likely to be myself. Out of fear of judgement, I speak as if I’m writing an award winning essay at church. I make sure to have proper grammar as well as keeping my language nothing but respectful. Here, I feel as though I must speak lightly and “like a lady”.
Though I speak English in three different ways, I’m still myself. In these three different settings, I do play a character to please those around me with my speech. Even though I’m playing a part, all of these characters are a part of who I am. I have created different personalities for home as well as church due to the pressure I receive to be and act a certain way. Though I am mostly myself with my friends, I do find comfort in playing a part at church and home because I know I’m acting how I am expected to.
(The picture attached is of my friends and I drinking SPARKLING GRAPE JUICE, so no worries!!)
I can definitely relate to having a much more free and casual voice around friends. Different situations call for different forms of English, but they're all a part of who we are. People's opinions of us also affect how we speak, and that fact is clearly apparent in your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYour blog theme has left me unable to breathe, unable to speak. Quite frankly, I am shooketh to my very core. I LOVE a good queen. Anyways, I think it’s good that, even within a relatively short blog post, you still manage to briefly explain why your “three ‘Englishes’” came to be. It’s always important to get to the root of the issue (It’s always society’s fault haha :)).
ReplyDeleteI can highly relate to your three Englishes which made reading your blog even more interesting and entertaining. Do you believe that in today's society, if we smoke to friends how we speak to our parents we would be frowned upon/viewed differently?
ReplyDelete