Assimilation is the concept of
homogenizing a minority group or culture with the dominant culture. An Immigrant is supposed to, over
time, become like those in the society they move to. This could also extend to
those who are born into a society and are pressured to stay within the perimeters
of the culture that is most rewarded in that society. Assimilation can be debated
as a something unifying and natural, or as something culturally genocidal and
forced—a means to erase differences and multiculturalism. These arguments can
be seen within the use of language as a means of assimilating.
On one hand, language can be
unifying—a means for communication and understanding. Language is what connects
us to each other—verbal or nonverbal. People who live millions of miles apart can
still connect with each other through a shared language. However, a dominant
language can be used to weed out minority languages as a means of
acculturation. Language and how someone speaks that language is highly tied to
someone’s culture and background. In the 19th and 20th
centuries, the Canadian government forcibly assimilated the indigenous people that
lived in the country. Alongside measures to stop traditional marriage practices
and spiritual ceremonies, the government also enacted an extensive residential
school system to target indigenous children. They were abused, forced into arranged
marriages after graduation, and prohibited from speaking their native language.
Once a language is targeted and erased, the minority culture can no longer
communicate with each other the way they used to and thus cannot relate to
their past culture the way they used to.
Today in the United States, there
aren’t horror stories of such proportions—hopefully—anymore, but there is an
effort and pressure for efficacy in speaking the dominant language—English.
This pressure is not directed or dictated formally, but as a means of advancement
and “fitting in.” Think of it like joining a new friend group and having to
learn what type of humor they have or how they all talk to each other—except on
a more communal or national scale. The U.S. doesn’t have an official language,
but the dominant language is English and without learning and proficiently speaking
or writing can keep many from advancing within the society—either socially,
economically, or academically. In Barbara Mellix’s From Outside, In, she spoke about her experience of growing up in a
Southern black community and how her family and neighbors spoke “black English”,
but when moving out of this community or encountering white Americans—even if
they spoke similar to her—steered her away from the vernacular she grew up
speaking. She moved to Pittsburgh and had to conform to how that community spoke
because she felt she would have been ostracized or possibly punished for her “improper
English.” She also makes a points within her piece about how “proper English”
is pushed in education.
In America’s education system, the
main language that is being taught in classrooms is English—“proper English.” There
are Language Immersion programs where children can learn another language aside
from English, but the learning revolves around English. Usually math is the
secondary language while English is reading and writing. Because of this tie to
English and education, there is a subconscious link to believing more proficiency
in English, knowing large words and understanding grammatical rules, means someone
is more intelligent and educated. Of course, knowing many of languages, being bilingual,
could also provide a sense of intelligence and education, but these extra
languages are not “useful” in the sense of a dominant culture.
Thinking about education and language led to thinking about the language that dominates Academia and many academic papers. Can language assimilation happen within this sphere as well? Can this concept be applied to this community? Academia is not a dominant culture, but say someone is trying to write a research paper and have it published in a prestigious journal. This person has never written a research paper before on such a level. What would they have to change about their language to be accepted into this culture? Would even a paper written in a language similar to or in “black English” be accepted or taken as seriously as a paper that was bloated with three syllable vocabulary and convoluted grammatical techniques—even if one was more understandable than the more traditional and accepted language? Would you have taken this essay seriously if I wrote in “improper English?”
E367: Writing and Diversity 