ENTERING THE CONVERSATION

1. Are the conflicts and changes explored in “Children as Enemies” by Ha Jin (p. 763) and “No Speak English” by Sandra Cisneros (p. 761) more similar or different? What role does language play in these conflicts? To what extent are the differences primarily generational?

2. What similarities do you see between the power Frederick Douglass (p. 755) believes comes with reading and writing English, and the power Firoozeh Dumas (p. 777) recognizes that language has over her parents?

3. In what ways does “Losing a Language” by W. S. Merwin (p. 784) support or challenge Kory Stamper’s position in “Slang for the Ages” (p. 773)?

4. What would “Dis Poem” (p. 770) have to say about the conflicts in “Hot Dogs and Wild Geese” (p. 777)?

5. Are the ideas reflected in “English” by Marjorie Agosín (p. 780) more similar to those in “Children as Enemies” (p. 763) or “No Speak English” (p. 761)?

1. What sort of personal, political, and social power is attached to language use and mastery? Write an argument expressing your perspective, informed by at least two of the sources in this Conversation.

2. A number of the texts in this chapter focus on the bond between language and identity, particularly when immigration requires adoption of a non-native language. What coping mechanisms do different characters and, in the case of poetry, speakers employ to retain the identity attached to their native language? In your response, consider the struggle of the grandparents in “Children as Enemies,” Mamacita in “No Speak English,” and another character or speaker in at least one other text. What strategies seem to be most successful and why?

3. Which do you think will “win”—the constantly shifting world of slang that not only crosses cultures but often shapes new ones, or the determined forces of so-called standard English that argue for strict rules of language in the public and professional realm of business and politics? As you explain your view, include ideas from Kory Stamper’s essay and at least one other text in this Conversation.

4. How does writing in a nonstandard variety of English contribute to the effectiveness of a literary text (poem, short story, or memoir)? Consider at least two of the works you have read in this Conversation and another you have read on your own or in class.

5. Should fluency in the reading and speaking of at least one language other than English be a high school graduation requirement for all students in the United States? Before you develop your viewpoint, you might conduct research into bilingual requirements in other countries. Use that research along with at least two of the texts in this Conversation in your argument.

6. Watch the documentary Language Matters, a 2015 film that addresses the questions, “What do we lose when a language dies? What does it take to save a language?” Discuss how effective you believe the film is in raising awareness for the potential extinction of indigenous languages.

7. Write a personal narrative that demonstrates your thoughts on one of the following quotations. Weave in at least one of the texts you’ve read in this Conversation as part of your response.

   1. “Language is a weapon, and we use it.” –Chinua Achebe

   2. “Viewed freely, the English language is the accretion and growth of every dialect, race, and range of time, and is both the free and compacted composition of all.” –Walt Whitman

   3. “To have a second language is to have a second soul.” –Charlemagne

   4. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” –Nelson Mandela