“It Doesn’t Matter if You are Black or White”

“Black on White”(The Story of English).

Okay, let’s see. So far we have seen how Britain and Scotland influenced American language. As we continue watching The Story of English we can see that even African Americans who didn’t even have rights until very recently greatly affected English language. “White American language and culture owed much to the blacks”(The Story of English).

African Americans did not only express themselves by talking. They also communicated themselves through the art, they sang, played music, and danced. In the Great Rivers of Africa they used their instruments, they used sound to communicate.

Blacks had their own “grammar, syntax and pronunciation”(The Story of English). Whites didn’t think of it as proper so they didn’t adopt it, until it was recently studied that it was only a “separate variety of English”(The Story of English). Today, still in some places you can continue to hear the roots of Black English.

You would never think that Slave trade would be connected to the spread of the English language. It has everything to do with it. 300 years ago, one of the most horrible events of history, the worst trafficking of human lives “brought English to human tribes of West Africa”(The Story of English).

For Black English it’s like the evolution of Darwin really, but very different from that, so no. It was the Europeans that came to Africa and spoke with African middlemen, then to human cargos, who then transformed that English into “Pidgin”(The Story of English). Which was a more simpler English to communicate easier, a word which came from China.

Art influenced greatly the language. It helped for the development and growth of the English language. Music that we listen to today has been influenced from Black English and African American musicians,  “normally people in the north show great influence of Irish Jewish people in their talk, the other great influence would be of successful southern musicians”(The Story of English).  

Awrite an' Goodnecht Scootlund

In thes episode we can se hoo Anglo Saxon tribes fa invaded Englain did nae jist settle thaur, but also did in Scootlund. reit efter th' Norman conquest, “english refuges fled north an' established themselves alang th' lowlands”(The Story ay English). 

Thes establishment oan th' northeest lowlands, coods ay become a separate leid frae sassenach. The sassenach spoken in Scootlund was pure different frae th' sassenach spoken in Englain. Since these tois coontries waur in constant battle against each other they weren’t able tae connect th' languages an' they waur pure apart frae each other. Th' words they used waur different loch “bray fur benk, ur we fur wee, ur bunny fur pretty”(The Story ay English). 

These tois, waur loch comparin' “Swedish frae Danish”(The Story ay English). fur th' most part, thes Scotish dialect has almost banished, except in th' northeest ay Scootlund 'at is wre ye can still haur th' “scotish tongue” (The Story ay English). English started spreadin' ower seas when it first cam tae America, reit noo, a lot ay th' United States population hae “scotish ancestry”(The Story ay English). 
It wisnae only britain 'at maunt tae lae a mark oan american sassenach, but sae did scotish.

The Mother of All Infiltrations

“It’s hard to imagine that the language of this savage people would one day become the most widely spoken of the world” (The Story of English).

English language was greatly influenced by all the invasions that occurred. One of the most important the Anglo-Saxon and how that impacted Norman language.

Its hard to imagine that almost everything of the English language came from the outside, let’s take Sanskrit for example, in India. Their word “devene” is just like our “divine”(The Story of English). Sanskrit, which was also another great contributor for English. Parts of the world which you would never imagine have helped the spread of English. 

It is strange to learn that our language came from the Anglo-Saxon, which were very “agriculture people and mostly illiterate”(The Story of English). But they did have one thing, and that was “ear of music of the spoken word, and loved to recite poetry” (The Story of English).

The language has “incredible richness and power” (The Story of English). There was a lot of diversity in the language and this was what triggered the spread. People were more interested. Language comes from a lot of different cultures and it became one. 

Coming from a country who was greatly invaded and indians were destroyed and stolen from it's hard to see that something good would come out of those situations. But I have realized that it's those types of historical situations that help cultures grow. The anglo-saxon invasion brought if not the best of all resources: English language. Now that is something to be thankful for. 

Only in the second episode and already heard of so many cultures that have connections to 
English, can't wait to continue hearing about all the great contributions that cultures from the outside gave to English. 

Source MLA: 

The Story of English. Dir. Edward Armstrong. YouTube. YouTube, 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FtSUPAM-uA>.

Fresh From The Air

You never really wonder where language came from. You know that it has evolved and that there is slang, because you parents of course didn’t speak the same way that you do now a day.

There is a history to everything. That is why I love history so much. We can learn about things that happened a very long time ago.

In this case, we are talking about the history of language.

It was interesting to see how it starts from how language is today, the video explains how language is today and then continues with the origins of the language. It explains how language is interpreted and how people use language with their surroundings.

“English is the universal language for traffic control” (The Story of English). Not any other language, in over 150 countries English is used in the air.

English is a must. traveling to any continent even every contingent the language that is most useful for you to know is English, most of the sighs for everyday life in every country are written in its official language and in English. Most of the literature, books, newspapers, and magazines, are at least translated into English. Most of the international organizations and multinational companies use English as a way of communication. "The language of Business." Most of the people who are bilingual choose English as their second language, because it is essential for communication. Everyday people learn more and are more pressured to learn English in order to be understood and to make a part in society.

People look at you different if you speak proper or improper. If you are not correct in the way you speak or vulgar, people won’t respect you.

Language even works for movements it is used also for “chopping sexism out of language”(The Story of English). It could even turn words like “history into herstery”(The Story of English). 

Source: MLA 

The Story of English. Dir. Edward Armstrong. YouTube. YouTube, 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FtSUPAM-uA>.

Loud Words

Urban Art. 

Here is the link to our Documentary. 

Camila Pastrana
Manuela Rodriguez 
Beatriz Preciado 

Graffitis Done By: Juan David Sanchez 

Music: Asomate- Violadores del verso 
Fever- Death Grips

He Is a Professional Hooligan

Since we are little they try to teach us how bad alcohol is for the brain, and for your body. Nothing good comes out of being drunk, yet in Among the Thugs Mick is always “drunk with considerable speed”(26). Mick always drank “lager” he “continued to buy rounds, and the wad never seemed to diminish”(27).

I don’t know why he would want to be involved in that world. He is an American and he knows barely anything about football or the hooligans. “I wanted to meet a football thug, but to my untrained eye everyone around me looked like one”(19). Maybe it’s because I have never been involved with football that I don’t understand people’s passion. I don’t understand how someone would be willing to follow a group of hooligans, especially if it’s illegal.

But everyone does have passions. Of course if it were to be my favorite band I would do everything to go see them.

People dedicate their life’s to this sport, and they spend a lot of money everyday in contribution. He thought that Sammy was a “professional hooligan”(29). When he in fact was a “professional thief”(29).

When they get to England they start singing with so much pride: “Glory, glory, Man United”(43). I understand, because I have traveled outside my country that when you are elsewhere in the world the passion for your country heightens because you can feel the passion, and you feel the need to spread the love you have for your country. This is what the Hooligans are doing when they get to Turin.

I am curios to see what will happen next, because after a very hectic trip there is going to be something that will explode! Can't wait!

Don Juan the Trickster

High School Play: Don Juan 

Since October, Eugenia has been talking about the play non-stop. I went very eager to the play Don Juan because I really wanted to know what it was going to be about. I thought it was going to be some boring High School play, just like the ones I went to when I was in Paris. All serious. No laughing etc. This was nothing like it.

I went with my close friend Andressa, and we didn’t stop laughing, I don’t know if it was that we knew all the actors or just a mix of the situation.

Don Juan was full of rhetoric, the main character himself, was a genius with the ladies!

He definitely mastered the art of the greatest player! He made all of them fall in love with his charm. He was able to charm the ladies, and the audience.

I laughed hysterically in two parts of the play:

One, when the woman in the beach with the baby started shouting at Don Juan’s servant. And then, the baby was placed in a bucket and she was even more furious. She was able to show the audience he frustration and my reaction was to laugh.

The second time, of course, Eugenia. Don Juan’s mother, which clearly had a very strong character (Ethos) she was very religious. When she found out about everything that her son was doing she just flipped. She started shouting and there was nothing that could stop her. There we could see how her character reflected on the actions of his son, and how she was able to transmit that energy of anger/frustration to us.

Side note to self:

I attended the same performance as many of the teachers, including Mr. Viscardi who took pictures during the whole play and he was also laughing constantly. He worked in Mexico before, so to him it was also very familiar as it was to us, since we share a lot of different aspects from culture. Maybe not the accent, but the way of speaking and expressing ourselves.