Melissa Ramkissoon Language Statement

After reading some thoughts on language and education, I had to take a moment to reflect

upon what my values were concerning the written language versus the spoken language. It is not

something one thinks about on a daily basis but certainly something that is worth the time. After

the reading, I felt strongly about some of the topics presented. Personally, I believe there should

always be some exceptions when it comes to writing. No one is perfect when it comes to such

things as grammar, however, once a level of effort is presented in a piece of writing then it

should be deemed sufficient.

In the first excerpt presented in the reading, it outraged me that this Spanish speaking

student was being yelled at for speaking his/ her native language. Spanish was most likely this

student’s first language and it shouldn’t be something that is taken away from them. Living in

America means you have to have some level of understanding when it comes to English, but we

are a diverse country and speaking different languages should never be stripped from someone.

In the case where English is a student’s second language, many exceptions can be made when it

comes to writing a paper or speaking English. For example, I have taken Spanish courses all

throughout my high school career and have earned a 4 on the AP Spanish Language and Culture

Exam. However, if you were to ask me to write a paper in Spanish with minimal errors I would

tell you I couldn’t do it. I am not native to the Spanish Language, therefore, I will not be able to

write such a perfect paper. This same situation can be applied to those with English as their

second language. They may struggle with writing and speaking since it is not native to them.

I strongly agree with the third excerpt presented as it encourages us to keep writing in the

style we love. Writing can be considered a freedom of expression and many should be able to

write freely. The English language does not come with a set of rules on how it should be spoken,
therefore, it shouldn’t come with a set of rules on how to be written as well. Whenever we speak,

we each have our own personal touch to how we want to express our thoughts in English. We do

this in a appropriate manner and in such a way where others can understand us. However, no one

has ever stopped us mid-sentence to tell us, you forget to pause because there should be a comma

there. Speaking and writing should work interchangeably as for the majority of the time, the way

we speak is the way we write. An example of this is texting. When we text, we type things in

such a manner to indicate the way we would actually say them. In this case, it adds our sense of

individuality to the message.

The goals of a composition class should be to understand and appreciate literature and

writing with your classmates. When written assignments are required, they should present a level

of effort and show at least some aspect of proper grammar and sentence making. However, to the

extent were every single detail of the paper is perfect can be quite difficult. Many of us come

from different backgrounds and learned English writing in different ways. For example, the way

my first grade teacher thought English may be different than the way my friend’s teacher thought

it in a different state. Therefore, having very high expectations when it comes to writing can be

quite unreachable when we live in such a diverse society. Many of us understand what it means

to have a great paper and we apply that understanding to every piece of writing we turn in.

Overall, everyone puts their best foot forward when it comes to writing. We may have trouble

wording certain phrases so others can understand, however, the final result should deserve the

greatest praise.