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Laena Zander

Dr. Stephanie Dowdle Maenhardt

ENG 1050 – Online

July 30, 2018

The Plight of Ethnicity: How We Can Help

In my first essay this semester, I introduced the United States of America as “a beautiful,

diverse country – often referred to as the ‘melting pot’ of cultures.” I love the United States, and

still believe in its beauty and diversity wholeheartedly. However, I’ve come to find out that a lot

of our common social issues stem from differences and diversity in ethnicity. In fact, different

ethnicities are some of the more likely groups to be targeted for hate crimes (Park). The various

ethnic cultures speak different languages, eat different foods, and interact differently in social

settings. This is both a difficult and unfortunate situation. And though many of our issues with

diversity stem from these ethnic and cultural differences, I believe that as we seek understanding

with open minds and soft hearts, we can coexist with other cultures in beautiful, thriving

relationships.

The national language of the United States is English. It is the only national language,

and the only one required to be taught in public schools. Even though we may be speaking the

same language all across the nation, different ethnicities will use different accents, grammar, and

word choice naturally within their cultures. When we do translate media into another language, it

doesn’t always convey the same overall meaning as it’s English counterpart. This often leads to

misunderstanding and mistreatment of the minority cultures.

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Mckinley-Paige Rennison, in reference to Gloria Anzaldúla’s How to Tame a Wild

Tongue, wrote “Accents are a part of their language and their nationality as well as their

ethnicity.” (Rennison, Week 3.) Accents are part of being ethnic, but they can also cause

confusion when trying to communicate with others who use different accents. For example, I’ve

worked under multiple Asian managers. And it was difficult at first to know what they wanted

me to do because I simply couldn’t understand them with their thick accent. Amy Tan saw the

other side of this issue with her mother. (Tan).

Honestly, the way Tan’s mother as well as my prior managers spoke wasn’t 100%

accurate or fluent. Their pronunciation of English words was imperfect and confusing, and it

really was “broken” English. It’s true, you can learn to understand people who speak with thick

accents of any kind, but it doesn’t make their fluency in that language any better. For those

workers, they may have legitimately not understood her mother’s English, making it difficult for

them to take her seriously and/or give her good service. Also, are these workers at fault if

someone’s accent is preventing them from being understood in these situations? While I agree

that accents are a part of being ethnic, I believe that encouraging people to speak the language

they’re learning as accurately as possible is a good thing. I can understand being frustrated by the

idea of being told you’re speaking incorrectly, even though you’re pretty darn sure you’re using

the same words. However, I believe in striving to speak another’s language with an accent as

close to the natives of that language as possible. I also believe that it’s respectful to the language

to try to pronounce it as perfectly as possible, which naturally leads to a minimally foreign, if not

native, accent.

Another issue of ethnicity is poor or discriminating translations for those who don’t speak

English. Amitava Kumar tells of a sign close the US-Mexican border. (Kumar). It implicitly tells
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Americans to be cautious of families on foot in the area (English) while it implicitly tells fleeing

Mexicans that what they were doing is prohibited (Spanish). This is an example of ethnic

discrimination through our language. We say one thing in English, and it’s respectful. But our

translation, of what should be the same message in Spanish, is disrespectful.

There are many things we can do to help the issue of ethnic discrimination through

language. First, we can try to be understanding. Learning another language is hard to do. If they

have thick accents, try to understand them. Second, encourage education. Support English as a

Second Language classes in your area. Or you can tactfully ask if they would like any help with

their English and tutor them yourself. Lastly, we can bring up issues in translations and protest

literary discrimination.

Another thing that’s different and difficult to swallow about other ethnicities is their food

(pun intended). I didn’t realize this at first, but food is almost as vital to our ethnic and cultural

identity as it is to our bodies. According to Jennifer Berg, director of graduate food studies at

New York University, food is especially important when you get separated from your mother

culture. “It’s the last vestige of culture that people shed… With food, it’s something you’re

engaging in hopefully three times a day, and so there are more opportunities to connect to

memory and family and place. It’s the hardest to give up.” (Choi). I think part of what makes

different ethnicities clash at the dinner table is how food from other cultures can be REALLY

different. In the Philippines for example, a common dish they eat is called “balut” which is a

baby bird embryo that is boiled in it’s shell and eaten. (My stomach churns just thinking about

it!) Though this may be a more extreme example, the different smells, tastes, and textures of

foreign foods can be viewed as a threat to our survival. We have to eat to live, and big changes to

the emotional and physical dependencies we have on food affect us on a more intimate level than
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simply changing our clothes or homes does. I know I will protect my favorite meals like they’re

a part of my identity. Interestingly enough, they are!

Something we can do to help us breach the ethnic food gap is to take small steps toward

trying new foods. First, research the ethnic foods of other cultures in your area or immediate

circle (Do you have a German grandma? A Mexican friend?). Then try one of the new foods you

are most interested in. Be open to the newness of the food, and find what you like about it. Ask

yourself what you can learn about the culture through their food. Repeat the process as much as

you’d like!

Socially, different ethnicities act differently. I married a German American. The first time

his grandfather greeted me with the customary kisses on the cheeks, I wasn’t sure what to do.

And though a handshake is a common way to introduce oneself in most professional settings,

women practicing Islam religiously cannot.

Greetings aren’t the only social interaction that is different among other cultures. In

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua – Chinese American mother of two – discusses her,

well, unorthodox parenting techniques in vivid detail. On more than one occasion, she details

interactions with her daughters where she talks down to them. Telling them how horrible and

worthless they are for not being perfect in their performance or grades. On one instance in

particular, she tells of how her oldest daughter told her that she got second place on her daily

multiplication quiz. Not only did she immediately implement a new study regimen for her

daughter to get extra practice on multiplication, but she made it clear to her daughter that she was

ashamed of her for not doing better. Needless to say, her daughter was soon first place on the

multiplication quiz, daily. According to Ms. Chua, these methods are simply effective means of

motivation, not child abuse like they may be perceived. Chinese parents love their children
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dearly, and though they push their children harder than anyone else, they will also be the first to

praise them when they’ve truly earned it.

Another story I read on The Atlantic website was about a man who was raised in the US

by his immigrant family’s slave, Lola. His parents treated Lola very poorly, often being abusive

in their demands and expectations. Alex Tizon didn’t think much of it at first, but being raised in

the US, he came to realize that how Lola was treated was not okay. She helped to raise him with

love, affection, and sacrifice; and he strove to treat her similarly in return throughout his life. He

treated her like a loving mother figure – which she was!

Different ethnicities have different greetings, different discipline methods, and moral

values regarding people than we do. Though we may not understand why they do the things that

they do, if we try to have an open mind and expect the best in them as people, then I believe we

can interact with people of diverse cultures well and happily. We may even learn a thing or two

from them, be it a quirky custom or a new perspective.

Learning more about different ethnicities was a bit eye opening to me. Though I was

interested in different cultures before this class and understood that their differences can

sometimes clash, I didn’t understand to what extent discrimination between cultures occurred.

Different ethnicities may make us uncomfortable, and that’s okay in the beginning. They

speak, eat, and socialize differently than we do. But really, other cultures are just as loving and

devoted to each other as we are. If we take the time to try and understand our ethnic differences,

and love them anyway, we can learn to better coexist and even thrive as diverse communities in

the process. It’s worth the effort, and our children will be happy that we helped provide them

with a more peaceful, diverse world in the process.

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Works Cited

Anzaldúla, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Fifty Great Essays. Boston: Pearson, 2011.

Pp.33-45. Everett School District.

https://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/WA01920133/Centricity/Domain/965/Anzaldua-

Wild-Tongue.pdf Accessed 26 June 2018.

Choi, Amy S. “What Americans Can Learn from Other Food Cultures.” Ideas.ted.com, Ted, 18

Dec. 2014, ideas.ted.com/what-americans-can-learn-from-other-food-cultures/. Accessed

30 July 2018.

Chua, Amy. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

Park, Haeyoun, and Iaryna Mykhyalyshyn. “L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of

Hate Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 16 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/16/us/hate-crimes-against-

lgbt.html.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” The Threepenny Review, No.43, Autumn 1990, pp 7-8. San Jose

State University. http://www.sjsu.edu/people/julie.sparks/courses/Engl-117B-

spr2016/Mother-Tongue-by-Amy-Tan.pdf Accessed 26 June 2018.

Kumar, Amitava. “Passport Photos.” George, Diana and Trimbur, John. (2006) Reading Culture.

(6th Ed.) Longman Publishers.

Tizon, Alex. “My Family's Slave.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 June 2017,

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/. Accessed 30 July

2018.