Tami Smith

Instructor Melisa Garcia/Mel

English 120

17th, September, 2018

The internet says that Linguistic Identity is your voice; it tells people where you were

born and raised or where you live now. I believe that an Individual’s Linguistic identity is more

than just their language and where they grew up, it involves their experiences, their

surroundings, their social groups, friends, family, and personality. A person can be influenced by

the culture they find themselves in and adopt the behavior, and language of that area. In my life I

have been influenced by many different linguistic cultures including: German, Spanish, Native

American, Sign Language, and Braille. My Linguistic and cultural identity changed when I

moved from the small farming town in Michigan to the big

city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was born in Toledo,

Ohio, 15 minutes away from the little farming community in

Temperance, Michigan. Around age 9 my mother and father

were divorced. Within a few months our “new” family moved

to New Mexico. By “new” I mean my Step-Father, and us. My

mother is 1/2 German, and 1/2 English. My great grandparents

on my moms’ fathers’ side were a 100 % German, they lived

in Northern Germany in Kramonshagen, prior to immigrating

to America. They only spoke German when they moved to Michigan. They left their language

and culture behind when they came to America. Only spoke German to each other in the privacy

of their bedroom. They never spoke German to the children. They were in America now so they

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had to learn English. Our family may have never spoke German but there was still a big cultural

influence in regards to holidays, structure, discipline and respecting your elders.

The only language I ever heard as a child was English. I was never exposed to any

Hispanics or Native Americans or

any other language. So it was

quite a “Culture Shock”

when my family moved to New

Mexico. The first thing I noticed on our move to New Mexico was how beautiful the sunsets

were, the colors were a light orangish red with some yellow in a clear blue sky.

Our first home was located in the South West part of Albuquerque and my first school

was Navajo Elementary. The school was mixture of Hispanics and Native Americans with a

lower percentage of “Anglo” kids. I actually adjusted pretty well to the new “language” and

“culture” I was thrust into. From the day we arrived in Albuquerque I was hooked on the

Mexican food. My favorite Mexican food was and still is, chicken enchiladas with red chile.

In my first year of school in Albuquerque I was already learning how to speak Spanish.

I learned the basics: mom “Madre”, dad “Padre”, the Spanish alphabet, colors, food, how to

greet someone “Hola, Buenos Diaz”, Como Estas? We also learned a tongue twister and how to

sing: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in Spanish. To this day I still remember most of the song.

I also made a good friend named Diana who was a Cheyenne Indian. She told me all kinds of

stories that her grandmother told her. She told me that in her tribe they believed that owls are a

symbol of death. Hearing owls hooting is considered an unlucky omen. To this day I’ve always

wondered if that was true or just a myth and have had a fascination with the Native American

culture.

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 My middle school years were a little more challenging and I had a harder time fitting in

at school. I went to school with a lot of “Chicanas” and “Chicanos” and I didn’t really know how

to relate to them. They had their own community and language that I was not a part of. I was the

“white girl” in the neighborhood. I was not use to being the “minority”. Eventually I made some

friends, joined some groups and learned to appreciate all the different ethnicities and cultures

here in New Mexico.

If moving to New Mexico wasn’t enough of a language and cultural change, my mother

and stepfather became foster parents to children who were developmentally disabled, hearing

impaired, autistic, and medically fragile. I had to learn how to communicate with them in

different ways. Some communicated verbally while another child communicated with eye blinks

and body language.

In 1989 my family adopted my sister Erika who was 2 years old at the time,

and African American. She is developmentally delayed and hearing impaired.

At first it was hard for me to know what she needed because she had no way of

communicating to us other than pointing. She had hearing aids but she couldn’t

process what she was hearing. A short time later she started school at the pre-school for the deaf.

She picked up sign language really fast and I was learning with her. Since she was little her

verbal skills have developed very well and it is easier for me to communicate with her. She

hardly signs now so I’ve forgotten most of the sign language I had learned. Having spent most of

my life in different parts of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho and all the experiences I’ve had, has

changed my linguistic identity some but my cultural identity immensely. I feel like I belong here

now and have a tie to the Hispanic and Native American culture. I have 3 children, my daughter

Erynn who is 1/2 Navajo, my 2 boys Nikolas, and Noa who are 1/2 Latino. I’ve learned a lot

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 about both cultures for myself and for my children. I only know a few words

in Navajo like: Yaateeh (Hi) and Cheii (grandpa) that was a harder language

for me to pick up than Spanish. I learned how to speak some Castilian but

mostly Spanglish from my boys’ father. I learned more Spanglish then I did

Castilian cause that is how a lot of people in Albuquerque speak. I wanted my

children to grow up learning about their culture and language. So, when they

were little I taught them easy words like musica, biale, leche, pollo, monos,

ojos Etc. I learned how to prepare Mexican food from their Abuela, and their father and I would

dance with them when they were little to cumbia and salsa music to get them to sleep.

In my mid-twenties I worked at the School for the Visually Impaired as a Teacher’s Aide,

during my employment there I was required to take a class in Braille at TVI (now CNM). It is

not an easy task learning how to read dots on a paper. I was actually pretty good at it. I learned

the alphabet and how to use the alphabet to read words. But like any language you learn, if you

don’t use it you lose it. My multiple Linguistic influences in my life started with my German

culture, and then went on to include the Hispanic and deaf culture. They are all a part of me, my

experiences, my memories, my personality, my friends and family, my “Linguistic Identity”.