Anna Inveterate English 828 Hein March 29, 2013 Essay #2 What is diversity to you? From the streets of San Francisco you are transported into many different countries. You smell different foods, see different looks, and hear different languages.
These diverse cultures make San Francisco special. If the city of San Francisco introduced a law to adopt a standard language it would end the diversity that San Francisco stands for. In Northern California we speak our own dialect which consists of slang words such as "hint" and "tripping". We use code witching when it comes to talking to our friends and family.
When I speak to my friends it's more of a relax and formal language that I speak to them in opposed to when I am in an interview I switch to formal dialect because it sounds more educated and more professional. The reason we switch dialect is because every speaker speaks in their own way. Every speaker is multilingual in the sense of understanding more than one dialect. The city of San Francisco should not adopt a Standard English because this will limit multi-linguists, the language will remain stagnant, and it will emit Job opportunities for non-SF standard speakers.
If the city of San Francisco adopts a Standard English, this will limit multi- linguists. We wouldn't be able to enjoy multi-cultural communities such as The Mission, Chinatown and Japanning, which are communities full of diversity and cultural background. This would eliminate cultural influences in arts and music. According to Dwight Bollixing in "Dialect" he states "The fact in both fields are the same; the size of the bite is what distinguishes them". Language can be spoken the same but it's our way of speaking that determines the language. The different approaches to language are being prescriptivism and being descriptivism.
A Prescriptivism is language that is spoken by following a set of rules. A Descriptivism is a person that speaks without following the rules of the language and speaking how they want to speak. However one standard form of English will benefit the city of San Francisco in many ways. One Standard English will allow for everyone to to understand each other seeing as everyone will be speaking the same language. It will also ease communication and eliminate any language confusion.
Having a Standard English will help develop a proficiency in a single English.America will reduce undocumented immigrants by adopting a standard form of English. In the reading by Amy Tan "Mother Tongue" the author talks about how by having a limited English people don't take you seriously and don't understand the words your speaking. Having a Standard English would limit confusion and frustration by others who wouldn't be able to understand or comprehend a broken and limited English spoken by others but it will cause language elimination and leave us with one language for everyone to speak which will be hard for non-English speakers.A negative aspect that would come from having one Standard English is that we will not have a sense of diversity or be unique in our languages. There will be arrogance and prejudice to the non-native speakers.
We wouldn't have a colorful culture in which we and our children could enjoy. Diversity is what engages us to get to know each other and about one's background. San Francisco is known for its colorful background with food and language. Language will not change causing it to remain the same and boring. Language will remain stagnant and unchanging.Adopting a standard English will also limit Job opportunities.
Multi language programs will no longer exist. There would be no longer Jobs for interpreters in America. Linguistic profiling will become more prominent particularly amongst people who are non-native speakers. It will be harder for people whose first language isn't English to find employment because of the increase in competition this will create and the language barrier this standard English will cause. Finally if America decided to use one form of English it will be a disadvantage for on-native speakers and society itself.
It will take all the diversity that San Francisco stands for and the unique languages that we hear every day. We will be left with stagnant language and would not be exposed to all the different foods that make up a cultural experience. We will no longer be able to be a diverse community and hear all the different languages that make San Francisco the city of multi-cultural experience and its community so unique because of all the different languages that are spoken and seen on the streets of San Francisco.
