Schiff 1

Tyrone Schiff

Kelly Williams

English 125

30 March 2006

Seeking To Be Understood

For the ordinary person, a regular day would consist of waking up, getting

dressed, and heading out into the world ready to interact with a multitude of personality

types and dispositions. A fundamental tool that is essential to all of these interactions is

one’s ability to communicate effectively and in a way that is easily understood by all.

Communication, whether by spoken word or written text, is intrinsic to all human beings

on this planet. The first word a baby sputters out is a milestone in their lives, signifying

their first attempts at communication through language. Possessing eloquence, mastery of

a language, and the art of communication are highly sought after traits. Although there

are over 5,000 languages spoken in the world, there are certain languages that stretch

their influence over the rest. In America, English has established itself as the language of

choice when it comes to generally accepted communication. When immigrants enter the

country, it is of high priority to learn how to speak the language as best as possible and as

quickly as possible. The English language, however, is often used as a tool to belittle

those who are not “native” speakers of the language. Furthermore, people in different

cultural groups establish different meanings for words that can often be lost in translation

due to a lack of similar experiences between those groups. This leads to

misunderstanding and the perpetuation of stereotypes. Essentially, the English language

has transformed itself into a device where the dominant group can maintain its prowess
 Schiff 2

over the weak minority. Thus, communication within and among different cultural groups

is used to coerce the less dominant group into a submissive and conforming unit.

Communication and language is often used to flounder and defeat minority

cultural groups. For instance, consider an excerpt for Gloria Naylor’s piece, “Mommy,

What Does ‘Nigger’ Mean?” and its relation to deprecating another, “I didn’t know what

a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldn’t have

called me” (525). It is evident that the person who heard this word, nigger, being said to

them realized that there is a distinct negative connotation accompanying it. The speaker

goes on to explain that even though she had heard the word many times before, she had

never considered it a bad thing. The speaker recognizes it as a “term of endearment,” and

“a disembodied force that channeled their past history of struggle and present survival”

(526). These are very positive connotations of the word; what would make her consider

this word negatively now? Society and dominant culture in America have come to label

the word nigger in a very filthy way.

Regardless of whether or not the student who called the speaker in Gloria

Naylor’s story a nigger was black or white, the dominant culture in America has stolen

this piece of African-American language, and tries to sustain it as a symbol of hate and

racism. Within groups of African-Americans this word is also used to communicate,

“some group within the community that had overstepped the bounds of decency…”

(526). Within their own cultural group, African-Americans use the word nigger to

continue its negative connotation. Although Naylor argues that, “they transformed

‘nigger’ to signify the varied and complex human beings they knew themselves to be,” it

is important to remember the context in which the word first came up (527). It was said in
 Schiff 3

a mean way that devalued the speaker. The word nigger was used to communicate ideas

that were intended to render the speaker sad and demoralized.

A similar case of using language and communication to overpower minority

groups is found in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”. Amy Tan describes a scenario where the

lack of understanding of language and communication are used against the individual in

order to discourage them from pursuing goals they might have. Amy Tan points out that,

“Asian students, as a whole, always do significantly better on math achievement tests

than in English” (593). Amy Tan explains further that she, and probably many other

Asian-American students, comes from a home that has “broken” or “limited” English

(593). This puts these students at a disadvantage immediately, because almost all

achievement tests are administered in English. The households in which these students

live might lack the communication skills to develop their understanding of English well

enough to be tested on the subject.

What is worse is that these tests scores are then used indicatively as the Asian-

American’s talent, and what follows is “teachers who are steering them away from

writing and into math and science…” (593). Asian-American students are practically

forced into these roles of math and science due to their inability to learn and effectively

communicate in English. If an individual yearns to express themselves through words in a

creative manner, a language should not be the hurdle that holds them back from doing so.

Clearly, this is yet another way in which the dominant culture tries to take advantage of

the minority through usage of language and communication. Even though an Asian-

American student may love to read and write, their low scores on English achievement

tests causes the student to become depressed and shy away from partaking in courses and
 Schiff 4

activities that involve English. Students often look for feed-back as a method to rank their

abilities in a particular subject. Clearly, if the feed-back is negative, there will be less

emphasis to pursue a given topic, because it provides no rewards for the individual.

Therefore, Asian-American students will no longer pursue their passion in English, and

will be drawn to math and science, which are, “precise; there is only one correct answer”

(592). In this way, English and the communication of it extinguish the flame of passion

that burns within other cultures by defeating their dreams.

In addition, the dominant culture in America is unwilling to tolerate the inability

of minority groups to communicate and connect with certain ideas that have been

established. In the case of Naylor, the final line of the story is as follows: “And since she

knew that I had to grow up in America, she took me in her lap and explained [the word

nigger]” (527). The mother is being given the tough task of having to explain what the

word nigger means to her daughter. It is interesting to note, however, that the reason for

being taught the negative version of the word is wholly contingent on the fact that she is

growing up in America. America is a hodge-podge of different cultures and backgrounds.

When communicating the word nigger between groups there is a terrible meaning, unlike

the way it is perceived within the African-American community at times. The daughter

must be educated on this negative meaning, because she is growing up in a climate that

necessitates a conforming viewpoint, or at the very least, knowledge of the dominant

culture’s viewpoint.

Amy Tan discusses how there is a certain communication standard that has to be

achieved in order to be taken seriously. Amy Tan’s mother was trying to get the results of

her CAT scan back, but “the hospital did not apologize when they said they had lost the
 Schiff 5

CAT scan” (591). Although Amy Tan’s mother said she had used her best English, it was

not at all understood on the receiving end. The hospital did not respect Amy Tan’s mother

because she failed to meet certain communication standards. This weakens the overall

capabilities of Asian-Americans because this scenario could and did occur to Amy Tan’s

mother in other cases. Amy Tan would have to speak to her mother’s stockbroker because

she was better at English than her mother. The mother’s broken English just couldn’t

seem to cut it. The hospital scenario was solved, however, but only because a particular

standard of English was met. Amy Tan’s mother “said she would not leave until the

doctor called her daughter…And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who

spoke in perfect English--lo and behold--we had assurances the CAT scan would be

found” (591-2). Communication is shown here to be a device of power. Being able to

communicate entitles an individual to things that are outside of the realm of those who

cannot. Without attaining a particular standard of communication, the dominant culture of

English speakers will turn a cold shoulder to those who are of the minority and can only

speak “broken” English.

Both Amy Tan and Gloria Naylor depict how communication and the use of

language can be used in an oppressive way. Communication in a foreign setting is an

unfriendly endeavor, and the English language and the way that it is dealt with in

America does not make it any easier for those who are trying to acclimate to their new

environment. It is necessary to scrutinize how communication and language is handled in

this country so that America can move towards a society that learns to love and

understand the cultures of others. Gaining an understanding of other’s languages is a

bridge to their culture. Language barriers are often times the reason why there is a
 Schiff 6

misunderstanding between cultures, and why in fact cultures have a hard time getting

along. In order for society to progress, it needs to eliminate this confusion that is spawned

from language so that cultural diffusion is no longer a turbulent process. Similarly, this

same phenomenon exists and must be eradicated within a set culture. The aforementioned

arguments indicate that even when English is the “native” language of a given group,

there is still a barrier in the way that certain words are used and what those words mean

to that particular group. Often times, a group’s voice is muffled by the dominant group’s

viewpoint on a particular subject. Presently, communication and language are being used

as a means to keep the strong stronger. The minority is forced to suppress itself and

conform to the standards of communication set forth by the majority.

 Schiff 7

Works Cited

The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction Prose. Eds. Linda H. Peterson, John C.

Brereton, & Joan E. Hautman. New York: WW. Norton & Co., 2000

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” Language(s) And Identities 27: 589-594.