Language and Identity

    The language one uses in their daily life at home and outside of their home depends on many factors. In one's home, they will use the language they will have the most proficiency for as well as the most contempt for. The language that they use outside of their house is dependent on their location. Someone living in the southern states near the Mexican border might also know Spanish as a second language as well as English either as a primary or another secondary language. Meanwhile, someone in Québec will know French as well as English unlike those in other provinces such as Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and so forth. These are some of the factors sociolinguists study as well as class, gender, and local patois. A sociolinguist will be intrigued in the variances a language can have depending on different social contexts along with special functions of a language that may be used to convey social meaning or aspects of our existence. The language one speaks can tell more about them than they could themselves, if they were to speak a language such as Spanish, their dialect would acknowledge their origin. If one were to use a word such as vosotros instead of ustedes it would indicate that they learned the Spaniard dialect. "It is often shocking to realize how extensively we may judge a person's background, character, and intentions based simply upon the person's language, dialect, or in some instances, even the choice of a single word. (1) In the video Michelle who is an evening news anchor in El Paso who faced backlash for mispronouncing certain words. When she went to Austin she faced even more resentment for ending a newscast with "Goodbye and hasta manana" due to certain parts of the populace who don't condone a language that isn't English. (2) This is also stated in the PBS article where it is stated that "those exhibited in the US with respect to the English-only amendment-the legislative proposal to make English the 'official' language of the US"(1) A bilinguist will use and switch between two or multiple languages in order to be able to communicate with a larger amount of people. Someone who can speak English can communicate with someone else who knows English even if it is a  miniscule amount. By knowing or understanding two or multiple languages one may converse with others who know or understand one or more languages.

Works Cited
1.PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/socialbehaviour/
2. latinomediaworks. Youtube, Youtube,
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH_yv--WKT8&feauture=youtu.be