Garcia vs. Rodriguez

This week I'm going to be discussing the differences between Richard Rodriguez  and Ofelia Garcia's take on being bilingual.

The main idea that Rodriguez tries to convey in the reading "Aria", is that sometimes being bilingual causes internal conflict. When you come to the U.S. as a non English speaker, not only will you struggle with integrating into a new culture, you also may not be given a fair chance by other Americans if they realize that you don't speak English. you might even get a few of these looks if you speak another language...

"Speak English"🙄

Rodriguez believed the best option for him to become successful, was to stop speaking Spanish at home, that way he could learn English faster. However, by doing this, he sacrificed a part of his identity. Rodriguez's relationship with his Spanish reminds me of the poem "My Spanish" by Melissa Lozada.

I can relate more to Garcia's approach of translanguaging. English is my first language but when I moved to DR, I had to learn to speak Spanish. I have never abandoned my Spanish because it has become such a huge part of who I am. I am able to build relationships with so many people in both English and Spanish. The best way to describe being bilingual is through the words of Charlemagne....