Bilingualism and Biculturalism Essay Example for Free

Bilingualism and Biculturalism Essay Running Head: BILINGUALISM AND BICULTURALISM E. Biculturalism in society Biculturalism usually exists in a country where two different cultures or cultural identities are allowed to freely flourish within the society. It is characterized by widespread occupation of people belonging to two diverse cultures. However, true biculturalism cannot exist in a country where one culture is suppressed or discriminated. Bicultural countries have official policies to protect the interest of both cultures. It also facilitates equitable status and rights to people belonging to both cultures without any prejudice. These countries also celebrate festivals pertaining to both cultures to preserve integrity of both cultures and foster the spirit of togetherness. E. 1 Biculturalism in Canada Canada follows a policy of official bilingualism as its gives equal status to both English and French in its parliament and courts. This was done to preserve the cultural identity of French communities in Canada, as support for the French language in Canada had weakened and English had become the preferred language in business and politics, by the end of the nineteenth century. As the years passed by, Francophone communities outside of Quebec begun to realize the extinction of their culture was inevitable, unless French-based education was made a top priority. Certain political forces in Quebec had also wanted a separate state during the 1960s. Franco-Albertans living in Quebec called for bilingualism and biculturalism to ensure that Canada stayed united. This led to the proclamation of the Official Languages Act of 1969 announcing Canada as a bilingual nation (Alberta’s Francophone Heritage 3). Today, Franco-Albertans are entitled to exclusive French-only education according to rights guaranteed by Bilingualism and Biculturalism Commission, while French is also now used in government offices and hospitals in Alberta. All these developments with respect to biculturalism have kept Canada together as one nation and led to the revival of the French culture. E. 2 Biculturalism in Australia Australia was originally inhabited only by several indigenous tribes, until the Europeans settlers started to immigrate there. These relatively new settlers started to control the ethnicity of the immigrants settling down to ensure that Australia had a cultural identity of a British Colony. Until 1973, the governments empowered by the Immigration Restriction Act followed the White Australia policy to keep a check on non-European immigration. The racial injustice perpetrated by the White Australia policy official came to end by passing of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975. Australia started to rigorously follow a bicultural policy similar to Canada, opening its doors to several thousands of immigrants from all over the world. The extent of Australia’s multicultural policy can be better understood from a 2005 Department of Immigration statistic which reports that forty percent of the contributing workforce in Australia had at least one parent born outside of Australia, while twenty-five percent of them were not originally born in Australia (Wikiepedia 9). Australian values of ‘mateship’ centered on equality, loyalty and friendship, have enshrined in its biculturalism policy and given equal rights to all Australian citizens irrespective of their ethnicity. Multiculturalism was initially perceived as the acceptance of people coming from different cultural backgrounds as members of Australian society. However, the significance of biculturalism has now deepened and empowered immigrants in Australia to express their cultural identity, thereby enabling them to experience both Australian culture as well as their native culture. E. 3 Biculturalism in the United States America, in spite of being one of most culturally diverse nations in the world and built on values of equality, does not officially have a federal multiculturalism policy. That being said, America does practices biculturalism on a social level as immigrants from various countries are freely allowed to practice their religion and exhibit their cultural identity. The Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 nullified quotas based on one’s national origin. Since then, more twenty twenty-eight million people immigrants have legally been accepted by the United States of America. Bilingualism is also prevalent is certain Southern states that are heavily populated with Spanish-speaking immigrants. F. The relationship of bilingualism to biculturalism Bilingualism and biculturalism are concepts that are very closely tied together. Bilingualism not only helps one to connect and effectively communicate with the society around him/her, but also enables a person to maintain command over his/her native language. Since language is the key to stay in touch with one’s ethic or national culture, bilingualism helps foster biculturalism as well. F. 1. Origin of bilingualism in bicultural societies Canada was one of the pioneers of the New World to officially adopt the policy of bilingualism. In 1867, British North America Act was passed to legalize to conversing in English as well as French in Canadian Parliament as well as Courts of Law, thereby paving the way for a bicultural state. As the world’s political climate began to change during the beginning of the twentieth century, the idea of cultural pluralism started to gain momentum. Biculturalism began in western world and paved the way for biculturalism to be adopted as a political policy in many other parts of the world. F. 2. Bilingual education Bilingual education is a method of teaching all subjects to students through a country’s primary language as well as the student’s native language. There are several types of approaches and programs available to carry out bilingual education. Transitional programs teach all subjects in the students’ native language and English is taught as a separate subject until bilingual students can study along with other native students in normal classrooms. Dual Language programs consist of an equal combination of students who are native English speakers as well students who have another common native language. These methods enable all students in the class to be bilingual and understand subject matter in both languages. Late-exit program is yet another method that is quite similar to transitional programs, but it also teaches all the subjects in English again to reinforce the subject content and achieve effective bilingualism. It is hard to generalize and develop a common plan to educate bilingual students. For instance, in the US, young immigrants are either more educated or less educated native-born American students since immigrants from Asian countries are relatively well-educated compared to their South American counterparts, as a result of to social and economic differences. Language maintenance and Language shift Language maintenance is an effort to preserve the linguistic ability of child in his/her native language, while not compromising on learning the popular secondary language at school. It is can result from a passion for one’s culture or a necessity to communicate with elder members in the family. Career prospects due to international acclaim or the availability of media services such as television programs or books in one’s native could also cause language maintenance. The avoidance of one’s native language is known as language shift. For instance, bilingual children may stop using their mother tongue owing to a higher degree of English exposure in school. Other factors that influence language shift are fear of one’s native language negatively influencing their English language skills or learning abilities. Lack of parental encouragement to maintain one’s native language can also lead to language shift. G. Transference Transference occurs when a person’s native language negatively influences the way he/she uses another language or vice-versa. This influence can occur in the form of distinctive oral expressions i. e. accent or odd sentence compositions. It is classified into lexical, phonological, semantic, prosodic, tonemic, syntactic and pragmatic transferences. CONCLUSION The concepts of bilingualism and biculturalism are two critical aspects that have held together societies comprising of several cultures, languages, races and ethnic backgrounds. Since transference or the deviation from the norms of a language could lead to language shift, proper bilingual education has to be provided to ensure that one is comfortable using both languages. Bilingualism, the preservation of one’s native language accompanied by command over a country’s primary language, is necessary to achieve biculturalism in a society as well retaining one’s true cultural identity. References A Research Guide for Students. (1998-2006). Retrieved March 20, 2008. http://www. aresearchguide. com/1steps. html Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from Alberta’s Francophone Heritage. http://www. edukits. ca/francophone/en/secondary/infomatics_text_bilingualism. html Chan, K. (1998). Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from Academia. http://www. geocities. com/goktimus/bilingualism. html Multiculturalism. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Multiculturalism.

Psychological Manipulation in 1984 Essay -- George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring â€Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU† (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well. Technology is another important theme. Without the constant telescreens, microphones, and computers, the Party would be all but powerless. Big Brother is the main figure of the Party. The main symbol that drives these themes is the telescreens. It is representative of the party always watching and controlling everyone at all times. Psychological manipulation the Party uses on the citizens is one of the first themes Orwell exposes in this dystopian society. The Party maintains this manipulation by constantly overwhelming citizens with useless information and propaganda. And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested. (Orwell 82) Winston Smith, the protagonist, is having a frustrating conversation with an old man about life before the Revolution. He figures out that the Party has purposely set out to weaken the people’s memories in order to make them unable to challenge what the Party claims about the present. If there is no one who remembers life before the Revolution, then no one can say that the Party has failed. In reality, the Party has failed by forcing people to... ...of Nineteen Eighty-Four are not going to be forgotten any time soon. Psychological manipulation is quite possibly the most realistic of the themes. In conjunction with psychological manipulation is physical control. The Party is a totalitarian government and controls every aspect of life. Technology is yet another important theme. Technology is what gives the Party their power and influence. Big Brother, the symbol, as well as the telescreens are motifs that help drive the main conflict. Works Cited Knapp, John V. â€Å"Nineteen Eighty-Four† Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Ed. Carl Rollyson. Hackensack NJ: Salem Press Inc, 2000. 2451-2452. Magill, Frank N. Ed. â€Å"Nineteen Eighty-Four† Masterpieces of World Literature. New York NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1989. 582-585. Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York NY: Penguin Books Inc., 1977.

Act of Kindness

Helping out with everything around the house and my ill little brother is the biggest act of kindness I would think I have done. It is also my responsibility so be aware of the situation my family is in and to try and help out. My father as a farmer he works long hours in the hot sun, that is during summer, and cold days in the winter. My mother only works during the summer, as a farmer as well that is, I know the hardest season but it’s well paid for us mid-class citizens.I know how hard it is to work in the fields, since I have worked with my parents before. Working as a farmer is very hard work, dealing with the sun is not fun, but we all need to find a way to make money and maintain our home. I always try to help out with the house chores, and help my parents out a little. Wouldn’t you, do the same? Seeing my mother stresses because bills can’t be paid, and my father coming from work exhausted, I always do my best to make them be conferrable at home. I have f ood for my father when he comes from work, I clean do laundry.I try to not cause my mother anymore stresses, by trying to be a good daughter that one day she’ll be proud of. I help out my mother with my younger brother who suffers from muscular dystrophy. He is 15 years old, and now that he is older his muscles are getting weaker and his ability to walk long distances are just decreasing. I help him sidewalk is a big step, and he is always afraid he will fall so he needs our motivation and I try to be there for him. Making him laugh spending time with him it all helps out.Now that he can’t really get out and go to the park he needs company and I’m always there with him, when my parents are just too busy. I have had 4 older brothers pass away from muscular dystrophy, I’m pretty sure that’s a lot for a mother to go thru. So I’m always one step ahead of my mother and helping with everything. We all can help out and be kind. It’s not so m uch about being kind, but being humane and taking responsibilities. Helping the homeless by giving them a sub that one day, you might have saved them from starving.I’m just trying to say that any little act of kindness can go a long way and make a big difference. It is not that difficult to state a straightforward ‘thank you', and even it can genuinely alter the prospect of somebody else's day. My older brother, Arnold, once said to me that, â€Å"It acquires more power to glare than to smile. † I've acknowledged that only by behaving respectfully with the citizens around, you are able to genuinely create the more positive ambiance around you. Act of Kindness reallyThis is a story on an act of kindness I did for this girl I didnt know to well. One day as I was walking home from my old school I saw this girl, she looked like a complete nerd someone I wouldn't normally talk to. She was walking home looking really sad, kind of like she had no one to talk to. I walked over to her and introduced myself and she also told me who she was; she said her name is Abby. She was carrying books in her hands and it looked heavy I asked her if I could help. She nodded and told me I was more then welcome.I walked her home that day. I asked her if she would like to hang out sometime to call me and gave her my number, a few weeks later we were best friends. Months down the road she found out she was pregnant, this took me by surprise since I didnt even know she was dating anyone. The guy who got her pregnant walked out and hardly never came around. I could tell by the look on Abby's face that she was pretty scared. I told her no mater what ill always be ther e for her if she ever needed anything.The hardest part for her was to tell her parents she was pregnant. Her parents are the strick ones, that go to church every sunday and doesnt allow their daughter to have a boyfriend or anything. So trying to explain to her parents that she had got a boyfriend and had sexual intercorse with him behind there backs was going to be a tough situation. She didnt tell anyone for three months that she was pregnant,but it got down to where she had to say something since she was starting to show.Abby asked me if i could be there with her when she telled her parents on Thursday; I told her i could and that id be there Thursday at four o'clock. Thursday came and I went to her house and as soon as she anwsered the door she started freaking out with panic. I told her to calm down everything will be fine and that if she wants me to tell her parents i would. She appreciated it and told me to tell her parents for her. As we started walking closer to her parents I told them that Abby had something she wanted to tell them.Her parents started getting worried and asked what this was about. I then told her parents that she was scared to tell them about hows shes pregnant. Ive never seen anyones face look so furious in my entire life, They asked me to leave so they could talk as a family. Later that next week Abby's parents called me and asked me to come over for dinner and talk with them about something. I agreed and told them id be there shortly. As I rushed to get dressed all I could think about was what they wanted to talk to me about, I began to get nervous.As I arrived and walked to the door my stomach dropped and then i knocked on the door. Abby's parents answered the door and we sat down to eat. After we got done eating Abby's mom started to tell me how when i met Abby, abby wasnt in the best state of mind. I told them how i already knew and how i talked her out of a bunch of things before and they thanked me. They both thanked me for b eing such a great friend to Abby, and to this day I help take care of Abby's daughter.

America, A Narrative History Essay - 1425 Words

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, â€Å"America, A Narrative History.† Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country s history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America. The main ideas of chapter one was the conquest and exploration of the early America’s by the spaniards. Throughout the chapter, it explains the difficulties that the spanish explorers faced when attempting to conquer new lands. 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