Rita could not hold her excitement after having gone to the theatre, so as she abruptly entered the room she gasped: “I´ve gorra tell someone…” “I went to the theatre!” She does not reflect upon what her word choice is to express her thrill. Her words seem to burst out of her mouth like an uncontrollable flaw. “It was bleedin´ great, honest, ogh, it done me in, it was fantastic. I´m gonna do an essay on it.” Feelings and language are closely connected, the way we express what we feel is an echo of our identity, but we also need to learn how to adapt our linguistic forms according to the context in which we are immersed. For example, if Rita expressed her opinion about the play in an essay using the same register she used with Frank, the essay would be cosidered “incorrect.” Rita was never given the opportunity to learn this before, so the only way she knows to express her feelings towards anything is by using colloquial vocabulary.
“The key to success is often the ability to adapt”
2 comentarios:
Wisely said, Lucía! Now, is it Frank's job to teach Rita the language she needs to do so? Or is this something she should have learnt somewhere else, before taking up this course?
And wouldn't forcing Rita to use a language which is not hers resemble "linguistic imperialism" very much? Is it possible this is the best for Rita???
Hope I'm not making your day too dificult!
Love,
Gladys
Hello!
Interesting... What I was thinking when I wrote this post was not that she should learn and start using another language completely different from hers, but to learn to adapt acocording to each situation.This is something that we also learn at school from the very begining, we learn to share, to respect the rest, to wait for our turn to speak etc, etc. Of course,there are many things that are shared with the family, as they are the first educators.
So, in the case of Rita I believe it´s a similar situation, but at higher level.
Hugs,
Lu
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