Language is a cultural characteristic that binds
and individual to their territory. Among the years there have been a big
influence on English around the world. Depending islands usually show the
biggest foreign language impact. During the conference held at the General
Studies theatre it was examined the influence United State’s English has over
Puerto Rico, as England’s has over Malta. Due to the geographic location of
both islands and the variation in language of the bigger territories we should
have thought that the English spoken in the islands would have had a great
variation. Surprisingly, with deeper investigation it was discovered that the
native languages give a certain characteristic to the English spoken in Puerto
Rico and Malta.
Although the influences of English in Malta and
Puerto Rico come from territories that show a notable difference, their native
language bond their English accent.
Malta has Maltese language as their vernacular,
while Puerto Rico has Spanish. Both local languages share a Latin background.
The key on the similarities that Malta and Puerto Rico might share in their
foreign English might be attributed to their Latin native dialect. During the
conference it was explained such similarities between the English’s’ spoken;
this led me to think into the fact that it doesn’t matter the extraterritorial
influence each culture might have, the native aspects will show a greater control.
In conclusion, the similarity in languages shows
how the cultures adapt the foreign languages while their vernacular is kept
within their culture. Language, like traditions are altered, but never changed.
The territory where a culture stands is a reminder of who they are and who they
were. In Puerto Rico English has arose notoriously, but being in the island
reminds me over and over again that Spanish and our native words are part of
me. Being bilingual is an opportunity that can’t go to waste, but just remember
that your vernacular will always rule over any other language spoken.
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| From Puerto Rico to Malta |
In both cases we can see that what really makes the culture bind together is their original language
ReplyDeleteLanguage will always evolve and change.
ReplyDeleteDistance is just a word, but a the end of the day what matters the most is the links between countries and the langue.
ReplyDelete