Carballal1

NicoCarballal
Ms.Gardner
English10Per2
18January2015

ATasteofLanguage
Formyclass,explainedMs.Holly,pointingtoherposterofthehumanbody,theonly
thingyouwillneedtoknowaboutthetongueisthatitisastrongmuscleattachedtothefloorof
themouthsupportedbythehyoidbone.
Ipausedmomentarily,baffledbythissurprisinglyvaguedefinitionusedtodescribea
musclethataccountsforthedailyactivitiesoftasteandlanguage.Adisappointedlookcame
acrossmyface:
Obviously,thetongueattachesitselffirmlytothefloorofthemouthCantwe
learnmorethanthat?
Iwasinterestedinknowinghowthetonguefunctions,thereasonitcan
accomplishsomuch,notsimplythemerebasicswhichleavesmyrestlessmindturninglike
gearsattemptingtocompletethepuzzleofthetongue.Thetonguecannotassistmeinkicking
thesoccerballintothedistant,gloriousgoalnordoesthetongueaidmeinachievingthe
greeninkedAthatIlusttobedisplayedatthetopofmychemistrytesthowever,the
resoundingbarkofmydog,theinstructivevoiceofMs.Holly,theharsh,gutturaltoneofthe
Germanlanguage,andthefamiliarityofmymothersvoicewouldallbenonexistentwithouta
strongmuscleattachedtothefloorofthemouthsupportedbythehyoidbone.
Thetongueaidsthebodyinseveralprocesses,soitcannotsimplybebrushedoffasjust
anothermuscleofthehumanbody.Sure,ithelpsahumaneatandspeak,butitalsocreatesa
uniqueidentityforallhumans,anidentitycreatedaudiblythroughlanguage,tone,andaccent.

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Mostpeople,whentheyfirstmeetme,arequicktoinitiallyjudgemeasanauthenticAmerican
understandablyformyapparentAmericanfeaturesonceIbegintospeakSpanish,however,
thosewhoprematurelylabeledmeasAmericanraisetheireyebrowsinshockasiftheyaretrying
tofindaLatinoamericanhidingbehindme.WhenIinformothersofmyethnicity,alookof
shockisreplacedwithadisplayofconfusionanddoubthowever,iftheyweretowitnessmein
mybirthcountryofSpain,theywouldbelieveIamSpanishbecauseofthewayIamableto
immersemyselfintotheSpanishculturethroughlanguageallderivingfromthewayIhave
learnedtomanipulatemytongue.
Dualcitizenshiptomehasincludedacceptingtwodifferenttypesofculturesand
languagesintomylife.ThemaindifferencesbetweenSpanishandAmericanlivesarethedaily
siestas,whicharelackinginAmericansociety,thefood,whichmytastebudsgratefullyaccept,
andlanguage.HavingmovedtoAmericainthesecondyearofmylife,theEnglishlanguagewas
thelanguageIgrewuplearningwhileSpanishonlylurkedinthebackground.Afterbecoming
proficientwithEnglish,IfoundtheneedtoreturntomyrootsandstudySpanish,acompletely
differentdialectandthereforeacompletelydifferentwayofmaneuveringmytongueinorderto
masterthesmooth,romancelanguage.Afterbecomingcomfortablewithrollingmytongueon
thetopofmymouthtocreatethedistincterrrresoundandbecomingconfidentinmytongues
abilitytocommunicatecomprehensiblyandrapidly,overthesummerof2010,Ispentfour
weekswiththeMendilucefamilyinMadrid,SpaininordertoimprovemySpanishandeliminate
Englishfrommylifetemporarily.Anewaddress:1274CalledePensamiento,anewsurname:
Mendiluce,anewlanguage:Spanish,andanewdinnertime:8:30pm,allreplacedmysteady
Americanscheduleforfourweeks.Thesatisfactionofbeingabletosubmergemyselffreelyina
completelydifferentfamily,culture,andlanguagewasunforgettable,andtheexperienceIhad

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withJavi,myroommate,MartaandAmara,thetwoidenticaltwins,andJavierandYolanda,my
welcomingparents,hascreatedabondthatlanguagewouldhavepreventedmefromforming.If
wewereabletocreateone,universallanguagethateveryonecouldadapttosmoothly,theideaof
one,inclusivecultureextendedacrosstheglobewouldnotsoundsoabsurd.
Asthearticleonoralcareonwebmd.comillustrates,thehyoidbone,supportingthe
tongue,proudlyidentifiesitselfastheonlyboneinthebodydisconnectedfromtherestofthe
bonesjustasthetongue,throughlanguage,hasdisconnectedus,asspeakersoftheEnglish
language,fromalloftheotherlanguagessurroundingtheworld.Languageisatool,butits
usefulnesscanonlystretchsofar.Liketheweather,byutilizinglanguage,sometimes,youcan
clearlycommunicateyourinformation,othertimes,youcanbarelyelaborateonyourmessage
becauseoffoggyknowledgeofthelanguage,orconstantly,youhavethecompleteinabilityto
explainyourmessagebecauseofunexpected,stormycircumstances.
AsIreadinmyhistorytextbook
WaysoftheWorld,
Mokusatsu,awordoflittlemeaning
inJapanesemeaningeitheranunsure,politenocommentorarude,arrogantignoringis
knownastheWorldsMostTragicTranslation.Aftergiventheopportunitytosurrender,the
JapanesePremierKantaroSuzuki,unsureofhisdecision,sentbackamessagetotheallied
leaderssayingMokusatsu.Anyadditiontothatword,ameredescription,aclarityonwhich
translationhemeant,afewmoremovementsofthetongue,couldhavesavedthousandsoflives.
Thealliedleaderstranslatedhisreplyasnotworthyofresponse,andtheallies,especiallythe
Americans,didnottakeitlightly.Dayslatertheworldsfirstatomicbombswereused,andthe
forecastforthenextyearsinHiroshimaandNagasakiweredark,gloomyskies.Ifthedisastrous
WorldWarII,oranyotherwar,didnothavethislanguagebarrier,conflictswouldhavebeen
resolvedquicker,andthediscriminationwouldnothavebeensosevere.Idealistically,this

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changecouldhappenthroughintenseeffortstill,thisexistsasanunrealisticconcept.Language
willcontinuetodistinguishraceandethnicityaslongastheweathercontinuestochangedaily,
anditwillcontinuetobeastruggletocommunicatebetweendifferentculturesandlanguages.
Livingtherestofmylifewiththislanguagebarrierlimitsmyopportunitiestolearnabout
theworldwelivein.Whycanwenotallunite,ashumans,andcreateanew,worldwide
language?Realistically,itisnotpossiblewewouldbethrowingourselvespurposefullyina
stormsearchingforsunnyskieswithonlydarkcloudsahead.Differentiatinglanguageswill
alwaysbepresent,andifIdesiretocommunicatewithallpeopleacrosstheworld,Iwillhaveto
usetranslators,orbecomeaspeakerofmanylanguagesmyself.Thatistheunfortunatetruth.We
allhavetheabilitytouseourtongues,butwewillneverbeabletouseourtonguestothesame
ability.
Thetonguedoesnotdistinguishgenderorethnicityphysicallythetongue,through
languageandaccent,distinguishessomeonesidentityaudibly.Whilemostpeopleidentifyrace
andgenderthroughappearance,thetongue,hiddenfromview,createsanalternatemethodof
identificationnotsolelybasedonhowapersonlooks.Otherthanthehighlyadvertisedandvery
recognizablelogoofthebandKISSorAlbertEinsteinstonguestickingout,Icouldnotidentify
anyperson,nomatterhowfamous,noteventheirethnicity,simplybytheimageoftheirtongue
yet,thewaywordsflowoffthetongueofapersoniseasilyidentifiable.Inthatway,ethnicity
andculturetrulydevelopfromthelanguageofagroupofpeopleastheyeachusetheirown
strongmuscleattachedtothefloorofthemouthsupportedbythehyoidboneinorderto
illuminateothersoftheirowntrue,collectivereality.