Public And Private Language Summary

Richard Rodriguez’s “Public and Private Language,” Amy Tan’s “The Language of Discretion,” and Itabari Njeri’s “What’s in a Name?” each described language, ethnicity, and identity respectively. In “Public and Private Language,” Richard tells a story of a Spanish-speaking child who gained various positive benefits and advantages by speaking more English. However, they grew apart as his family began to speak less Spanish with one another. In this essay, the power of language greatly influenced his public and private individuality. English, which he considers to be his public language, allowed him to improve his speaking ability in school. For this reason, he began to use less and less Spanish at home. “The Language of Discretion” shows how ethnicity plays a huge role in Amy’s life.
For instance, it can change how one interacts with one another socially and it can lead to misunderstandings. Ethnicity plays a huge role in her story. As a Chinese-American, she had to deal with various stereotypes. “What’s in a Name” tells a story of Itabari who changed her name. As a result, her life changed as well. Through her essay, she described how a simple things such as a name is connected to her identity. Identity, which is how one define oneself, can be strongly represented in her paper. The listed articles above portrays how language, ethnicity, and identity are all tied to one another. Language, which can be shown in “Public and Private Language,” describes how one’s own speech depends greatly on their ethnicity. Ethnicity, which can be a form of identity, can be read about in Amy’s “The Language of Discretion.” Finally, identity, which can be immensely influenced by one’s language, is shown in “What’s in a Name?” Each of the topics are what make up an