♡ Beyond Language ♡

In the article Beyond Language Difference in Writing: Investigating Complex and Equitable Language Practices, Cristina Sánchez-Martín emphasizes the importance of maximizing both equity and diversity within writing composition. While skimming through the pages, I then became painfully aware just how much this article had resonated with my overall life experience. For context, I grew up in a low-income predominantly black and hispanic location where “code-meshing” was used quite frequently. As a result of this, I don't believe that I grew up in an environment or classroom where the primary emphasis was on a single language. Code-meshing has been an integral part of my daily life and existence for as long as I can remember. 

At the age of 17, my mother gave birth to me without my father being in the picture. As a result of this situation, my grandmother became our primary caregiver until my mother had become financially stable enough to take care of us. During our time in my grandmother's household, the sole language spoken was Spanish. Because of this predicament I had grown up speaking both Spanish and English fluently, frequently blending both languages into my daily communication. This is where I believe code-meshing has come into play. The article goes on to state, “However, the title of the book includes a word in Spanish…This mix of English and Spanish grammatical structure and words are what some researchers refer to as code-meshing” further implicating that all languages, along with dialect, are of equal complexity and worth.

English diversity is influenced by various factors, including dialects, sociolects, and even idiolects. Even to this day, I use "Spanglish" in my daily life. One of my peers recently said, "Half of the time I do not know what you are saying but I make an assumption and go off of that”, which I had found quite comical. Referring back to Sánchez-Martín's statement, this interaction further supports the notion that individuals who speak multiple languages often incorporate those languages into their English speech. Monolingualism plays into the concept of a “fixed” mindset by assuming that the audience, or classroom, will follow a linear version and teaching of “English”.