Extra Credit Assignment

 The moment I walked in to this course I was a bit skeptical, I did not know what I was getting myself into. I always saw language just as a simple way of communication. I did not take into consideration of how dear it was for many people. Throughout my high school years I was positive in saying that there is such English as “proper English”. I thought wrong and so did many out there. When listening to many student in my high school speak “slang” it would actually upset me, at one point it would actually upset me and cause me to go off on them, usually telling them that there a sort of way of speaking English. This course taught me that English is spoken different among many. It is influenced by your surrounding and where you are from. If one is from the south such as Alabama, compared to New York the language or accent will be completely different. By the accent you will most likely determine that the speaker is from the south.

 At one point in my life I began to believe that the Russian language was not necessary, it was just a thought going through my head. I figured I live in America why need another language other than English. The linguistics course made me think otherwise; as we went along in the semester I came to realize how each and every language is important. Beginning with English and going as far as the Chulym language which is a language that is in danger of extinction.  Watching videos throughout the course made me realize that many of the speakers throughout the world did not have the rights speak their native language, they would face consequences. I began to realize that these languages were so dear to them; it is a part of their culture. I must say it was very hurtful, I felt as if I was betraying my parents’ culture when I thought that I will no longer need the Russian language. Language is a part of everyone.

Watching the Amy Walker video was amazing, it actually gave me a sort of inspiration. An inspiration towards traveling across the U.S and of course throughout the entire world, learning different languages, although she spoke English throughout the video it was in entirely different accents. Accents from all over the world; each state and country has a certain spice to their figure of speech.

Learning that language can determine what class a person is from was an amazing experience, watching Labov’s experiment was a great example. He set out to department stores that are separated by class. He went to Macy’s, Kleins, and the upscale Saks Fifth Avenue. Within his experiment he attempted to figure out which store employees would pronounce the term “fourth floor” with (r) sound. He concluded that stores such as Macy’s and Kleins where the middle class people would shop would silence the (r), whereas Saks fifth Avenue employees would pronounce it.  

Language is a gift; at least I tend to look at it in this fashion. I have a way of communicating within the English language which makes people realize that I am here and I am the type of person who is not about to take anything from anybody, but it also informs people that I am both willing to answer and give help to anyone who needs it. My strength is within my language which is English and Russian and I am proud of it! I am proud to say that I am multilingual; it is a sort of honor.

Language can do so much; I am able to speak to the elderly people in the Russian language, considering the fact that I work in a law firm this is a huge plus. Language is not just a simple way of communication, it’s a tool; a tool that must be looked within in order to realize how powerful it is. Luckily this course changed my way of looking at language, in fact it encouraged me to pursue the Chinese language, it is said that the Chinese language may be the next most spoken language in the world, at the moment it is the second.

Knowing how to communicate in English has given me a place within American society and so far I am enjoying to its’ limits. And of course, I have come to the realization that there is no limit to what one could achieve by both learning and understanding different sorts of languages. 

Final Blog Post

Moisey Suleymanov

Prof: JrC

In this blog I will be focusing on the studies of Martin Luther king and incorporating it throughout the three classes I had this semester. I will be connecting to human rights in particular. Martin Luther King often mentioned Agape or loves; in order to promote his theory of non-violence. Within this cluster I was taking Linguistics class, throughout the semester we began to study how many languages are disappearing. Not as if they are just vanishing but people do not continue to speak the language of their culture. Many were not allowed to speak their language such as in Arizona, Native Americans were not allowed to speak their language. If a language other than English was spoken in school then there would be consequences that many would not want to imagine. Other languages such as Chulym just died throughout time. Chulym originated in northern Russia around Siberia, those who spoke Chulym, adapted to the Russian language overtime. In any case I can connect the issue in Arizona to Martin Luther King’s motive in acquiring rights for African Americans. If those who lived in Arizona promoted some sort of non-violent protest and showed the amount of love for their culture, their rights may have been respected by certain officials allowing them to practice their culture through their native language.

                As for my law and human rights class, the name speaks for itself. There were many major issues that we came across throughout the class that Martin Luther King came across throughout his lifetime fighting for the freedom of African Americans. We came across the issue of genocide, the Hutu and the Tootsie came across our class numerous times. The government divided people of Africa into two separate groups based upon social class. It was basically segregation one group had more rights than the other. During the time that the government had power they uplifted the Hutu people putting the Tootsies down.  I believe if the Tootsie people would have gathered together and stood up for who they are, nonviolently of course. Showing that the people of Africa are one by expressing love for one another, once again not the love that many may think of, such as romantic. Rather it was just a sort of love where you hug your enemy, love your enemy the way that God loves you.

The language of human rights is infinite, there millions of ways of expressing one self. The language of human rights may be interpreted in many ways. It can be from something as small as love that Martin Luther King used, another may be religion.  The love that King spoke of derived from the Christian religion. However today many conflicts are sparked by religion; which King used in a completely opposite way in order to put an end against hate and violence.  King used language to succeed in what he set out to do, the figure of speech that he used was strong, and it had a person in a completely different mental state of mind. Language has no limits; the sky is not even the limit. Although many cannot see the effectiveness of language, they do not realize that it is not their physical strength that promotes their ideas it is the strength of language.  If the all the nations throughout the world incorporated Agape to their conflicts bringing all the people together, religious conflicts would no longer exist.

In the beginning of the semester it was tough to see the connection between the classes within the cluster, however as we progressed through each class I began to realize that the connections are not going to be right in front of me in bold black letters. I worked around and realized that if we were to incorporate everything that we learned in English 101 with King then the world may have not been where it is today, with extinction of language, and genocide.

LIB 110- The dream of America

The dream of America                            

This story is dedicated to the immigrants who strive for the best, those who do not sleep well in the night to provide for their family.

The name that was given to me on the 16 of July 1993 was Moisey, in other words Moses. I was born in the former Soviet Union in the country of Turkmenistan, which is very rich with oil. I came to the states at the age of two; however my older brother was born in the U.S. Many people that listen to the story of my life never really understood how I was born in Turkmenistan where as my older brother was born in the states..I continuously come across the question “wait what?” This is how it all began…the story of my life; the story of a family seeking to live the American dream. When my parents moved to the U.S in the 90's it was tough for them to adapt to the new lifestyle. It was very difficult for them to find a job, considering the fact that they could not speak a word of English.  Without a job they could not support an average family of four, what hope what there? My parents would ask themselves what in the world is the American Dream? Is this what this is? Without any hope in the U.S in addition to my mother being pregnant with me, my parents decided to move back to the old country... back to what they called life. A life where every neighbor would know come over unexpectedly for some tea, as if they were family; a life where sheep and cows were considered investments. As time went by my parents felt as if they were in a sort of depression in the U.S and they claimed that was the main reason that they moved back to the old country. Of course someone would be forced to feel depressed without any sort of support, no job, and no hope in the land of "opportunity". In many cases people back in the country spoke about America so highly, calling it the land of opportunity. My parents were able to live the spoken theory. In about 96 my parents decided to give it another try, see what the land of opportunity throws at them this time...My father is a brother of five others. Two older sisters, two older brothers and then comes the little guy who I favored most; my uncle Joseph. As my father came to the states for the second time with a hundred dollars in his pocket, he came with an open mind. My uncle offered him a business proposition... establishing a car service business. Keep in mind my father had a hundred dollars in his pocket. His older brother applied most of his money to the business.

 As my father was working, my mother was a stay home mom. Typical Russian wife, taking care of the kids and cooking. It was time for my older brother to begin elementary school, as my mother was preparing him for school dressing him up,  I had the most joy. I could not wait for him to return home with all the news, in fact my mother would tell me I would cry because I wanted to begin elementary school so bad. (Sometimes I think to myself boy what was I thinking?!) No I’m only joking; education is the key to success! That is where my parents began to experience the rights that the government provided them with, the right to a free education. Unfortunately my brother was not doing well. My mother being a very smart and determined woman could not find the skill to aid my brother...she was not familiar with the English language. This led to my parents hiring a tutor, Ms. Koval..She was recommended by one of the counselor's in school. Ms.Koval was a great woman who was a great help to my family in every way. In fact I would say that she was the reason that my family experienced a major change in our life. She was aware that my mother was not able to speak English well; in fact she did not know how to speak at all, just a few words here and there. Ms. Koval offered my mother to apply to Long Island University, my mother was surprised. Without knowing any English she went ahead and applied. Her hope in living the American Dream rose, but were quickly brought down. She was denied; luckily she was determined and applied for the spring semester. ACCEPTED! However she was a bit intimidated, knowing that she could not speak English.  Language was a major issue that my family came across. As she was accepted, she had barely any sleep for the next seven years. She would have a school book and a dictionary on the side, defining each and every word. Soon she became one of the best students in class, and chose to major in Pharmacy. Her determination pulled her through pharmacy school, and has made her a successful pharmacist today. I must say it was not easy. I remember looking into my mother’s eyes as she was preparing me for school. I was looking into the eyes of the strongest woman; a woman I am proud to call my mother. As I would look into her eyes all I would see was happiness and determination, both my Mother and Father wanted the best for their children. As for my father, he is somebody I look up to. He sacrificed everything he had in the old country in order to establish a new lifestyle for his family, for us. It was difficult, I did not see my father often during the day, and he would come home late in the evening extremely tired. It was not easy growing up as an immigrant, but it’s what made me what I am today. Appreciate everything you have. Many would do anything to step foot on the land of opportunity.

Rights were not really taken from my parents, my father had the opportunity of working at the same time my mother was provided a great education. They came to the states to attempt to live the American dream. We as people were granted our rights, and allowed the opportunity to get an education.

As for me language came pretty easy, although I was not born in the states, the English language was introduced to me pretty quickly. I would say that it is much easier for a young individual to learn a new language. Yet it was not always easy, I would always speak Russian at home and it would throw me off from learning the English language. I would say that I am grateful that my parents moved to New York. It made me who I am today. I really can't imagine how my life would have been if I was to be raised in Turkmenistan. I look through my father’s childhood pictures asking myself what if... What if I was to grow up in a different country? I would just imagine. How would life be without a computer? I would ask my parents, the answer was very simple. They were all family oriented, spending quality time with one another. At times I want to visit the old country, many say that there is nothing to see out there, just endless roads without any pavement. I insist on visiting perhaps one day. I feel as if I am missing something if I do not visit. I feel as if it is part of me.

As I touched up on this writing around 2:10 Am on 12/03/11, my life was flashing through my eyes. Every word I typed brought some sort of memory; memory that will stay with me forever, and passed down generations. Before I began to touch up my writing I was over my aunt’s house, along with my brother Sal and my cousin Ruben. We looked at photo albums which brought back the most amazing memories. Every single detail in each photo down to a plant brought back memories. After all memories are all we have. Appreciate every moment.  As the time approached I realized that I completely forgot to complete my writing, I rushed to my phone and quickly dialed 4 ones car service. I use cabs very frequently, so I’m not so use to them. As my brother and I sat into the cab, the driver turned around examined us for about thirty seconds and then in a deep voice asked “where are we going?” we both at once told him the address. As he was driving he was dispatched another job which he was really upset about. He was told to go from one part of the Queens Boulevard to the complete opposite. I felt as if he was taking all of his anger out on the gas pedal..wasn’t a pleasant ride. That was beside the point, his tone of voice changed and he said in a sad hopeless voice, “guy’s make sure you stay in school alright, study now and fuck around later….get an education”. I came to think that this guy is a parent, or maybe he just looked at us as children who he wanted to attempt to experience the American Dream. I quickly asked him where he was from; all he said was “Greek”. That is how our conversation ended. Memories, my father rushed through my head. They were both men who sacrificed for their children or some sort of loved ones. Working hard, late at night hoping they find some sort of opportunity.