Richard Rodriguez's Ari Memoir Of Bilinghood

How does languages connect specific communities? Everyone knows their primary language, but there remains thousands of other languages. Each job, friend group, and sport team has their own language that they understand. Language varies from person to person and job to job. Depending on what language people speak, they might receive judgement from others around them. “The way a person speaks can lead to stereotyped judgements about him or her and assumptions about a range of topics from IQ to economic class” (Shea 507). Lawyers have their own specific language. Adapting to the language, formal public language, and their own community. First, lawyers have to adapt to the language they will use for their occupation. Adapting to this language

Just like any other language, learning this new language takes practice and repetition. In the article, “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” Richard Rodriguez, a literary scholar, memorist, essayist, journalist, and television commentator, wrote, “Only then did I determine to learn classroom English.” He states that he puts hard work into learning this new language, which helps him adapt to it. “Weeks after, it happened: One day in school I raised my hand to volunteer an answer” (Rodriguez). He states that he had to work and work on the new language so that he could get used to it. Just like lawyers, they have to continue using the new language to get the hang of it. Additionally, in the article, “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan, a best-selling author, wrote, “Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery.” In this sentence, she talks about her mother’s language. She states that she understands the way her mother talks because she has grown up with it. She adapted to her mother’s language because she heard her talk almost every day. Lawyers will start to adapt to their new language by listening to follow learning lawyers or

Lawyers need to what to say, when to say it, why to say it, and how long to speak. In the article, “From Decolonising the Mind,” Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, a celebrated novelist, playwright, and social critic, wrote, “Thus one of the most humiliating experiences was to be caught speaking Gikuyu in the vicinity of the school.” He states that when speaking a certain language, in public, he felt embarrassed. This relates to lawyers because if they use the wrong terminology, they could feel embarrassed or humiliated. Also, they may feel judged from fellow lawyers, the judge, or even their client. As a matter of fact, in the article, “Bilingualism in America: English Should Be the Official Language,” S.I. Hayakawa, a former Senator and now an author, wrote, “Expounded at length on the need for and eventually of, a multilingual, multicultural United States of America with a national language policy citing English and Spanish as the two ‘legal languages’.” He states that the speakers spoke the right amount of time. Lawyers have to know how long to speak to a judge and a