In 1791 an African american named Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to the former president of the United States Thomas Jefferson. In this letter he expressed to Jefferson his beliefs on how all humans are equal because God or as he said the "Father" has " afforded us all the same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties". However he made it quite clear that he was not happy or satisfied with jeffersons actions. He claimed that jefferson had not followed his own statements on the declaration of independence of all humans being " entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And also, in the most respectful way possible called him a liar and a criminal against religion, nature and humanity.
Like Banneker, Equiano from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equinano , was also a slave. In the passage he describes his experiences in the slave ships. In these crowded ships people were treated unfairly and were forced to travel under unsanitary conditions. Its easy for the reader to understand all the kinds of emotions felt by Equiano, some of which were fear and anxiety. He's experience in these ships were horrifying. And one of the things that scarred him the most was witnessing other slaves die before his eyes due to the lack of food and poor health.
Now you may ask yourself, If were all feeling creatures, how could we not feel for each other? In other words , how could the slave-traders treat slaves in such way without feeling any remorse. In my opinion the answer to this question depends on who's answering it. There is always one person that wants to be on top, which i think has been the biggest problem in our society, because as long as that person is getting what they want, they don't care of who they step on along the way. Yes,we all have the ability to feel, but some can feel more than others. Some people would do anything to get what they want in life, even if that means hurting someone physically, mentally and emotionally. I also believe that someone may effect me but no someone else.The first step to making people act differently towards each other is making them feel something. Meaning, if we want to make a change we need to make people see how their actions effect other people, hopefully reaching some sort of emotional reaction, or better yet a deep connection. This would be the only way that we can someday come to a point were we treat eachother equally.
- When teenagers use the word "drama" instead of using "bullying" is because they want to in a way decrease the meaning of the word. Meaning like make it not such a big deal.
- The word "drama" could be empowering because it basically decreases the level of the problem and sugar-coats it.
- When someone is called a "nerd" is a form of bullying. They use something good and turn it into something bad.
The first syllable of "juana" has the onset of a voiced bilabial glides with a rhyme of a high back vowel, "wu". The next syllable is a mid central vowel, "a". The last syllable is onset of a voiceless alveolar nasal, with a rhyme of a high central vowel, "na".
IPA transcription: wɑnə
Frist begin by making an "O" shape with your lips and letting out air to make a "Hoo" sound, "ju". Than open your mouth making an "ahhh" sound. Than placing your tongue on top of your upper teeth, making a "na".
In 1791 an African american named Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to the former president of the United States Thomas Jefferson. In this letter he expressed to Jefferson his beliefs on how all humans are equal because God or as he said the "Father" has " afforded us all the same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties". However he made it quite clear that he was not happy or satisfied with jeffersons actions. He claimed that jefferson had not followed his own statements on the declaration of independence of all humans being " entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And also, in the most respectful way possible called him a liar and a criminal against religion, nature and humanity.
Like Banneker, Equiano from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equinano , was also a slave. In the passage he describes his experiences in the slave ships. In these crowded ships people were treated unfairly and were forced to travel under unsanitary conditions. Its easy for the reader to understand all the kinds of emotions felt by Equiano, some of which were fear and anxiety. He's experience in these ships were horrifying, like being a witness of how people would die before his eyes from sickness.
Now you may ask yourself, If were all feeling creatures, how could we not feel for each other?. In other words , how could the slave-traders treat slaves in such way without feeling any remorse. In my opinion the answer to this question depends on who's answering it. There is always one person that wants to be on top, which i think has been our biggest problem, because as long as that person is getting what they want, they don't care of who they step on along the way. Yes,we all have the ability to feel, but some more than others. Some people would do anything to get what they want in life, even if that means hurting someone physically, mentally and emotionally. I also believe that one thing that might effect me in a big way and make me feel something, like knowing someone does not have food or shelter, might not effect someone else. The first step to making people act differently towards each other is making them feel something.
I am Hispanic, so i speak Spanish fluently. But i also speak English to the best of my ability. I don't really remember how i was introduced to language or the way i learned Spanish (Even though i am sure it was taught to me by my parents and people around me). But i do remember growing up as a little girl, i would watch TV and sing along to songs on the radio, and learning new words that way, apart from what i learned in school. Learning English though, of course was a lot harder. But you could say it wasn't all that bad since i was young and learned it so quick. However, it was astonishing for me coming from a different country and culture to see the way that people interacted with each other and expressed themselves in a different tongue.
When i think of language i think of communication and the power behind words. Language could also be the ability that we as humans have to express our feelings, thoughts and ideas and be heard. But the meaning or definition behind the word varies depending on the person. Thinking about communication and how a person expresses him/herself takes me deeper though. I am very curious about psychology and how our minds work, so its interesting for me how we as humans could use body language and even words to express how we feel and certain types of emotions, and still understand one another.
I believe language has different degrees and ways to be used depending on who you are communicating with and your relationship with the person. The way you talk to your parents, family and even friends, shouldn't be the same way you would approach someone who is older than you or lets say a college professor. Unless you talk proper English at all times, if there is such a thing. You should always know how to carry yourself out and the proper way of communicating with others no matter what language you speak. In other words, there is always a boundary of how comfortable you could get with the way you express yourself with certain people.
I honestly don't know how to feel yet about the cluster because i don't find the connection between language and human rights and i might be wrong or even maybe confused about the whole thing. Hopefully though further down in the semester ill understand more what the concept is and how everything intertwines.
