Indian or Singaporean English Essay Example for Free

Indian or Singaporean English Essay Indeed, language has been one of the most fundamental elements of culture. As such, culture and history brings about a language. However, in today’s society, English is slowly becoming a global language. This is to say, many people are learning English as their second language and because of this, dialects are starting to form out of English. These smaller versions of English bring to it the culture of those trying to learn it – whether they are African-Americans, Hispanics or Asians. Because each is unique and is a reflection of different cultures, the label of Standard English used by Americans is a bit inappropriate. To say that there is one standard means that the others are less formal or different from the norm. In fact, it is not the deviation from the standard that sets these apart but culture and history, which is brought about by these dialects. For me, Hispanics speaking English brings into the language the passion and intensity of the Spanish language. It should not be looked down upon as is the case of Ebonics or Black English. Some words that are not normally used by pure white Americans may be included in such dialects but it is not because it is slang or informal, but because it is a reflection of the heritage that speaks them – whether it be African Americans or Hispanics. People should be proud of how they speak even though it may not be classified as â€Å"standard† because the way they speak shows who they are. In learning English, it is not good to simply copy how the majority speaks English but to learn the language but still let our native culture and heritage to shine through. This is why I feel that it is very appalling when people think a dialect is uncultured or uneducated when in fact it is simple a different kind of culture and education that is being shown by the dialect. In fact, the assumption of a â€Å"standard† only means that the people who define which are the norms are the ones in power. They use â€Å"standard† English and therefore, they want their type of language to be the best. They themselves are proud of their way of speaking and want everybody to understand the beauty of their type of English. However, this is also the case for everyone. Now, if only minorities would see their dialects in the same way then they too can consider their dialect as, not only valid, but also equally respectable and normal. Growing up and learning English as my second language has helped me gain a respect for my Hispanic-Anglish language. It shows that even if I speak a different language than my native tongue, I am still able to hold on to who I am and still my culture and history is brought out whenever I speak. This certain kind of pride helps me to feel respected and part of the norm. However, I know that society is a tough crowd. Even though I may feel my brand of English is beautiful and at equal footing with the â€Å"standard†, officially, I know that there is a certain type of success associated with some variations of English. The language as spoken by Americans or English will still be considered as better and more educated by most people. That is why I am hoping my daughter will be given the same benefits as local Americans or naturally English speaking people because her first language and my husband’s first language is English. I do not feel there is something else I can do to change this fact, since I know it is integrated already into the mindset and system of society. It is institutionally and culturally accepted. However, for me who is learning English, I do not feel compelled to make other people speak â€Å"standard† English in order to treat them better or to look upon them with more respect and/or admiration. I know for a fact that most people learning another language puts in the time and effort that deserves such respect and/or admiration. Therefore, I am not afraid to show and give it to them. I do hope that one day, the people who are naturally speaking English, can look upon those studying and taking English as their second language at the same level. Some words may be different. Some accent may be present. But the fact of the matter is, English is just an expression of emotions and feelings and thoughts and opinions. It should not be a means of segregating people and classifying them as a lower class or a less educated class. In fact, it should be the opposite. Language should be used to connect people and to integrate different experiences and culture. The fact that people like me are studying English bringing in our experiences and culture to it means we are breathing in new life to English and enriching it. Even people who are not in America who are adopting English to their own language commands such respect. Indian or Singaporean English have become an entity of their own. They bring in new words and means of expressions while retaining English as the backbone of the new language being developed. This is a means of enriching English instead of breaking it down and destroying it. Instead of just carrying the same expressions and words, the exotic experiences and everyday lives of these foreigners are forging with English and therefore, creating a livelier language. People who speak English in their own land while keeping intact their own first languages therefore makes English a more global language and are uniting the world and making people feel closer and more connected with each other.

Mischels Greenhouse :: Creative Writing Story

Mischels Greenhouse While working at the brand new Mischels Greenhouse I found out it was different from any other job I ever had. It was one of the most responsible jobs so far of my life. Four thousand lives were almost totally in my exchange sisters, Tanya, and my hands. By us watering them daily. Because it was so hot out-side, the greenhouse was stifling. Watering mums was a very tedious job be-cause it was repetitious. I started daily at 9 A.M. my whole day consisted of taking care of Forty thousand mums. They sat on top of many benchtops collecting sun and, heat rays waiting for us to water them. After watering them, John, (My boss), would go behind me and pull flowers. Which means picking out the best plants. Then Tanya and I would pick them up and put them on a rack 5x5 and then shrink wrap them. Shrink-wrapping was mainly my job throughout the day. I would load an 8 foot tall rack then I would wrap the rack full of mums so the mums would not fall off. Then I would take the palette jack and pick up therack, and load it into the Ford truck. Loading is hard because I have to make sure they go all the way to the back and to the side of the truck. It can't be one inch off otherwise it could hurt the plants (They could rub together) and the racks wouldn't fit side by side. It's a endless cycle, day after day, until all the mums are gone. When the mums are all gone, it's a glorious feel of relief. All the benches had to be cleaned to get ready for poinsettias. Tanya went back to Belarus to live with her real family so I asked my friends if any of them wanted to help and only one said yes. I told my boss and a week later my friend was working with me It was my job to "show him the ropes" with the poinsettias. After he got the hang of things it was smooth sailing, to load poinsetias. We did everything the same as the mums except we put eight plants in

Explore Anita Desais intensely evocative, descriptive style in Studies in the Park Essay

Anita Desai is a world renowned, Indian novelist and short-story writer. ‘Studies in the Park’ is merely one of her vast collection of short-stories, however, it is one of the most expressive stories, and it also conveys Anita Desai’s immensely communicative style of writing. ‘Studies in the Park’ is set in the late 1970’s, in contemporary India. It talks about a young boy, Suno, who is determined to do well in his exams that are a few months away. He is frequently pressurised by his parents, to study hard, and do well. However he is constantly disturbed by the repeated noise, and cannot study. He decides to go to a nearby park, which turns out to be an ideal location for him to study. The pressure that is mounted on him slowly starts to rise as the exams approach, this in turn, results in him becoming a workaholic: eventually his whole life revolves around his studies. He then sees a life changing vision that completely transforms his perspect ive of life. ‘Studies in the Park’ contains various descriptions, and images that enables the true message of the story to be brought out. The story begins with the line â€Å"-Turn it off, turn it off†¦What next, my god† this line evidently depicts the irritability that Suno is experiencing. This example is a perfect case in which Desai uses a very evocative stream of consciousness to illustrate emotion. This story is written in first person, and because of this Anita Desai is able to express true emotion and sentiment, as shown in the example above. In the line â€Å"So I raced out of my room†, Anita Desai indicates that Suno, the protagonist, is annoyed and cannot bear his surroundings anymore. This example is a typical instance where Anita Desai utilises first person, to portray an emotion. Diction is an essential component of Anita Desai’s style of writing, she uses a diverse collection of words to indicate the precise feeling that the protagonist is experiencing. For example, in the line â€Å"†¦rest of them standing and peering in†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the word â€Å"peering† is accurate as it portrays the â€Å"curiosity† and the â€Å"nosiness† of the brothers and sisters. Another example is in the line â€Å"†¦ snarled at him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The word â€Å"snarled†, in this context, implies that Suno is very irritable and ill-tempered at this moment. The word is precise, and specific, and thus, it makes the line more communicative and expressive. Anita Desai uses imagery as well, at many occasions, in an attempt to invoke vividness and clarity in the story. For example, in the line â€Å"Bag-like women in grey and fawn saris †¦ with their sackcloth backs to the rails† This description of the park is very clear and vivid, it is a description of one instant in the park: it talks about the children falling, the women screaming and the madmen prancing. The description allows the reader to infer many details about the park such as: it is very active, there many people present there, etc. These sorts of descriptions are present all over the story, hence it makes the story more understandable and suggestive. Desai also uses imagery to elaborate on one point, for example, the description â€Å"The afternoons would be quiet†¦bazaars and slums† This paragraph talks about the serenity and tranquillity present in the park in the afternoons, and early evenings. Anita Desai stresses on this point with help of various images. The use of imagery and diction has been used extensively in the story. However it is most effective, when the protagonist experiences the vision, in which he realises the importance of the aspects of life. The line â€Å"Just then she lifted her veil†¦Divine, I felt, or insane† indicates a new revelation that takes place in Suno’s mind, and with the use of imagery Anita Desai is able to depict this more vividly. During this phase, Desai uses many similes to describe the lady in the epiphany, and hence depict the new revelation. For example, in the line â€Å"†¦her borkha, like a flower†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This line compares the lady’s face to a â€Å"wax-white†, lifeless flower that shows importance of health in life. ‘Studies in the Park’ is very communicative and expressive; there are various descriptions and accurate diction that are essential components in the story. These have made the story more understandable and comprehensible, thus the central theme and message of the story has been portrayed competently. Anita Desai’s descriptive writing style is extremely graphic and illustrative: it focuses mainly on descriptions, images and precise diction to portray a particular point. Thus she has been able to depict the importance of everything in life: health, religion, family and love.

Franklin Man Who Changed History - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1479 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Benjamin Franklin Essay Did you like this example? The man who caught lightning in a bottle, was called a wizard or a magician but he goes by the name Benjamin Franklin. He was born January 17, 1706 born in a house on milk street in Boston Massachusetts. He was born to a large family of seventeen kids and two parents, he was number fifteen. Four of the kids in his family died at a young age. His parent were Josiah and Abiah, they were not that rich (Fradin 13). Josiah Franklin ran a shop called Blue Bull and Franklin would make soap and candles for the shop. Ben often had to share a bed with a brother or two. Franklinrs parents wanted him to become a minister (Fradin 13, 14). Franklin already had two strikes against him on being a minister, he was born on a sunday and he was left handed, those were signs of the devil. His father would punish him if he caught him writing with his left hand (Fradin 14). He ran away from home because he was beaten by his father. He often lived far away from his wife and had fight over politics with his son William. Franklin was claimed to have magical powers for what he did (Fradin 2). He helped free the United States of America from England (Fradin 1, 12). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Franklin: Man Who Changed History" essay for you Create order He was a scientist who discovered the nature of lightning, he also invented things such as the lighting rod and bifocal glasses. He wrote a book about his experiences and started one of Americars first libraries. He began the first general hospital and created the United States postal service (Fradin 1, 2). Benjamin Franklin was out of the ordinary for his creativity, catching lighting with a bottle and being a rebel. Even though Franklin was very busy he was always creative when it came to things. Franklinrs house was very busy when Deborahrs mom, sister, and brother lived with them. Franklin ran a printing office right out of one part of his house. Deborah was busy raising William and a boy who worked with Franklin also lived in the house (Fish 29). Franklin did more than just print, he sold iron stoves, soap cakes, quill pens, ink, paper, cheese, books, and tea. He loaned money to poor people and he loved reading. He wanted to read more books and wanted others to read more too (Fish 29). In 1732 he started a library and published an almanac. His almanac was different from others, his had jokes and wise sayings. He named his almanac Poor Richards Almanac (Fish 30). On October 20 Franklin had a son named Francis Folger. When Francis was four he died of smallpox. Franklin did all he could but he died on November 4, 1736 (Fish 30, 32). The next year he learned multiple languages, he learned French, Spanish, Italian, German. Franklin left Deborah in charge of his business and went to New England for several weeks. He visited his family in Boston and went to see his brother James because James ran away when he was young (Fish 31). James was dying and Franklin took care of Jamesrs son. In Philadelphia fire was a huge problem. Franklin printed a paper telling people to be careful when cleaning chimneys (Fish 31,32). Houses still caught on fire to matter how careful people were. Franklin proposed an idea about a fire department and people agreed. Thirty men offered to fight fires for free (Fish 33). Soon the city of Philadelphia was known for how fast they put out fires. Franklin worked hard on getting a better police because the men who guarded the city at night were often drunk. The city hired and trained night watchmen (Fish 33). Ben was named clerk of Pennsylvania Assembly, which made laws for Pennsylvania. Ben love d writing laws for his state (Fish 33). In 1737 he became a postmaster for the mail route stretched from Boston to South Carolina. Ben was always busy trying to make Philadelphia a better place (Fish 34). Franklinrs creativity lead him to catch lightning in a bottle. On June 1752 in Philadelphia a storm approached the city, everyone ran inside except Franklin and his son William. They lived in a house on Race and Second Street, Franklin was forty-six and his son was twenty-one. William picked up the kite that Franklin created just for that day (Fradin 3, 4). The kite had a metal wire sticking out of the top of the kite with a house key at the bottom of the string. Franklin had a jar under his coat then the pair dashed through the rain. They ran for a while then stopped at a field, William had to run across the field three times before the kite took flight (Fradin 5). When the kite took flight Franklin took the kite immediately from William. They ran to a shed and waited for the lightning to come. The pair was both excited and scared when Franklin held the string (Fradin 5). With the help of William the pair was answering the age old question is lightning and electricity the same thing. Franklin believed the electricity in thunderclouds could ca use lightning. The metal wire at the top of the kite would attract the lightning, then the lightning would run down the wire to the metal key trapping the electricity in a bottle (Fradin 6). The experiment was super dangerous because at any time the lightning could kill them both. The lightning flashed nearner so Franklin touched the key to see a spark but there was nothing. Finally the storm was overhead and suddenly they both held their breath (Fradin 6). A black cloud swallowed the cloud and Franklin touched the key, nothing. Suddenly he felt a tingle, shocks like the ones from his lab. A spark zoomed down the string and with each others help they proved lightning was electricity (Fradin 7). The pair was not done, Franklin took out the bottle from under his coat. The jar was a Leyden Jar built and used to store electricity. Franklin pressed the key to the bottle and the lightning flowed into the jar, then they reeled the kite in (Fradin 8). News had spread fast and Franklin became famous for catching lightning in a bottle. He was not satisfied just yet, he wanted to make electricity less dangerous. He invented a lightning rod, it was a metal rod that was fixed at a top of a building (Fradin 9). At the end of 1752 multiple buildings used a lightning rods and Franklin became a famous inventor. He was showed with medal and called a wizard. His friends laughed at such talk and Franklin knew he was no wizard just brilliant (Fradin 10, 11) . From catching lightning to being an inventor he was soon to believe he was a rebel too. When Franklin thought something was write he fought till the end. By Christmas 1764 Franklin was in London, when England had a new king, King George III. He believed the young monarch would be sympathetic and Franklin ended up staying in England for ten years. Franklin had barely been back at home when the British Parliament had passed the Stamp Act (Freedman 40). The colonists would now have to buy British Stamps, which they did not object too. Later riots ended up breaking out because of the Stamp Act. Demonstrators threatened to seize and destroy the hated taxed stamps (Freedman 40). The day the Stamp Act took effect not a single American tax collector was in business. In London, Franklin put all his effort into trying to get the Stamp Act repealed. He was busy at all hours talking with members of the Parliament (Freedman 41). He never stopped trying to repeal the Act, he started putting articles in the newspaper. He always argued that his country men would never accept the Act. He prepared for a long time because he knew that he was going to be summoned to appear before the British House (Freedman 41). Franklin answered a total of one hundred seventy-four questions and he was on his feet for four hours. Forty other people were called to testify and Americans gave Franklin credit for bring about the repeal all by himself. He was now recognized in England as Americars spokesperson (Freedman 42). Franklin was out of the ordinary because of his creativity, catching lightning in a bottle and being a rebel. Sadly he died on April 17, 1790 as a founding father of America. When he was a founding father he drafted the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. He also negotiated the Treaty of Paris in 1783 (Biography). In his life he wanted to eliminate the letters C, J, Q, W, X, and Y. He also educated himself which earned him degrees from top notch colleges. He died from gout and had complained of ailments for a long time (Biography). He has come down though history, along with the likeness of the one hundred dollar bill. At his funeral there was about twenty thousand people who attended. Franklin still remains one of the most celebrated figures in US history (Biography, History).