1. English is my first language and the language with which I have the highest fluency. Spanish is my second language and I am able to speak it fairly well after having studied the language for over 5 years and learning random words or phrases as a child from my extended family. I have recently been interested in learning Tagalog and practice words with friends who can speak Tagalog.
My experience with language stems from an issue with cultural identity. My mother is Mexican but does not know how to speak Spanish because her parents never taught her the language. My grandparents suffered from language barriers during their early years in school and the difficulty they faced with learning English as a second language influenced how they chose to raise their children (my mother and aunts). Aside from their own troubles caused by learning Spanish first, they believed that we were Americans now and the language of America is English; consequently, they decided not to teach my mother or her sisters Spanish which resulted in my mother's inability to teach me. This caused many issues of cultural identity as I grew up. Born half Black and half Mexican, I had to figure out how to negotiate my existence as a part of both groups and yet not completely belonging to either. I figured that by learning the language, I would be able to resolve that cultural disconnect and gain a sense of genuine acceptance as Mexican. However, the Spanish that I have learned is almost like a different language than Spanish spoken casually or within the home. When speaking, other native speakers are able to notice that I was taught "academic" Spanish or "book" Spanish. As a result, I would sometimes be categorized as "one of those" or not a "true Mexican."
