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Noche insomne I Paulina Lara ¿A dónde se va uno cuando intenta huir de sí mismo? ¿En dónde reposo la conciencia? ¿Y en dónde el sedante que me adormezca la existencia cuando ésta arde, incomoda, hiere? No encuentro anestesia para este hastío de vivir, de ser, de vivir siendo, y al final, que no es final sino comienzo, encontrar siempre la nada En la rueda eterna, yo transeúnte del sinsentido; de la elipse con principio donde no se ve el fin Sólo lo mismo Las mismas palabras en diferentes bocas, las mismas promesas pútridas que carcome la ilusión Nada nuevo, y todo igual. ¿Y a dónde? ¿Y por qué? ¿Y para qué? ¿Y ahora qué? ¿Qué? ¿Qué? Quiero una casa a la orilla del mar Para beberme Lo impávido de las olas Beber su valentía, su rigor; Mutar en bestia imparable Renunciar al caparazón Que se ha vuelto escondite Y convertirme en tormenta Y así, en las noches, Cuando el rumor del viento Acaricie las olas, Manar la misma fuerza Impresa en ellas Nemea
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Fundirme en una con el mar, Que la sal me lave las heridas, Que los miedos se diluyan, Existir en armonía Empapada De la misma sensación De eternidad que me embiste Cada vez que miro la lejana línea Que separa al mar del cielo
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“The presence of anglicisms on Facebook: use and real meaning” Dana Iael Monserrath Salinas Padilla
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Abstract he use of anglicisms is common nowadays among young people, these are present in the daily interaction between friends is a sort interact between friends, family or just acquaintances, but these have an effect on the students. Through a qualitative investigation, with the analysis of the globalization and some anglicisms found on posts made on Facebook by students with a level of C1 on English, was achieved the comparison of data based on the meaning given by the students of certain words, the given by the Real Academia Española, and the one given by an English dictionary, like Oxford and Cambridge. The results are presented as part of the analysis done. Introduction Due to the big growth of the technology, people are more and more dependent on certain electronic devices that make faster the communication with others, at the same time, thanks to those devices it is possible a connection from a place to another worldwide. Applications that aim to create a fast connection among people, allowing them to share personal information, posts of entertainment, social interest, news, and share opinions about varied topics in different formats like videos, images, texts, etcetera. Facebook is a social media that allows the things mentioned before, and, although it is not the only one that allows it, it is one of the most
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used nowadays by people of all ages. There is no doubt that the constant use of this application has achieved have a big influence on the life of its users, as an example, the appearance of new words that many times have not a translated into Spanish, or foreign words that start to be more used as if they were part of the vocabulary of the Spanish language. It is common to find on posts made in Spanish words in other languages, especially words in English called anglicisms. These types of words are present in the lexicon used, mainly by young people. On this documental analysis was performed a comparison of profiles on Facebook between students from the Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras, who have a level C1 in English, and persons that have low knowledge of the language, with the purpose of finding out if for having a high level in the language exists less, greater, or equal use of anglicisms than when there is no knowledge, also to know the context in which those words are used. The qualitative method were used to get the conclusions, through the analysis of the words found in the meaning given on the sentences where they were used, research on the Real Academia Española to know if it accepts them as part of the vocabulary of the Spanish language, and a comparison with the meaning given by English language dictionary, Oxford or Cambridge. Reflection on concepts and literature Globalization has provided, definitely, a big
“The presence of anglicisms on Facebook: use and real meaning”
approach among countries all around the world, achieving a connexion among cultures, being affected by the way of thinking, the way of living and until the language. Padilla and Sanchéz (2011) showed that there exist different factors on globalization that caused an influence from a language to another. One of those factors of globalization where the language has an important role is in the field of business, since today, it is important to know a second language, something that allows getting new and better opportunities on a job, being the English the most spoken as a second language, coming to be recognized as “world language” or “global lingua franca”, besides, to be the most used language on publicity and in the entertainment world. Essberger (2019) this is a reason why nowadays there exist on the schools in Mexico a bilingual education. Encarnación (2019) assured that young people that are students obtain English learning in the school with a reinforcement on the home through social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Facebook is one of the most networks used by young people, counting with 2.4 billion user by 2019 (Ortiz-Espinoza, 2019), it offers to their users a wide range of things to do, like, share moments, locations, ideas, and opinions about different topics with a big amount of persons, giving its users the freedom to express themselves in the way they want. What is a reality is the meeting of cultures wi-
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thin Facebook, having indirectly influenced each other, especially in the language. At least in Spanish, English the language with the most influence on it. Chávez, Quispe, Lira and Arias (2018) talked about the use of anglicisms in a Facebook page called “Confessions”, they confirmed a big presence of English words at the moment of expressing opinions, and they were used even when there were texts with arguments complex and developed comprehensively. Loan words are something common, Båstedt (2017) affirmed that many times these kinds of words have an equivalent in Spanish but people keep using the ones in English. To be able to know if the knowledge of English affects the use of anglicisms, five women were selected to analyse their profiles on Facebook, all of them with the same age but a different level of knowledge of English. Students who graduated from the Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras have a level higher than B2 in the English language, the reason why we analysed three profiles of students from group C from the sixth generation of the career, one of each branch offered in the career translation, business services, and teaching. As well as two profiles from known that have not a good knowledge of the English language. The anglicisms founded are represented on the next chart along with its meaning given by the Real Academia Española (RAE) and its meaning given by some academy of the English language and this is presented in the chart 1:
“The presence of anglicisms on Facebook: use and real meaning”
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“The presence of anglicisms on Facebook: use and real meaning”
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“The presence of anglicisms on Facebook: use and real meaning”
Like it is an analysis about a social media context, most of the foreign words found in the five profiles investigated are words used in a social context, used to sharing opinions, expressing ideas, or sharing own experiences. As it is shown and recognized a diversity of loan words used, even when almost all the words have an equivalence in Spanish, and due to the academic level it can be assumed that they know the words in Spanish but as González (2017) explained, people use foreign words on their day by day like if those words are part of the Spanish vocabulary, standing out that young people spent most of the time on social media where this kind of words are common. Balterio and Campos (2012) observed that young people apply loan words because they are popular, but they use them even when they do not do it correctly. Padilla and Sanchéz (2011) mentioned that foreign words are popular among young people because they sound stylish, he said that young people knew what was DVD, CD, and USB, but they did not know what the letters stood for. Something similar could be said about the use of the word “crush”, used by the Student LILEX 1 and the Participant 2, which has a different meaning depending on the context in the English vocabulary, but used within a Spanish context, mostly has only the meaning of referring to someone for whom you have an attraction. Same with the word used by the Participant 2, “miss”, it depends on the context to give a specific meaning, but in Spanish, it is more common to hear it is used at the moment of name a teacher. Words like Animal Print, WhatsApp, and meme are words that have not a specific translation into Spanish and has not a specific meaning, Nonetheless, they are commonly used with the meaning given by society, as mentioned in the chart, WhatsApp can be referred to the app or at the action of sending a message in that app,
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“meme” is the name given to certain images or videos founded on social media, and animal print is a stylish of clothes with animal skin design, it has not been accepted by any Spanish academy and by any English academy, but people still use these words. Moreover Gonzales (1996) mentioned that Bookles (1982: 171) divided anglicisms into two types, With the words in the table it is possible to divide them according to Bookles; 1) “unique loans’: words without translation or similar meaning, or with long time established in the host language, “Crush”, “Memes”, “WhatsApp”, “boneless”, “baby shower”, “gym”, “OMG”, “Kit”, “miss”, ”animal print”, “outfit” and “cringe”; 2) synonymic loans”: words that have a literal translation. “Hobby”, “Inbox”, and “cool”. On the other hand, it could be noted that the presence of those words is equally among students of foreign languages with a high level of English and people that have not high knowledge of the language. But something remarkable is that the students from the Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras had more posts with a whole sentence or more written in English, that are not anglicisms, but it is a sample of the influence of the English language, whilst the students who did not belong to LILEX made more use of just anglicisms. Students from LILEX 1, 2, and 3 and the participants 1 and 2 used the same amount of words, but the context was different. On the profiles by LILEX´s students 1 and 2 were found that most of the posts were related to something about languages, for example the Student LILEX 1, or posts in other languages, while in the profile by the LILEX´s student 3 were fewer posts. The profiles by the Participants 1 and 2, who do not belong to LILEX, were posts more related to their own experiences, fun content shared by other people as jokes, expressions like ¨ Un día eres joven y al otro tu outfit depende de unas
“The presence of anglicisms on Facebook: use and real meaning”
pinzas para colgar ropa.” And “Ya soy señora si their acceptance is due to the changes in socieuso blusas animal print?” that are expressions as ties and their fast diffusion on advertisements a mockery about the age and the way you dress. and the constant use of social media. Nevertheless, it can be possible that anglicisms are Conclusions not a threat to the Spanish language, but it can As technology, societies are constantly chan- be part of the evolution of the language (Enging, same with the language. Foreignisms are carnación, 2019), something that can add or not always used with the purpose of give the subtract to the vocabulary, because one thing aspect of being superior to others, but there is is clear, foreign words do not disappear, and no doubt that those words become popular and they add more to the list every year. they become common words in the slang used by people, especially in young people, and that References Álvarez-Gayou Jurgenson, J. L. (2003). Cómo hacer investigación Cualitativa: Fundamentos y metodología (Vol. 1st.). México: Paidós Educador. Balterio, I., and Campos, M. Á. (2012). False anglicisms in the Spanish language of fashion and beauty. (24), 233260. Ibérica, Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos. Cambidge Dictionary. (n.d.). Social Media. Retrieved 2020, from Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es-LA/dictionary/english/social-media Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (Vol. 2nd.). SAGE Publications. Duzaides Iglesias, M. E. and Molina Gómez, A. M. (2004, March April). Análisis documental y de información: dos componentes de un mismo proceso. Retrieved from SciELO: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1024-94352004000200011 Encarnación, G. N. (2019, July). Analysis of the use of anglicisms in social media. Retrieved from http://tauja. ujaen.es/bitstream/10953.1/10483/1/Garcia_Nuez_Encarnacion_TFG_Estudios_Ingleses.pdf Gonzales, F. R. (1996). FUNCTIONS OF ANGLICISMS IN CONTEMPORARY SPANISH. In I. N. française, Cahiers de Lexicologie. Didier Erudition. Hall, M. (2020, October 22). Facebook. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/ topic/Facebook Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras. (2016). Historia. Retrieved from http://lenguasextranjeras.uaz.edu.mx/historia National Geographic Society. (2019, July 25). Globalization. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://www. nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/globalization/ Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019, September 18). The rise of social media. Retrieved from Our World in Data: https:// ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media Oxford International English. (n.d.). A brief history of the English language. Retrieved 2020, from Oxford International English: https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/a-brief-history-of-the-english-language/ Real Academia Española. (n.d.). hobby. Retrieved 2021, from Real Academia Española: https://dle.rae.es/hobby?m=form United Nationas Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2017). Globalization and culture. Retrieved from United Nationas Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): http://www. unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/culture-and-development/the-future-we-want-the-role-of-culture/globalization-and-culture/ USC Libraries. (2020). Research Guides. Retrieved from USC Libraries (University of Southern California): https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/quantitative World Health Organization. (n.d.). Globalization. Retrieved 2020, from World Health Organization: https:// www.who.int/topics/globalization/en/ Nemea
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The use of meditation and watercolor painting as tools during Second Language Teaching and Learning: self-awareness and creativity Hissell Skarleth Mendoza López
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he lack of self-confidence and the self-doubt could be the most current feelings when talking about learning a second language, and not all the times we feel mentally supported by the teacher in charge even though it is not exclusively their main goal, it would be an extra help to adapt meditation and mental health information during the learning process. Art is one of the thousand ways of human expressions, in which the artist reflects the inner voice into a work of art. The fact that all human beings are experiencing themselves into one specific perspective, this way of expression is ideal to implement it in the classrooms as auxiliary activity to activate students´ creative side and put into practice their self-awareness. The main reason of this research was to find new ways of teaching English in a more dynamic, creative and relaxing way by using art (watercolor painting), also having a little time to do some guided meditations by the teacher. During all the time in which the teachers have gotten immersed into this amazing world of teaching, some problems with children, teenagers and also adults have been faced, to mentioned some of the most commons are, the lack of motivation, stress, disinterest. One proposal is using art (watercolor painting) during classes and a set of short meditations at the beginning of the class. Art is a symbol of creativity and new ideas, so teaching through, would help students to understand themselves and feel like they are learning English while leaving all their fear and struggles away, and some examples are when they think that they cannot learn because they are bad at it, or their parents force them to take class, the other classmates make laugh of them or even they are thinking about their other classes and
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the things that they have to do when the English class finishes. The combination of both (art and meditation) students can also obtain extra information about art and also, they can control better their stress and thoughts, but, everything around English language (including all the material, texts, audios, etcetera) so they can develop new skills in their daily life and also in the classes. The life outside the classroom is merely personal until it starts interfering into the daily activities, the teacher does not know the background behind each student, and some of the times, we as teachers do not create a space to analyze and observe the behavior of the students, the key would be to build a self-reflection zone, in order to be self-conscious, listening to our mind and our thoughts, being present and feel free. The professors’ work is demanding since it consists in supporting and helping them to gain confidence in themselves and also in their English skills (speaking, reading, writing, listening) so we can have better quality in our classes and also have confident and competitive students, equally, the students also feel as part of the work. This is the main goal each time that we are going to start a new semester. Contextualization It was proposed to apply this research in PEUL (Programa de Extensión Universitaria de Lenguas), specifically in the teenager’s program. This is a language school that belongs to the UAZ (Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas). It offers many languages including: German, English, Italian, French, Náhuatl, Japanese and more. It also has different programs for a range of ages, it has an adult (17 +) program, teenagers program (12 with 6 The use of meditation and watercolor painting as tools during Second Language Teaching and Learning: self-awareness and creativity
months – 16 with 3 months) and kids program (8 with 6 months – 12 with 3 months). In the case of teenagers and kids program, English is the only language that is offered, the adult program has the access to study more languages. Conceptual Framework English as a second language As usual, we must focus our attention on how the learners perform themselves during their English language acquisition process and understand the factors that are involved in it. Our brains work harder when we are learning a second language and also all of our mental and physical body responds to it due to the new information that we are receiving. Moreover, the second language acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances, but with the messages that are conveying and understanding (Krashen, 1981 p. 1)- In fact, while learning the language it is merely more important to do the same when children are learning their first language, which is being in touch with the language, not necessarily memorizing every grammar rule but analysing and understanding how it functions and only let it flow naturally. The conscious and the unconscious learning aspects are a significant part of the process, the first one is when we catch and recognize the formal and grammatical side of the language and the unconscious is the reasonable, the one who flows naturally and that is possible when we are immersed in an atmosphere that includes the language we are learning. Multiple Intelligences To begin with, we as individuals need to be conscious about the things or activities that we do easily and almost without any problem or difficulty. It can be for example painting, playing violin, dancing, debating, writing, etcetera. Sometimes those actions can be confused by thinking that this is our talent, or that it is our natural gift, but it is even more than that, the ability to do them goes deeper inside our brain. All humans learn differently and also all of us have infinite ways of thinking and acting, our brain works in a very unique way, we Nemea
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all have different intelligences, sometimes one is more dominant than the other, but, it is always a rare mix of all the intelligences reunited in our brains. It is needed to prioritize the fact that all students have the potential to do everything they want, but not all of them use the same tools or catch the information in the exact way as others. A further reason of why we should create a more flexible and kind of defined work plan is because only “if we expand and reformulate our view of what counts as human intellect will we be able to devise more appropriate ways of assessing it and more effective ways of educating it” (Gardner, 1993 p. 4). People have included in their brains the eight intelligences (linguistic, logical – mathematical, spatial, bodily – kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist) maybe ones are more predominant than others but everything is there mixed inside. MI theory is a cognitive model that seeks to describe how individuals use their intelligences to solve problems and fashion products. (Armstrong p.18, 2009) This definition is an example about how complex is to fully understand and examine the intelligences from all of us. The infinite ways of thinking of every human being contains a uniqueness that only us can identify, but it is hard to explain or sometimes being aware of, that’s the reason of why the examination and awareness should start with the teacher, so it is easier for them to combine its own intelligences to their student’s. Teaching Methods (language learning) Teaching areas have been facing many changes since its discovery, as new findings about methods, adaptations and fresh approaches, that, is connected to the ways the teachers are developing new ways of educating the students according to the needs of them and the approaches, methods and techniques selected by the educator. A better way to comprehend the method term is defining it, ¨the method concept in teaching – the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning¨ (Richards & Rogers 2001 p. 1). In addition, the theories are known as the support of the methods (old and new ones), so they can have some fundamentals and at the moment they put them into practice, they can perform better The use of meditation and watercolor painting as tools during Second Language Teaching and Learning: self-awareness and creativity
in the classroom and fulfill the student’s needs. Moreover, this is the part that not every day goes as it was planned, the teacher should have the ability to each class try to follow the plan as it was expected, but also know how to manage all the emotional changes that the students would have each class and adapt it to the mood of the moment. Also the time is unpredictable, the students would have questions about a certain topic and maybe the activity could take more time that it was anticipated. Teachers should be aware of those situation and be vulnerable to changes, so when they show up, they do not interfere in a negative way. Art This concept has numerous definitions and perceptions due to the infinite perspectives that the human being has, some of them find beauty in realistic works of art, others in abstract and contemporary art. It is quite hard to fully understand what is beauty for others, each person has different backgrounds, for example, the education and influence they had about art, in school, home, for the government, museums, social media, and it could be mentioned a lot of places in which this term was a topic at some point and was defined in infinite ways. Stokstad and Cothren say that “others have characterized “art” as something human-made that combines creative imagina-tion and technical skill, and satisfies an innate desire for order and harmony—perhaps a human hunger for the beautiful.” (2014 p. XXVl) So is up to us how do we perceive art and which meaning has for us, it is one way in which we can identify how do we see beauty that surround us every day. Art also has a strong relation with the spectators, the artists’ works for themselves but also to share it with the people and this is also another reason about how we grow the idea of art in our minds. “Art has the ability to engage with individuals and create experiences that can range from tears to ecstasy” (Cumming R. 2005 p. 25) the experience which is obtained when admiring a work of art, is in charge on how our emotions and feelings create our perception about if we like it or not, and that is on having our own description about how art is including the things we learned during our lifetime. Watercolor painting Watercolor painting is one of the thousand techniques that exist in the art world. In watercolor painting “ water is an active and complex partner in the watercolor painting process, changing both the absorbency and shape of the paper when it is wet and the outlines and appearance of the paint as it dries” (New World Encyclopedia, Nemea
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2020) As it was said, the complexity of this technique depends on the practice and the correct use between water and pigment to obtain the desire result. Watercolor painting, “painting with watercolor is a dance between pigment and water that creates images that other painting techniques can’t capture. The soft edges and the pigment flow create images of ethereal beauty and vibrant intensity” (Aaseng, 2016 p. 4), so the movement this painting technique express, could help to construct a more extended idea about what is art and how variate and unique is. Meditation One concept to be analyzed as part of this research is, meditation. There are different conceptualization and theories about it. However, the one selected is mediation viewed as a more well-known definition: Meditation is a practice of thinking deeply or focusing one´s mind for a period of time. This can be done in silence or with a guide, and it is done for a number of reasons, ranging from religious or spiritual purposes to a method for evoking relaxation (Welch, 2019.) By the way, when we are learning English, we are making our brain more aware of all the things that the teacher is saying, so we have to put our brain into a critical thinking zone in which it can work better and more effective, and that lead us to use meditation as a way of relaxing our brain and our mind. Gkonou, Tatzl and Mercer (2016 p.77) in their book named “New Directions in Language Learning Psychology” helps to reinforce the importance of being aware of the students’ feelings and emotions, and also be in a small part of the process: The analysis of emotions and feelings in the language advising discourse may help, on the one hand, to focus on how learners express their emotions and self-regulate them in (autonomous) learning processes, and, on the other, to shed light on an emerging constellation beside the learner-teacher or learner-learner relationship, that is, the learner-adviser relationship. So we had clear that meditation would be an excellent resource in the classroom if we want to establish a connection between teacher-student and also obtain better results in the scholar fulfilment and pupils performance. The teacher would be also involved in this meditation activity, so with that, the stress, thoughts or problems that the teacher is facing, that would be helpful and they could focus their mind in the class, and the students, so they develop patience. Methodology The use of meditation and watercolor painting as tools during Second Language Teaching and Learning: self-awareness and creativity
In this investigation, the information will be collected qualitatively through a phenomenological research design which is the main purpose of this. According to Creswell (2014 p. 42) this is a design of inquiry coming from philosophy and psychology in which the researcher describes the lived experiences of individuals about a phenomenon as described by participants. Using this research design would help us to determine the utility of using art while teaching English, and how it could impact students learning process. Qualitative methodology was selected as the best procedure for the reason that we want to seek if the students responds in a positive way through those two experiences that the pupils would be immersed in. All the data would be collected by using the focus group interview. It would be applied to 20 students asking questions about how their learning performance is going, and, if they consider art would be a good proposal to be included in class. Consequently, an art session would be executed with the main characteristics, creating a piece of art using materials as pencil, paint, watercolors, colors, etcetera. Then, the students would have to write in a sheet of paper the name of the work of art, the used materials and their own description. According to the data, we could find if the use of art creates an impact not also in their English learning, also in their human development. All the perspectives in which it is proposed to work with, it can be observed that the chosen methods are focused on working in group, and as a teamwork. The teacher could not understand if the students are feeling comfortable with the activities, if an interview is not applied, in view of that, we find important the opinions and beliefs of each student with the purpose of create the perfect atmosphere to learn. Conclusions Teaching English in a more dynamic, creative and relaxing way through art (watercolors) and meditation, while being conscious about what is happening around the classroom and in our minds was the general objective of this investigation. The qualitative methodology was selected to be part of this research while suggesting the phenomenological research, considering that it is needed to observe the way that the learners feel and behave, and at the end, study and analyze the performance that the students could have, for this reason, to obtain that information it was suggested, as stage in a class, to apply a focus group interview, so, eventually, the pupil would express a sincerer and detailed explanation about Nemea
the experience. The purpose of this research was based on the observation of the teenager’s performance in Adolescentes UAZ, resulting from a self-experience while working in there. It was seen that most of the students, went there as an obligation of their parents, and on other side they were tired and not interested enough since they spent all the morning and part of the afternoon in their normal school’s classes. After that schedule the teenagers had to take the English course which was too much for them, and their physical and mental energy were not at the best point; by this cause, it was determined that if they had a small warm-up including the meditation sessions at the beginning of the class, they could let go all the low frequency thoughts outside the classroom and staying in the present. The work of art that the pupils will create using watercolor painting, would not only help them with their art skills, it would be helpful with their English knowledge, because the grammar, vocabulary and listening are also involved in this activity, therefore, the activities would be adapted depending on the level they are, so they do not get stressed or confused. This activity, would be used as a cool-down session, considering, that the teacher needs to sum all up the information given in an easy and calm way, while helping students to depict their emotions and thoughts that they felt during the English class. During all the semester we considered as a crucial fact to constantly reinforce the students´ abilities and self-confidence, in which all the students could notice that, failing is part of learning, and, being aware of what we as human beings can do, and all the power we have to create our own reality is all inside in our brains and managed by our thoughts. In this work, it has been seen it as a team work, then, the teacher and student would have a deeper connection, so the students feel less worried about how their progress is going and focus more on how they are approaching the present, how their brains catch and process all the information and how easy they could perform without feeling a sense of fear. Even though, it is known that this would take some time, some students could feel attacked during the meditation sessions, because we do not know the background of each student (this is why we need to apply an interview before the sessions), and it is unknown, how they manage their emotions and if they actually let them out or just try to keep them inside because of fear of feeling vulnerable and weak, so, patience and respect would be needed. 16
The use of meditation and watercolor painting as tools during Second Language Teaching and Learning: self-awareness and creativity
Notably, the teachers’ performance would also be adapted due to the use of new tools as art with watercolor painting and meditation, so, in order to give them the main information about how this could help them during classes, it was thought to organize a workshop at the beginning of the semester, in which they could have a theoretical session about art (watercolor painting specifically) and meditation (its meaning, and how it could be applied). Additionally, they would experience how the class could be applied, by giving them a full English class including all this support material, so they can actually feel the sensations in real time in order to persuade them to use these tools. In the final analysis, the feeling that most Second Language students express, was, fear, the self-doubt is part of the reflection of what it is thought about what the
students can or cannot do, but, this step, of feel worried about if ones are doing their best, stops the cycle of the learning process, and sometimes the pupils do not feel supported enough to truly understand that they are doing their best and that is enough. Let the self-doubt appear and show itself only would come to remember them that it is time to believe in themselves and continue working, fear appears, when something new is showing up in our lives, and learning a new language is one example. So, if the students could feel the journey as an inner work, and not as a competence, that would be actually, the moment in which they could let their thoughts and emotions appear, but knowing, that the actual moment that is happening, is now.
References Armstrong, T. (2009). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. United States of America. Creswell, W. (2014). Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. United States of America. Cumming, R. (2007). Art Explained. United States of America. Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of Mind. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. United States of America Gkonou, C, Tatzl, D, Mercer, S. (2016). New Directions in Language Learning Psychology. Switzerland. Krashen, S. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. United States of America. New World Encyclopedia. (2020). Watercolor Painting. [Date of search: February 4th, 2021] https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Watercolor_painting Richards. J, Rodgers. T. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. United Kingdom Stokstad, M, Cothren M. (2014). Art History. United States of America Welch, A. (2019) A guide to seven different types of meditation [Date of search: April 4th, 2020] https://www. everydayhealth.com/meditation/types/
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“Spanish as a feature of identity”
“Spanish as a feature of identity” Katya Rosales Náñez
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hy is Spanish shameful in the United States? What is wrong with speaking Spanish or having an accent? Immigrants have bought into the idea that the deeply accented and imperfect English makes a family less worthy than others. This essay is about the Spanish language stereotypes that exist in the U.S., 96% of people from all immigrants’ backgrounds report not speaking any other language than English in the third generation, the purpose is to encourage people to accept different languages and be proud of the mother tongue. We live in a multilingual world and there is no reason to feel ashamed about Spanish and living in the U.S., on the contrary, a bilingual person has many benefits, such as better reading comprehension, memory, logic, more creative, and more open-minded, they also find it easier to focus on a variety of tasks simultaneously, can learn a third language easier, and even delaying the onset of dementia, however, it does not mean that a bilingual person is more intelligent, but what it is true is that they are more capable to understand about the world and appreciate and respect others cultures. Many U.S. citizens view Spanish as a language of disgust, even the previous president of the U.S. Donald Trump has mentioned several times “This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish”, but I believe that multilingualism preserves cultural diversity, people’s respect, tolerance, and different cultures as well as nationalities. On the other hand, a growing number of emerging countries are focusing on the development of a multilingual environment, which expands new horizons for economic, social, and cultural development, “it is not sufficient to have a global mindset, we need the ability to communicate with people from a range of cultural backgrounds, share different viewpoints, approaches, and feelings” (Writer, 2016). Nevertheless, immigrants should learn English because it provides an insight into national cultures and experiences, it gives better awareness of the country, its history, traditions, customs, people’s outlook, values, and beliefs, they feel more comfortable while going to the store, to the restaurant, to school, or the job. Immigrants living in the U.S. and speaking English have more self-confidence and they feel free, without barriers, but the point here is to not let go of their roots. Making a comparison, in Mexico, the most spoken language is Spanish, but there are also indigenous languages that are suddenly becoming extinct because of the discrimination of this sector of the population, the lack of educational opportunities in their language the inequality of receiving quality medical service, the exclusion to enjoy a place to leisure, the obstacles to be heard, and the low expectations of professional or economic growth of each individual due to the fact of speaking an indigenous language. “More of the 40% of the inhabitants that speak an indigenous language declares that they do not have the same facilities as a Spanish speaker to achieve their goals” (Digital, 2018). As people feel not valued they are opting for learning Spanish and consequently, the next generations are ashamed of their roots and prefer to let go of the indigenous language and being immersed in Spanish and nothing more than Spanish. We live in a multicultural and multilingual world because of migration, which makes a place more dynamic, attractive, and solidary, but as the U.S. has taught the population that the most powerful, wonderful, and superior language is English, immigrants have lost their roots, immigrants’ children cannot speak with their parents or grandparents, because they no longer are interested and have mastery of their mother tongue. The U.S. is dividing families because of language, some children understand Spanish but respond in English, they are receptive bilinguals, the reality is that communication cannot be carried out clearly and it is the truth of many immigrants’ families. For bilingual children, the early primary years are a common point of linguistic rebe-
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“Spanish as a feature of identity”
llion. “At that time the dominant language starts to make its weight felt through the school and children begin to see their family from the outside for the first time in their lives. The combined discovery of a stronger language and of social difference may lead them to reject the home language” (Piller, 2018). Commonly bilingual children ask their parents not to speak the home language in public, in the school, or in front of their friends. For parents, it feels like a rejection not only of the language but also of the parent who speaks the language. The people have not understood that speaking two or more languages has many benefits as individuals and as a society, there should not be an exclusion to does who speak Spanish in the U.S., conversely, people should try to learn more languages in order to coexist with other communities, and have a more brilliant world, where we can find empathy and responsibility and not settle with speaking English. Another important point about immigrants language in the U.S. is the accent, the purpose of most people is to learn English and have a perfect accent, but there is not a perfect accent, every person has their accent depending on the surroundings, our phonetic apparatus is developed when we are children, though, when we grow up and try to learn and speak a new language, we are so used to our mother tongue that we give the language a personal touch, and it is not bad because language is about communicating, not accent. I have known about many experiences of people that speak English, but their accent is not how they would like to have it and choose to keep quiet, this huge frustration should not exist, language is beautiful and it is a capacity that only humans can do, is a vital part of human connection, by the language we can communicate with others, share our thoughts, ideas, knowledge, and feelings; it has the power to build societies, but also tear them down. As children of immigrants in the U.S., “Latinx people are told that to succeed, they no longer need to remember their family's culture, they are told the words that matter most are the words their ancestors cannot understand” (Machado, 2019). Children immigrants have an anxious obsession with proving that their family is good enough to live in the United States, that is why they ask their parents to speak English, to not have a heavy accent, and to not commit errors. I have lived in the U.S., it is hard for me to believe that from one day to another your life can totally change, my family’s accent was not as the expectations of a citizen of the U.S. or even worse, people that speak Spanish treat you really bad and they pretend to not understand Spanish or the way you pronounce English, I feel like if these people try to retaliate because as they have had bad experiences because of language, now is their turn to feel superior. It is incredible that only because of the accent, we do not deserve the same job, health, or school opportunities, my dad was a university teacher in Mexico, and he could not be a teacher in the United States because of his accent, the only thing he could hope for was being a construction worker. Therefore, we decided to come back to Mexico and feel free and happy just like it was before, but we need to understand that many immigrant families only have belongings in the U.S., they have a house, a car, a job, a family, and it is not that simple and just go back to their country of origin. The Spanish language is not shameful, the issue is that the population has made stereotypes that limit people who speak this language and live in the U.S., the mother tongue is part of a person’s identity, immigrants should be proud of speaking Spanish and also English, no matter the accent, language judgments are not good, why do people think that language needs to be acceptable, prestigious and desirable? I insist language is about communication. Definitely, immigrants should feel visible, and not shame, on the contrary, they can prove to others that all languages are important. In conclusion, I am aware that in order to have professional and economic growth in the United States, immigrants should learn English, however, it does not mean that they have to forgive their roots, they have the possibility to learn their mother tongue (Spanish) at home and the second language at school, bilingual people can distinguish between languages, they know which language to use and which context to use it in. Spanish is not shameful, immigrants ought to learn to see their family legacy as a fascinating gift, as Nelson Mandela said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head, if you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart”.
References Digital, M. (09 de Agosto de 2018). Milenio. Obtenido de https://www.milenio.com/cultura/como-se-discrimina-a-los-indigenas-en-mexico Machado, A. (26 de Marzo de 2019). THINK - Opinion & Analysis. Obtenido de https://www.nbcnews.com/ think/opinion/how-u-s-taught-me-spanish-was-shameful-ncna986746 Piller, I. (15 de Agosto de 2018). Language on the Move. Obtenido de https://www.languageonthemove.com/bilingual-children-refusing-to-speak-the-home-language/ Writer, G. (14 de Junio de 2016). Top Universities. Obtenido de https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/benefits-studying-multilingual-country https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNjcAgNu1Ac
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“Spanish as a feature of identity”
“World englishes inside sublime’s songs” Itzia Carolina Velázquez Ramírez
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usic is a big part of society, most of the words used in the songs are a mirror of how the population tend to express themselves and make their own language variations to fulfill their needs of communication, it does not matter if we speak out loud our ideas or feelings in an individual or dialectical way, the result will never be wrong because in a diverse world as ours, we can find that there is not a right way to speak in a determined language, which also applies to lyrics. The process of this situation appears because language is not owned by a particular entity such as a person or an institution that decides how we need to act when we are using a certain language, however we have to point out that context has a big influence in how we use letters, words or sentences because the foundation of a language is flexible enough to make it adaptable and have diverse variations because “they vary through space, time and context, without judging the so-called ‘varieties’ corresponding to each different system” (Hall, Smith, & Wicaksono, 2011, p. 26). Our systems are not the same nor conventional and although we might use the same kind of language, the habitual speakers can modify, change, eliminate or judge so it can be useful for them and have the same concordance with their reality. For example, we can observe that there is ~2 billion of English speakers (Schneider, 2018) and as a consequence, we are able to name this outcome as a World Englishes because there are diverse versions of the English: British, American, Indian, Australian and so on, manifesting that all around the world, there will be a different version from the standardized one which is the British. Nevertheless, not only the geographical position of the speakers helps to have this diversity because inside a community we can find even more types of English such as Spanglish or have slang expressions inside certain communities, like in the drug culture. To illustrate the flexibility of English, in this essay we will address the two points from the last paragraph with the help of two songs “Badfish” and “Waiting For My Ruca” written in 1991 and 1992 respectively by US American band Sublime. The band was formed in 1988 in California with Brad Nowell as their lead singer; they escalated into the fame in mid ‘90s when the punk genre was at its finest, the only thing that differentiated them from the others is the incorporation of some reggae and ska influences into their lyrics (Bush, n.d.). As we mentioned before, Spanglish is a phenomenon that can help us see that English does not have a pure form to be expressed; this type of language flourished Nemea
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thanks to the Latino communities in the US, mostly identified as Chicanos, who grew up with the exposition of English and Spanish language while mixing their Latin-American heritage with the American culture (Howe, 2017). Aside this language and cultural trait as their identity, we can observe they mostly use this term to define the descendants of the old generations who emigrated to US for a better life and still face discrimination for their physical complexion and legacy for not being 100% American even if they were born and raised as any American child, evincing that most of Hispanic families expose their children to Spanish as a way to connect their cultural roots, passing it down to do not lose it while generations keep living forward in the US and ask for the same rights (Gallardo, 2017). Despite the fact that teaching Spanish makes their identity stay alive inside a foreign country, we have to mention that is not the only outcome from this. Swapping languages made it easier for members of the community to express themselves when they did not know certain words in the language they were speaking (either English or Spanish), providing a simple strategy to do not interrupt the communication system as well as taking the languages outside their social and closed circle. The consequences of this increased the number of Spanish speakers because “by 2012 the number (…) increased to over 38 million, representing 13% of the US population” (Bierly, 2019). The popularity of these two languages in US made it easier to Sublime have influences in their songs, observing that most of their titles and lyrics have certain terms that we cannot find in any English dictionary, such as the case of the song “Waiting For My Ruca”: She said, "I love up the way you move I love the way you rap", bump-bump Ramona, please step back Now she's my Ruca I'm barely waiting for my jaina The two unfamiliar words inside this chorus is Ruca and Jaina. The first one is an affectional way to name either a girlfriend or wife but through the diverse Latin-American communities there is a vast range of meanings for this only word: an old lady, a female gang member or even a depictive form to call a woman; if we tried to translate this to any of the English expressions, we find nothing close to the meaning than the common “wifey, partner, spouse” showing the uniqueness of this word in the song. In the case of the second word, it works in “World englishes inside sublime’s songs”
the same affectional path, the only difference is that it means girlfriend or woman and we can find multiple synonyms in the English vocabulary, for example “chick, lover, sweetheart” and so many others. The addition of those words makes the music be closer to the Chicano community, being a personal issue to them since they could identify with the terms exposed, mostly because in California, principally in Long Beach where the band was located, Latino-American people make up 44.5% of its population (Rivera, 2018), which is an enormous number of Spanish speaking people. Whilst Spanglish and society in general are great actors to modify a language, we could add the life context and its small communities formed as another approach to analyze its influence in the tracks of the band, one that is prominent in most of their work is the drug culture and we can observe it in this abstract of the song “Badfish”: Two pints of booze Tell me, are you a badfish, too? (Are you a badfish, too?) But, I Ain't got no money to spend I hope the night will never end Lord knows I'm weak Won't somebody get me off of this reef? So, we can find that the phrase Two pints of booze makes reference to the quantity of alcohol needed to get intoxicated, where “two pints” are equivalent to almost a full liter while “booze” is a slang synonym for alcohol or beer. Connecting this idea with the noun Badfish, used to name someone who uses heroin, the rest of the text show us the desperation effect people tend to have when someone is lost in the path of harmful substances. In these pre-chorus and chorus, if we are not familiar with the slang terms used inside drug cultures, we will find ourselves lost at the signification the musicians wanted to point because we could tell it gives an enormous context of what was actually happening in Long Beach during the decade the song was released; this place is not only known by the diverse outdoors activities and parties, it is also one of the sites that distinguish itself for its drug abuse since ~15.4% of the population misuse illicit drugs annually (Recovery Worldwide, n.d.). However, that was not only the reason why they added those important elements, we also have to realize the label that identified the band was their unstable personality when it came to go to parties or create new music, they wanted to feel the musical life we could see with PeNemea
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rry Farrell or Kurt Cobain having as a result that shortly after their jump to fame, the leader singer of Sublime, who had a problematic drug abuse, lost his life at 28 by a heroin overdose in 1996 (Kemp, 1997). This way, we can see that a geographical location is not the only possibility to change the standard type of English, being in a diverse world, we can find that daily situations give us a blank canvas to condense our language as we desire, making it practical and functional to describe our reality without worrying if the ideas are not correctly perceived as the original message because there is no good or wrong variation of this language. We have to point out this band and their songs were primarily chosen for this linguistic analysis because as we have stated, they include some curious elements inside their use of English, which were taken from other communities and cultures even though the band was not inside a specific one where they could know these certain expressions, but thanks to it, they were able to position themselves as one of the iconic bands that Long Beach ever had and are still an important piece to understand the early 90’s in US that the public still cherish. Thus, English expressions that were born in distinct perspectives, offer us a deep manner to analyze the realities of the World Englishes principally inside small songs that last between three and five minutes and although the consequences of the lyrics are representing the identity of communities like the Chicanos or drug abusers, it brings such an exclusivity that you cannot find anywhere else, showing us that the point of views worldwide are a unique form in the understanding what is around us and the most important thing, showing us that language is made by everyone, for everyone.
““World englishes inside sublime’s songs”
BIBLIOGRAPHY Bierly, R. (2019). Spanglish: The Validity of Spanglish as a Language. Retrieved may 10, 2021, from Panoramas: Scholarly Platform: https://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/opinion-and-interviews/spanglish-validity-spanglish-language Bush, J. (n.d.). Sublime - Artist Biography by John Bush. Retrieved may 13, 2021, from All Music: https://www. allmusic.com/artist/sublime-mn0000486047/biography Gallardo, M. E. (2017). Chicano. Retrieved june 18, 2021, from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica. com/topic/Chicano GENIUS. (n.d.). Sublime - 40oz to Freedom. Retrieved may 06, 2021, from GENIUS: https://genius.com/albums/ Sublime/40oz-to-freedom Hall, C. J., Smith, P., & Wicaksono, R. (2011). Mapping Applied Linguistics. Routledge. Retrieved may 13, 2021 Hochman, S. (2005). Long live the spirit of Sublime. Retrieved may 10, 2021, from Los Angeles Times: https:// www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-20-ca-popeye20-story.html Howe, N. (2017). ‘Spanglish’ in American Latino culture. Retrieved may 10, 2021, from The Observer: https:// ndsmcobserver.com/2017/11/spanglish-american-latino-culture/ InterExchange. (2020). Latino/a and Hispanic Culture in the U.S. Retrieved may 13, 2021, from InterExchange: https://www.interexchange.org/articles/visit-the-usa/latino-hispanic-culture-in-us/ Kemp, M. (1997). Bradley Nowell: Life After Death. Retrieved may 14, 2021, from Rollingstone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bradley-nowell-life-after-death-250120/ Random House Unabridged Dictionary. (n.d.). Translations Dictionary. Retrieved may 14, 2021, from Dictionary. com: https://www.dictionary.com/e/translations/ Recovery Worldwide. (n.d.). Drug Abuse Trends in Long Beach. Retrieved may 10, 2021, from Addiction Center: https://www.addictioncenter.com/rehabs/california/long-beach/ Richardson, B. (2016). Long Beach Bands That ‘Made It’ And How The City Embraced Them. Retrieved may 10, 2021, from Long Beach Business Journal: https://lbbusinessjournal.com/long-beach-bands-that-made-it-andhow-the-city-embraced-them Rivera, S. (2018). Latinos in Long Beach: First report of its kind examines the city’s largest demographic. Retrieved may 10, 2021, from Long Beach Post News: https://lbpost.com/news/latinos-long-beach-report-demographics Schneider, E. W. (2018). World Englishes. Retrieved may 06, 2021, from Oxford Research Encyclopedias: https:// oxfordre.com/linguistics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.001.0001/acrefore-9780199384655-e-270
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“Primero conocer la ortografía” Leticia Fernanda Muñiz Varela
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or generaciones las reglas ortográficas se han considerado un punto álgido de la gramática en cualquier nivel académico, aquejando a aquellos que viven en compañía de la certeza de no saber escribir correctamente. Las razones que provocan tan lamentable situación son diversas, tales como: la aversión a la lectura, errores particulares en el léxico individual o en un determinado grupo de hablantes, o bien, errores particulares procedentes del sociolecto al que se pertenece. Simplificar la ortografía, es un proceso cuyos fines facilitarían el apren-
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dizaje de la misma y darían solución a la problemática de escribir de forma incorrecta. Las posturas en torno a este tema difieren y con ello sus justificaciones y posibles acciones consecuentes. A partir de esta idea, se analizará el fenómeno y sus posibles consecuencias, valorando la simplificación ortográfica desde un entramado positivo. Durante años ha sido una odisea para emplear el uso correcto “has” y cuando “haz”; o dónde colocar una “h” si no tiene algún sonido. El idioma español presenta bastantes particularidades con palabras que, 26
en el español mexicano suenan igual y aún así son distintas. Es extraño, sobre todo, que aún en niveles superiores de la enseñanza haya confusiones al momento de escribir “he”, “e” y “eh”. ¿A qué obedece este fenómeno? En México varias universidades se han visto obligadas a enseñar nuevamente a sus estudiantes los elementos gramaticales que son vistos en niveles anteriores a una formación académica superior. Particularmente, es en los medios electrónicos y mensajes de texto informales se ejemplifica bastante bien esta situación, esto “Primero conocer la ortografía”
puede llegar a influir en la manera en que un hablante se expresa en la cotidianidad y, sin querer, en el ámbito profesional. “Hasta hace poco tiempo hemos creído que los errores ortográficos en los que incurrían los estudiantes estaban circunscritos a los niveles educativos no universitarios [..] e introducen una tarea más para el profesorado encargado de su formación” (Suárez et al, 2019), tarea que si no se realiza, podría entorpecer las competencias comunicativas de futuros profesionistas. Para profundizar un poco más en ello, bastaría leer un fragmento del discurso y texto presentado por Gabriel García Márquez en Zacatecas, durante la inauguración del I Congreso Internacional de la Lengua: Jubilemos la ortografía, terror del ser humano desde la cuna: enterremos las haches rupestres, firmemos un tratado de límites entre la ge y jota, y pongamos más uso de razón en los acentos escritos, que al fin y al cabo nadie ha de leer lagrima donde diga lágrima ni confundirá revólver con revolver. ¿Y qué de nuestra be de burro y nuestra ve de vaca, que los abuelos españoles nos trajeron como si fueran dos y siempre sobra una? (García, 1998, p. 11) Esta observación no sólo refleja su postura en debate, sino que es también una muestra del enorme conflicto que representa la ortografía en toda Latinoamérica. Es el resultado de una problemática latente causada por la nula reflexión del hablante y a la importancia de su código, su lengua. Como hispanohablantes, la mayoría del tiempo no existe una reflexión sobre la lengua y no hay un punto en que al expresarse de manera oral o escrita se analice la forma en que se está organizando la gramática, como sucedería cuando se escribe en otro idioma que se ha aprendido posteriormente y del que Nemea
se tiene que reflexionar al momento de expresarlo. La directora del Instituto de Lingüística de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Elvira Arnoux, destaca que “el problema es que un idioma funciona por convenciones, que son necesarias para entendernos. La gramática y la ortografía son eso, convenciones, no se pueden cambiar sin consenso porque el riesgo es dejar de comprendernos entre quienes hablamos o escribimos en ese idioma" (“Polémica: la ortografía”, 2017), pero también reconoce que la lengua está viva y es cambiante. Aunque la realidad es otra. ¿Cómo es posible que futuros profesionistas no reflexionen su propia lengua? Si bien, nuestra lengua materna es nuestro código, no se hace un análisis de su estructura o reglas gramaticales y ortográficas. Si se lograse simplificar la ortografía como propone Márquez, hojear un libro y ojear un libro tendrían el mismo significado. Al momento de expresar oraciones como las anteriores de forma verbal, puede deducirse por contexto, aunque no factible, tomando en cuenta la tradición ortográfica del español, sería confuso para muchos esta nueva forma de escribir. No está de más enriquecer el lenguaje, como lo menciona García Márquez: “las cosas tienen ahora tantos nombres en tantas lenguas que ya no es fácil saber cómo se llaman en ninguna. Los idiomas se dispersan sueltos de madrina, se mezclan y confunden, disparados hacia el destino ineluctable de un lenguaje global” (García, 1998, pág.13), aunque la comunidad hispana comparta la misma lengua y, la mayoría, las mismas reglas ortográficas y sintaxis. “La adquisición de la escritura implica un proceso largo y complejo, pues involucra múltiples habilidades 27
en forma simultánea” (Smith-Lock, Nickels, Mortensen, 2009, p. 713), este proceso comienza cuando un pequeño inicia su vida como estudiante. Desde que aprende que la diéresis es para que la u suene entre la g y la e, o cuando le enseñan que hay palabras que se escriben con la s que parece viborita y otras con c de casa. Incluso la lectura es importante para el pequeño, pues le ayuda a saber con qué letra se escribe cada palabra, de modo que tendrían un discurso similar a: “Había una ves con zeta tres serditos con ce que bibían con ve muy serca con ce uno del hotro sin hache” (Pescetti, 2004, pág 9). Y después se inicia el largo camino de leer cada vez más, observar y analizar su estructura para finalmente comprender la lengua. Sería entonces una ironía, el hecho de no saber escribir correctamente, puesto que en este nivel académico se efectúan disímiles actividades como el ejercicio de la compresión, la crítica, la lectura, y sobre todo la escritura. Podría incluso considerarse un ejercicio de reflexión individual. Probablemente, la propuesta de García Márquez sea, hasta cierto punto, una exageración provocada que invita a crear conciencia al no conocerse la lengua materna. Como se ha mencionado con anterioridad existe un fenómeno general del lenguaje que ocurre en el hispanohablante, es decir, no existe una reflexión respecto a la estructura de palabras y oraciones, lo que provoca que estas faltas lleguen a ocurrir. La simplificación de la ortografía es una dualidad que beneficia en muchos aspectos y por otro lado nos vuelve holgazanes de la gramática. Sería útil para facilitar el proceso de alfabetización y mostrar una mejora en lectura y redacción, y por otro lado sería una ovación para aquellos “Primero conocer la ortografía”
que nunca aprendieron las reglas básicas. La lengua ha sido nuestra identidad a través del tiempo, por tanto, ha sufrido múltiples modificaciones, pues se transforma constantemente ya que es una esencia viva. Sería necesario meditar en los últimos cambios y transformaciones que dirigirán a una simplicidad de la lengua. Simplificar la ortografía representa también un cambio más, pero sin lugar a dudas tiene dejos de imposición y no permite que la evolución natural de la lengua ocurra. Para jubilar la ortografía y poder llegar a la simplificación, sería necesario conocer nuestro propio código, con ello, seríamos capaces de entender el proceso diacrónico y sincrónico de la lengua y entenderlo como un proceso natural que transforma a todos los códigos necesarios para que éstos evolucionen, así como el hecho transmitir en futuras generaciones un interés, una reflexión y respeto por la misma. Tener plena conciencia de los cambios que ocurren en nuestra lengua son un proceso natural y necesario para que ésta prevalezca.
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Referencias bibliográficas. García Márquez, G. (1998). Botella al mar para el dios de las palabras, en La Lengua Española y los medios de comunicación. México. Secretaría de Educación Pública, Instituto Cervantes, Siglo XXI Editores. Pescetti, L. (2004). Nadie te creería. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Alfaguara Infantil S/A. (2017) Polémica: ¿hay que darle jubilación a la ortografía?. Clarín. Recuperado el 10 de mayo del 2021 de: https://www.clarin. com/sociedad/polemica-darle-jubilacion-ortografia_0_B1iX2NfZCt e.html Smith-Lock, K; Nickels, L; Mortensen, L. (2009). Story writing skills of adults with a history language-impairment. Sydney, Australia. Reading and Writing, nº 22. Suárez, S; Suárez, A; Guisado, I; Suárez, M. (2019) La ortografía en el ámbito universitario: una realidad que exige la reflexión del alumnado y la implicación del profesorado. España. Ediciones Complutense: Lengua y Literatura.
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“Primero conocer la ortografía”
Reflexiones sobre paternidad. ¿Dónde están los hombres?
Hector Azael Roman Muro
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esde mi experiencia con la literatura, la cúspide del hombre se consigue a través de las mujeres, de la maternidad. La idealidad masculina fundada en la utilización de las mujeres se aprende desde la niñez, y está arraigada a la interpretación de la realidad del mexicano. Muestra de aquello se encuentra en la obra de Rosario Castellanos, La abnegación: una virtud loca, donde uno de los personajes femeninos cree que su hijo, Luisito, necesita de ella —incluso en la adultez de éste—, pues no ha encontrado una mujer, aún, que lo cuide y atienda (Persino, 2000). A pesar de la evidente homosexualidad del personaje masculino, la madre se aferra a la creencia de que su hijo necesita de una mujer. Bajo ningún concepto, la esperanza de masculinidad culminada en hijos y esposa, cambia para la crianza tradicional. Al analizar la obra de Rosario Castellanos Se habla de Gabriel, se hace latente la presencia de personajes femeninos que viven las formas de la crianza tradicional mexicana. Ésta última consiste en una mujer abnegada de sí, un ser intelectual y volitivo, reducido a una función: la maternidad. Alicia Ramírez (2004, p. 86) ya apunta a la imposición que se sufre a causa de la maternidad desde el conflicto de la protagonista hacia la maternidad, que surge de la suplantación que el infante significa para ella y su espacio. Y Rosa María Cid (2009) reitera, recordando a Simone De Beauvoir en El segundo sexo, que tal sumisión surge de la maternidad, y que ésta es causada por la creencia de que las mujeres están predispuestas al cuidado, —sea desde un determinismo biológico o desde la ignorancia del funcionamiento de cultura y educación (pues así se las cría desde pequeñas). Una forma de vida histórica, cimentada en el dogma, y que proseguirá hasta que las partes tomen consciencia de los hechos. El apoyo incondicional y desinteresado hacia el marido, y la importancia de la realización masculina son un conjunto de lecciones frecuente cuando madres veteranas hablan de maternidad práctica a las (no neceNemea
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sariamente madres) jóvenes, pues de éstos dependerá su valor como mujeres-esposa y madres. El hombre es visto como un ser todopoderoso e indispensable para el mantenimiento de la estructura familiar tradicional; un ente incapaz de limpiar la suciedad de sus zapatos, cocinar cuando tiene hambre, o lavar el vaso que usó para beber su tan merecida cerveza después de un arduo día de estar sentado insultando a sus compañeros de trabajo, mirar mujeres en internet, y gastar dinero en cachivaches de nula utilidad para la vida rutinaria. Un ser del que se depende, pues ¿cómo vivirían ella y sus hijos sin el sustento y protección que ofrece su marido? Todo es una cuestión de apreciación alrededor de lo ideal, y, al hablar de presencias femeninas, a las madres solteras no se les tiene valor en la cultura tradicional (Persino, 2000) Si bien no existe una norma que se imponga universalmente para estandarizar la paternidad negligente, las paternidades inmaduras emocional y psicológicamente, de alta resistencia al cambio, con mínimo interés por las opiniones y necesidades de su descendencia, y parcial o total ausencia en tiempo y afecto, no son nuevas en el contexto mexicano. Un ejemplo de este lamentable estándar masculino es presentado por Liliana Blum (2002) en La maldición de Eva, representando a un hombre desprovisto de responsabilidad gracias a su madre, quien exhausto por la tardanza del parto, se va a dormir bajo los cuidados y validación de ésta, dejando sola a su mujer. Posteriormente se explica el futuro de desgaste y monotonía al que la protagonista se vería destinada indefinidamente gracias a su recién iniciada vida materna: Su realización plena como mujer la convertirá en prisionera de su progenie; cualquier necesidad personal será aplastada por los deseos de sus hijos y del marido; el descanso y el esparcimiento le estarán prohibidos; las arduas e interminables labores del hogar nunca se verán colmadas por un “gracias” o una mano ayudadora, y las ambiciones profesionales le resultarán conceptos tan desconocidos y fantasiosos como un viaje a marte (Blum, 2002, p. 53). En este contexto, la mujer se ve obligada a reorganizar su existencia entera e ignorarse a sí misma para satisfacer los egoístas deseos de un hombre que cree, su vida es lo más importante en el mundo —verdad absoluta que bajo ninguna circunstancia cambiará. Este egoísmo es presentado en las últimas líneas de esta obra, donde el marido, a causa de la ajetreada vida que ella sostiene, y el visible descuido que ésta se hizo pasar, (miope a que él mismo es la razón de sus superficiales disgustos) Reflexiones sobre paternidad. ¿Dónde están los hombres?
pierde interés y decide engañarla sin remordimiento aparente. Este modelo de maternidad/paternidad da frutos desagradables alrededor de las dinámicas domésticas y exige procesos de autodescubrimiento que requieren la liberación de dogmas que circundan al tópico (terapia, diversidad sexual, y género) para desintegrarlo. Irma Pineda (2020) presenta en Azul Anhelo, la materialización del modelo mencionado: En “Cristina” a ésta se le enseña que debe casarse, tener hijos y atender a su marido, y ella a su vez, enseña a sus hijas a encontrar marido lo antes posible; en “Cuentas” la mujer vive casada, pero sin amor: descuidada; “Silencio” gira en torno a la violencia que resisten las mujeres-esposa, quienes se deben al servicio y al silencio, encarando reprimendas físicas a los errores que el marido pueda encontrar: como no tenerle comida servida o negarse a tener sexo con él. Ejemplo tangible es un hogar mexicano promedio, donde habrá una mujer dedicada al cuidado de todo (o más de una, si tuvo hijas), quien decidirá cómo satisfacer las necesidades de las infancias y la morada, y uno o más hombres que en su comodidad decidirán ignorar normativas de convivencia y quejarse de su estado latente de visita en una casa que (según ellos) mantienen andando, dejándolos —efectivamente— sin injerencia. El cambio de interés, propongo, ocurrirá cuando éstos decidan por sus propios medios romper la percepción fantástica que se ha construido de ellos mismos; (aprender a) ser personas críticas y empáticas, a ser adultos emocionalmente maduros, responsables (al menos) de sí mismos. Empero, esto no es una tarea sencilla, y el hombre acostumbrado a su inutilidad inconsecuente se remitirá a atacar a quien señale sus defectos, se remitirá a voces como: “ella no me deja hacer nada” ignorando que él es la causa de su realidad; “siempre se está quejando de todo” para volver la vista hacia ella como atacante imparable, y hará como si alzar sus victimizadas objeciones fuese suficiente esfuerzo para proclamar públicamente “Lo intenté; hice todo lo que pude”. En las obras mencionadas podemos afirmar que no hay hombres que positivamente marquen una diferencia, o que se involucren en la crianza; simplemente no existe tal sujeto. Si bien, los hombres expuestos o implícitos pueden no intervenir negativamente —como suele suceder— su neutralidad sí perpetúa el patrón histórico de reduccionismo femenino. En Pineda, los hombres son agentes de violencia y sumisión en las vidas de las mujeres; en Cacho, el padre está distanciado de las decisiones parentales; en Castellanos, no los hay, o se los encuentra como personajes dependientes; en Blum, son Nemea
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hijos-marido sin independencia. Puede cederse espacio para argumentar a favor de la inocencia de la representación masculina en las autoras, pero creer que la intervención de éstos es, involuntariamente, mínima y/o negativa, incurre en la inocencia en el mejor de los casos (y en delirio, en los peores). La facultad intelectual de los varones jamás ha estado en tela de juicio universalmente, de modo que no hay excusa para tal absolución por ignorancia, porque, en palabras de Lydia Cacho (2020), “vaya que saben lo que hacen, que les gusta jugar a ser imbéciles”. Congruente a la cita anterior, somos los hombres a quienes se nos ve peleando por “igualdad” y haciendo rabietas sobre las “ventajas” que gozan las mujeres socialmente (a causa de nosotros). Algo habría que hacerse si es que no nos satisface lo que sucede en nuestros círculos, hogares e instituciones. El ámbito más propio para esto, creo, es lo parental. Como hombres, la paternidad debería ser entendida como una ordalía, porque eso es criar a otra persona; no un campo de rosas al que vamos cuando nos sentimos bien, al que atendemos cada que recordamos que existe, del que queremos los frutos sin procurar cuidados. Las madres no deberían ser esclavas de su hogar ni de sus hijos en menor medida de lo que deberían ser los padres. Para uno, ignorar esta realidad es conformista con un patrón histórico que limita a otros individuos, y deja ver el poco valor con que se entiende y critica la realidad, cuestión que resulta en el sujeto (hombre, en este caso) como una carga social y doméstica que deberá ser sobrellevada (mayormente) por ellas. Empero de que, radicalmente, la perpetuación de la cultura patriarcal compete a las mujeres (Persino, 2000, p. 13) me remito a la injerencia masculina en la sociedad y la ideología actuales para reiterar que la responsabilidad del rompimiento de tradiciones retrogradas recae, enormemente, en los hombres, más aún en aquellos con intenciones de ser padres, pues ellos se encargarán de continuar o suspender el ciclo de violencia que circunda a la maternidad.
Reflexiones sobre paternidad. ¿Dónde están los hombres?
Bibliografía Azahua, M., Cacho, L., De, D., & Jauregui, G. (2020). Tsunami 2 (1ra ed., pp. 39–58). Editorial Sexto Piso. Blum, L. V. (2002). La maldición de Eva (pp. 47–54). Voces De Barlovento. Cid López, R. M. (2009). Simone de Beauvoir y la historia de las mujeres. Notas sobre El Segundo Sexo. Investigaciones Feministas, 0(), 65–76. https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/INFE/article/view/INFE0909110065A/7775 Persino, M. S. (2000). La representación de la maternidad en la obra de Rosario Castellanos y Elena Garro. Revista de La Universidad de México, 593-594 (Junio de 2000), 9–14. https://www.revistadelauniversidad.mx/articles/ a13127c2-a920-4ec2-8dcc-ea92dda289f8/la-representacion-de-la-maternidad-en-la-obra-de-rosario-castellanos-y-elena-garro Pineda, I. (2020). Azul Anhelo (1ra ed.). UDLAP. https://issuu.com/staffcom/docs/azul-anhelo-udlap Ramírez Olivares, A. V. (2004). La maternidad en Gabriela Mistral y Rosario Castellanos. Graffylia: Revista de La Facultad de Filosofía Y Letras, 2(3), 82–87. CLASE. https://filosofia.buap.mx/sites/default/files/Graffylia/3/82.pdf
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Reflexiones sobre paternidad. ¿Dónde están los hombres?