Portfolio created for the course AFL1501 Language through an African lens portfolio. The purpose of the portfolio was to explore how language shapes who we are. There were several assignments given throughout the semester which we combined into a final portfolio.
Final Portfolio – Language through an African Lens (AFL1501)
Introduction
Throughout this course we have been exploring the idea of how language reflects who we are. The
purpose of this portfolio is to further explore this idea and to learn to reflect who I am as a person
through the use of language. By understanding how to reflect who I am, I will be able to learn and
understand how other people from other cultures reflect who they are. Having the ability to
Interpret and understand how people reflect themselves through language brings us closer to
understanding, accepting and respecting one another. The purpose of this portfolio is to learn, about
how I use language and where I learnt it from, how other people use language and finally how to
learn to communicate in a respectful manner to people from other cultures.
This portfolio is designed to explore the different ways in which we express ourselves through the
use of language. In order to understand how language reflects who we are, I have to discover and
understand how I use my language. I need to start by understanding where I learnt the ways that I
use language, by discussing my personal language story and my family tree (which gives me an
understanding of how my language was passed on through the generations). The way that we
C.Fielding
celebrate ceremonies is influenced by language, which is shown in the terminology that we use to
describe the rituals and traditions that are practiced. Finally I will discuss how all these ideas
influence the way we use language. I will discuss the concept of Ubuntu in relation to the use of
language.
, Personal Language Story
I am an English speaker. When I was very young I was able to speak Italian fluently. My parents
stopped us speaking Italian when my brother was sent to school as he had problems switching
between the two languages. According to my parents I was able to switch better than he was, but
they stopped me speaking Italian at the same time. I now speak very little Italian.
My “mother tongue” is English.
Sadly I do not know how to speak any other languages fluently. I know a very small amount of
Italian, however I seem to be able to understand it more than I can speak it. I do not know Afrikaans
or any other South African languages.
My mother and maternal grandparents are Italian. When my brother and I were young we spent the
days with my grandmother who would only speak Italian to us. I have managed to retain some of
what I knew, and I am currently trying to learn it again. My father and his family are British and
therefore speak English.
I am still in the phase of learning Italian; therefore I use it on a practice level. What I mean is that I
only really use it when I am trying to learn it. I also listen to what my family members are saying
when they speak Italian. An interesting thing to note here is that in Italian there isn’t a sound for the
letter H and very often when my mother speaks English she will drop the “H”. I have noticed as I get
older I too am starting to drop the letter “H”.
C.Fielding
I agree that the language we use reflects who we are. The first aspect of this is the language that we
speak reflects a part of who we are. It can reveal the country you are from and your cultural
background. The second part of this aspect is the way that we use our language. What I mean by this
is that we all have a specific way of speaking, even in our mother tongue. We reflect so much when
we use language; we reflect aspects of our culture, upbringing, education, personality, age, gender,
sexuality, etc. An example of this is when people in the same country speak different dialects. The
dialects are two different versions of the same language. It reflects the area that they grew up in,
and therefore reflects their cultural background.
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