Public And Private Language In Aria By Richard Rodriguez

A private and public language is similar to a coin; both have two sides/faces but in the end they are either just a language or a coin. The issue of “Aria” by Richard Rodriguez is that Spanish should not be taught in a school, because the main/public language is English.. The author of “Aria” is Richard Rodriguez, the original source is a chapter within his biography, “Aria” is intended for anyone who feels like they do not belong in a society and all they want is a something that creates a home environment. Rodriguez’s purpose is to make it known and understood how you should not mix a public and a private language. Rodriguez states that at the beginning of his childhood his siblings had never mentioned anything about their school, all he knew was that they came home each day after school with strange looking books. And they were always speaking Spanish as they were walking up the five steps to their home. He disliked that the teachers could not say his name correctly, they added a weird accent to his name. That is when Rodriguez realized that there is a public and a private language. Spanish was his private language, and English was his public. He disliked that the teachers could not say his …show more content…
He knew that by talking in Spanish he would feel at home. He feared that if he changed his language, he would also affect his family relationship. Rodriguez admits that he did not want to learn English “I couldn't believe English could be my language to use.” he thought it was a foreign language not meant for him. This is Rodriguez's error he believes that every other bilingual child will feel the same way as he did; however, he cannot make this assumption with only viewing his experience. With the right encouragement a bilingual child will not fear to lose his/her cultural roots, this sort of obstacle will just reinforce