As someone learning Spanish with a Spanish-speaking parent, I understand that switch from the different English being used in Mother Tongue by Amy Tan. Communication, when being multilingual, doesn't have to be limited to one language and even if it is, it doesn't have to be entirely perfect to get an argument, idea or statement across, especially when you are used the way the languages or language is being used. The idea and complexity of language and sentence order doesn't have to be limited to only one language, meaning that no matter what you're speaking there are numerous ways for you to get an idea out.

The Author, for example, uses broken English which has become something personal for her and people she shares it with. The way she exchanges words with her mother, or husband, isn't perfect English because it's casual and easier for both of them to understand even if they have a completely perfect grasp of the language. In my opinion, being able to communicate should be held higher than how well your use of language is. Close-knit, multilingual groups often break the boundaries of languages to blend or mix them be it vocabulary or sentence structure; Which is interesting to think about. It happens more often with bilingual or multilingual families, where words turn to more of a concept than a definite thing to say, as if there were a right word to use.

I relate to that experience of communicating, as previously mentioned I am learning Spanish and I live with a Spanish-speaking parent. I grew up familiar with words like abuela and tia to describe family members; Now I find myself sometimes catching myself with bad English because I've been speaking, what we like to call, 'Spanglish' with mi madre. I listen in on the conversations my mother has with my abuela, they often speak in Spanish but I hear catches and glimpse of English because my abuela is still learning the language. From where I stand and how I observe languages being used around me, I don't think much of it when people slip up grammatically or they're still learning. People's negative attitude towards non-native English speakers are usually harsh, it's irrational because they use arguments like 'learn the language' when they've yet to realize the person they're being critical about is, in fact, learning the language that seems mandatory to learn because of how dominant it is in today's world culture.

All that matters is communication, messing up on language does not dictate whether or not you're a not an intellectual. Amy Tan expresses this when she talks about how her mother is a very smart business women, yet most people aren't willing to take her seriously because of her "imperfect" English-- Even when her health may have been on the line. What's most important is that we need to stop associating the capability to speak English perfectly with intelligence and start listening to how people are trying to communicate their ideas.

Names are to be respected.

Names sometimes have cultural significance and meaning. Abrahamic names are fairly popular because they transcend one language and have a lot of variations. I come from two cultures, conveniently these cultures have the same variation of some abrahamic names! My mother is hispanic and my father is arab, while naming my sisters and I they chose names that work in both Arabic and Spanish. Sara, Fatima and Mariam are the names they chose for us. Though, my full name is Mariam Abdul-Aziz Yousef Hasan Bin Safwan since it's traditional for your paternal line to be included in your full name.

Talking about my first name, Mariam. There are several meanings, however the name is mostly associated with the Virgin Mary because the name, Maryam, is speculated to either be originally Egyptian or Hebrew. It's meaning, surprisingly, is meant to be 'rebellious', 'bitter' or, in a more positive outlook 'strong waters' or ' wished-for child'. Personally, I feel like the meaning 'rebellious' resonates more with me and who I am as a person.

As for my last name, there were always people who poked fun at my name, specifically non-arabs and especially westerners. My last name is Bin Safwan. "Bin" simply means "child of" in Arabic, my name, translated, is not "Rebellious Trash Rock", but rather “Rebellious child of rock”. In my personal opinion it feels a bit rude to assume someone’s last name is ‘garbage can’ and make fun of them for it, especially when the name is not in your language. Names are to be respected, not humiliated.

We should all be able to agree that there are no such thing as "positive stereotypes" because they reinforce generalized ideas to marginalized groups. Being half Latina, I've had my own share of troubles with "positive stereotypes" and how it has affected me. Often, Latinx (gender neutral word for Latino/Latina, pronounced Latin-ex) have been described as 'the ideal partner' because, apparently, we are attractive, charismatic and flirtatious. This leads to objectification of Latinx, with words like "exotic" being used to describe anything from accents to body, but if you took a greater look at Latin America you would find that we are diverse. Not every Latina has a curvy body and not every Latino is tall and burly. As with being 'charismatic and flirtatious', I can barely manage to make conversation with someone, let alone come off as charismatic! Like everybody else on earth, we are all different! Latin America is composed of several countries and the entire continent of South America, we have our own, specific communities and intra-community problems.

Every time I say I'm hispanic or Latina, I always get the question "So, you're Mexican?" which makes me stop for a second to process the fact that most people don't know the difference between being hispanic and being Latinx. Hispanic means the country you come from speaks Spanish as the main language, while Latinx means that you are from Mexico, Central America, some part of the Caribbean OR South America. This is called 'Latin America' because the languages spoken in these countries are rooted in Latin and the three most spoken languages are Spanish, French and Portuguese. So, no, not every Latinx speaks Spanish! I myself am learning Spanish since my mother is from Honduras-- A country in Central America. Every country in Latin America is different, we have our own cultures and languages except we are marginalized and share some of the same stereotypes that let non-Latinx objectify us or degrade us. Latinas especially are degraded and objectified because we are expected to be flirty dolls with great bodies for the male gaze which is incredibly sexist. Latinx people in media are casted as 'Mexican Workers' which is racist because it gives the idea that Latinx are there to serve and that 'everyone who is Latinx must be from Mexico'. Since most Latinx characters I've seen are Mexican, a lot of people will, of course, assume I'm Mexican when I say that I'm hispanic/Latina. Somebody has actually called me Mexican because they only knew that I'm hispanic. Now, Honduras is a lesser known country to everywhere that isn't Latin America but I hope to see more Hondurans in media-- Or at the very least, Central America since it's the closest thing if not the specific.

By reading this blog post, I hope you've now taken the time to understand that "positive stereotypes" only lead to generalization, objectification and degradation when we don't meet the standards imposed on us. You should also know the difference between hispanic and Latinx. Thank you for reading!

Introduction!

Hello!! My name is Mariam Bin Safwan, though I go usually by Jash or Void. My birthday is February 1st and I was born on 2000 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. I am half Emirati and half Honduran, but I speak neither Arabic or Spanish despite growing up with my mom in Abu Dhabi.

I love to draw, paint, write and I'm learning a bit of 3d animation and 3d modeling! I aspire to be a comic book creator and game designer because stories are very important to me. Growing up, I watched disney films-- Films based off fairytales and fell in love with the movements and change. Then, I grew up with video games like Kingdom Hearts and Harvest Moon! The comics most important to me are Homestuck and The Fantastic Four. I admire the setting, development and wonders of stories-- There can be so much depth displayed in minimal ways, or extravagant, colorful actions. I have a lot of story ideas, currently three projects I'm actively working on. My biggest project is my comic, Monsters Crowd, Creatures Call! I currently really love the game Overwatch, it has a lot of story to it that's shown through animation and comics despite it being a first person shooter.

Languages have had a role in my life, especially growing up biracial when people expect you to speak the languages your parents speak. I am currently trying to learn Spanish and Arabic, though! I've been making progress (especially with Spanish; I speak spanglish at home sometimes.) It's sometimes stressful with expectations being put on me since a young age, but I still find beauty in the languages of my parents, as well as feeling a connection with both cultures. Being able to study language is dire for the human race, without communication we'd have nothing. Communication is essential for discussion, trade, culture and living. Studying language can also connect someone with culture, how the words are used and how they are said is interesting to think about.

I've always felt excluded from language barriers. My fathers side speaks mostly arabic, my mother's side speaks mostly spanish. Both my grandmothers can't speak english, this has prevented me from speaking to them. My older sisters can speak both languages, and I've always felt left out of the family since I can only speak english-- But that's even more reason for me to press forward and learn both languages. I love my cultures, I love the languages and I love learning more about myself and language.