1 Author’s Name Institutional affiliation Course Number: Course Name Instructor’s Name Date
2 Yolanda's Immigration Experience 'How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent' Introduction There is no possible explanation concerning the feelings of an individual leaving their native land to go to a foreign country where people have different cultural beliefs. In most communities, the newcomers are usually viewed as outsiders. In the novel, “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent”, that is the exact situation that the sisters found themselves going through living in the United States. The Garcia family had to undergo a series of confusing situations since they did not speak or understand English, all the words and phrases were a new language to them. Therefore, the sisters had to go through some transformations to fit into the new environment. Yolanda tries her best to be acknowledged by Americans and ensures that she learns how to be proficient in English and understand all the cultural associations so that she can be treated like one of them through changing her identity and behave like most individuals in the state. However, as much as she tries to forego her identity, she is forced to battle between two cultures since she is stuck with her native societal behaviors. Learning the basic phrases that Americans use daily was a major problem for the Garcia family since all their lives they only spoke Spanish. Every time the husband insisted on their native language but the wife stated that they should copy how Americans spoke so they could be familiar with the language. Learning the language proved to have positive impacts on Yolanda, because she could communicate with other people and be considered as one of them. However, she never felt a sense of belonging throughout her stay because she was unable to leave her background behind. The Learning Process
3 The process of learning the new language made Yolanda change her perceptions towards the country, it also changed her voice giving her the American accent that she desired after
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