In the Ted Talk Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive presented by Phuc Tran primarily talks about how different uses of grammar affects how we think. He talks about how the subjunctive helps us imagine different possibilities of situations, but it can also make us feel stuck if we focus too much on what hadn't happened. He compares this to the indicative mood which is about accepting things as they are. In one part he is talking to his dad and telling him about terms they use in the U.S. He’d say “‘Dad, listen, you can say: if it hadn't rained, we would've gone to the beach.’ And my dad's response: ‘That's stupid’” (Tran 1:38). This shows how his dad is struggling with the cultural speaking norms in the U.S. and how he doesn't stand why people use that type of terminology.
Tom In the book Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian it talks about a boy named Tom, he is a high school senior who becomes friends with a boy named Yusuf. He is a Somali refugee who moved to Lewiston maine. As they bond over soccer, Tom begins to see the struggles for Yusuf as he adjusts to life in America. One time when Tom was doing community service, his job was to help a 3rd grade immigrant learn how to read and write. The girl at the place where he was helping is telling him about the kid. She says, “...you know how third grade is when you stop learning to read and start reading to learn? He is getting so left behind”(Padiham 50). This is showing how he is struggling with being in the U.S. and with the reading and writing aspect of the culture. These two books connect because in both cases they are struggling with language barriers but in different ways. In the book he is new to the country and can't read or write our language. But in the TED talk he is struggling with understanding why people say stuff that could have happened rather than what is happening. But in both cases they are struggling with parts of the English language and how to use the language.
Based on the ideas in your book, how does this compare to the struggles that your character is facing when going into a new country with new language and terminology?
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