#1 Stubbs White 4---ldenis24

In the book Out of Nowhere we learn about Tom, a soccer captain of Enniston who so badly wants to beat Maquoi, a rich rival town. During one of the games a Somalian kid that goes by the name of Saeed catches the eye of Tom and makes him think that maybe they can beat Maquoi with this new talent, but one thing stands in the way, Saeed cant speak English and does not have the information to fill out admission slips. Tom, wanting to beat his rival so badly, goes out of his way to sign the papers himself. Later on Tom vandalizes a rock at his soccer team's rival and gets caught by police. He is forced to do 100 hours of community service tutoring Somalians. Now having to deal with this new culture and way of life Tom finds himself in the results of his own actions. 

I do agree that there is always a language barrier when assimilating to another country. It is a struggle for Saeed to have a conversation in English. Learning the grammar of another language would be nearly impossible without help and this barrier can be in the way of people assimilating. 

“Where’d you learn to play like that?” His brow contracted, forming a thin line over his nose. “Great Pass” he finally said. (Padian 5)

Saeed doesn't understand him at all and just holds a conversation by talking about the one language they do understand, Soccer. sports is the biggest way people can communicate when assimilating. 

I agree with you when you say, "Soccer. sports is the biggest way people can communicate when assimilating". I too think that sports are a great way for those assimilating to communicate. Although they can communicate through soccer, what about off the field? Will the barrier of language create rivals off the field, and will friendships be made easy? 

In the novel, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the main character, Ifemelu, makes a life-altering decision to move away from her home in Nigeria, and start a new life in America. Like many immigrants, Ifemelu is faced with a language barrier, however, it is not the one that is expected. The barrier she faces with language is that other people cannot comprehend that she understands English based on their impression of her. A multitude of people she has encountered have assumed that she cannot understand English, however, this is untrue, English is the official language of Nigeria. “But when Ifemelu returned with the letter, Cristina Tomas said, ‘I. Need. You. To. Fill. Out. A. Couple. Of. Forms. Do. You. Understand. How. To. Fill. These. Out?’ and she realized that Cristina Tomas was speaking like that because of her, her foreign accent, and she felt for a moment like a small child, lazy-limbed and drooling. ‘I speak English,’ she said. ‘I bet you do,’ Cristina Tomas said. ‘I just don’t know how well.’ ” (Adichie 163). Assumptions like these are what make it difficult for Ifemelu to interact with people, experiences like these are belittling to one’s conscience. Another issue with the language barrier is the fact that the English in Nigeria is slightly different from the English spoken in America, Americans speak with a lot of usage of slang and have other functions of language, whereas Nigerians use another form of the English language. This new form of English causes Ifemelu to ponder: “And they ambled, these Americans, they walked without rhythm. They avoided giving direct instructions: they did not say ‘Ask somebody upstairs’; they said ‘You might want to ask somebody upstairs.’ When you tripped and fell, when you choked, when misfortune befell you, they did not say ‘Sorry.’ They said ‘Are you okay?’ when it was obvious that you were not” (Adichie 164-165). To answer the question, it seems as though there are going to be language barriers when it comes to assimilating into a new country, every immigrant has a different narrative and a different perception of language. Even immigrants who already speak and understand the language of the country they are assimilating into, like Ifemelu, will face challenges presented by society.

Assumptions like these are what make it difficult for Ifemelu to interact with people

Again, I agree. Everyone who assimilates into other countries will face challenges from language. And you are right in saying that, "Assumptions like these are what make it difficult for Ifemelu to interact with people". With any accent, I believe, lies immediate assumptions that cause inaccurate treatment. Going back to Out of Nowhere, I'm unsure what language Saeed actually speaks, could be Arabic or Samali. And with his language, does he see the soccer field and world different than others? Does Saeed have the subjunctive? 

Phoenix is a boy from El Salvador who with his brother tried no cross over the Mexico border to get away from gang violence but ends up getting caught before he can cross with his brother his brother gets relocated to Texas and he gets goes into a detention center later being relocated to a Family in Arizona where he waits to be put on trial. Phoenix speaks fluent English but there are some words and things in america that he doesn't understand . "'Um, Gretchen,' Phoenix says, 'what is that?' 'The Atlantic Eye'" (117 Marquardt)