My Mother tongue or Mother's mother tongue?

The term 'mother tongue' is defined as: the language which a person has grown up speaking from early childhood, thus the phrases 'native language' and 'mother tongue' are equivalent in meaning, however they are not synonyms. As, the noun 'native' refers to a country/nation, whereas the noun 'mother' relates to the individual's parent. 

Today, we had a class discussion about the article 'Mother Tongue' written by Amy Tan, where she discussed the perks of speaking multiple types of English or as she states, "Englishes".
Personally, I can relate to this article, as I, myself, have to switch up my "Englishes" sometimes, depending on who I am communicating with. For example, when I speak to my grandfather, I tend to pronounce letters like "t", whereas if I'm speaking to my friend I wouldn't. I see eye to eye with Tan when she states that there is a "different sort on English that relates to family talk".

In addition to that, in the article 'Mother Tongue' Tan addresses the numerous issues that come with having family members who speak a different type of the English language and she has personally experienced that with her mother's simplified English, and yes I said it was a simplified version of English, as there many types of "Englishes" out there and her mother's version is solely simplified, it's NOT 'broken' or 'limited'.

Sadly, the world we now live in is incredibly hypocritical. How? Why? Because, the English language did not originate from England or America or Canada, it mostly originated from other languages such as, French and German, and most people don't acknowledge that, as, if they heard someone with a German or French 'mother tongue' attempt to speak English, I'm quite certain that they would perceive them as "lower" than them. In all honesty, that isn't even logical, because without those Germans and French people, the English language would not even exist; all these songs you turn up to, wouldn't of have been made. So here's what I have to say to everyone out there who thinks that Cristiano Ronaldo's english is "broken"- people like Ronaldo are actually "higher" than you, why? Because they are BI or TRI-lingual when you're not. Therefore, they are actually more privileged in life, because they have the ability to communicate with a variety of cultures, whereas you're missing out!

In conclusion, I believe that a person's 'mother tongue' is the language that associated with one's 'family talk' and for that I have a better understanding to why Tan kept referring to her mother's English as her 'mother tongue', this is because Tan herself doesn't originate from an English speaking country, therefore 'standard English' isn't a norm in her 'native' country. Also, I hope that after reading my point of view on this topic, everyone can learn to respect all types of "Englishes". 

As I mentioned in my first blog, the name 'Reem' translates to 'gazelle' in Arabic. Now, I will expand on my name and the "elegance" behind it. 

The name "Reem" is of African and Swahili origins, therefore it has multiple roots. 

Wikipedia defines my name as: (Arabic: ريم‎‎) is an Arabic female given name, which means "gazelle" and symbolizes purity, elegance and grace. Reem is considered to be an upper-class name, and many princesses have held it. Reem is often used in Arabic literature and poetry as a metaphor for beauty and elegance. 

Wikipedia is here to inform us and provide us with definitions, however that doesn't necessarily mean that my personality should not conform wikipedia's definition of the type of individual 'Reem' should be. Why? Because your name is not a label, it is something that is given to you and it's acceptance is not mandatory, as you are not forced to accept everything that is given to you, right? But, I accept my name because it suits me, not by definition, however by it's simplicity. I admire my name, because it can be easily pronounced by multiple accents and it still sounds (quite) the same! 

Also, "Reem" is used as a slang word in England, specifically by Joey Essex in a show named 'The Only Way in Essex' and it holds a similar, but not identical, meaning to what my parents initially aimed for. Joey Essex's definition of 'Reem' is: brilliant, good, cool, fashionable; close, but not close enough. When I visit England, people there do not take my name seriously; all as a result of Joey Essex.

Below is a song Joey created, without my consent.

African or Arab?

Welcome back,
Today I will give you all more insight into my 'secluded' life (like I promised previously).

When it comes to culture, I wouldn't exactly say that I belong to a one culture solely, that is because I come from a country that I have no history with, therefore I would be more likely to identify with the country which I spent my entire life in, however that is not the case. Sudan is the country which holds my identity.

Now, to explain the title of this post. Many people from other Arab cultures identify us as 'Arabs', while people from non-Arab cultures identify us as 'Africans', only because Sudan is located in Africa. Yes, I know that it's location makes it an 'African' country, however it doesn't necessarily makes us 'Africans', as Sudan's first language is Arabic NOT Afrikaans. The frustrating thing about this is not the 'African' label, it's the fact that Egypt and Sudan are siblings, they share the nile river, and I've never witnessed an individual label Egyptians as 'Africans'.

Furthermore, it is very irritating how much Sudan is ignored not only in Africa, however in the whole world. On that point, I have noticed, while growing up, that Egypt seems to be more familiar to people. Yes, I know that this could be because of it's famous pyramids, however Sudan itself has a legendary history- Sudan was the largest country in Africa (7th largest in the world), until it split up in 2011.
Let me tell you something that really put me off a few months ago when I was researching a few things about Sudan for my history homework. I typed 'Sudan' into google and the first link I click on defines Sudan as 'A country in Africa, south of Egypt'. No, Sudan is: an Arab country located in Africa.

Fact: Sudan and the UAE flags are made up of the same colours. 

Sobre Mi

Hello World,

My name is Reem an you probably already know that, as it's written all over my page. I'm not usually the type of person who likes to give a lot away, I tend to receive more. But change is good right? Change helps us discover new things in life and that's what I'm all about.
So here we go, I'm going to try and let you all in to my 'secluded' life.
Firstly, my interests. I like to be proactive and try out new sports, I don't stick to one sport, however I shift from one sport to another, not only does that make each sport more entertaining but it also benefits you in the future. On that note, I should probably mention something I believe is a necessity, planning ahead, no I'm not just talking about a homework schedule, but I'm talking about making the right decisions that will help us out in the future. We don't want to grow up and question our poor decisions right? No regrets.
Finally, I hope that this first blog post wasn't too bad, as i'm not much of a writer, hopefully over time I will get more comfortable and say more about myself. For now, I will leave you all with a picture of a gazelle. Why you ask? Because (another fact), my name means 'gazelle' in Arabic.