Assignment 3 - Erin

A couple of years ago, I learned what the term "code switching" means. For any who may be unaware, it is defined as "the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of languages in conversation." In learning this phrase, I suddenly realized that I have been doing this for the majority of my life.

Growing up with my time divided between Kentucky and Hawaii, I've been simultaneously raised by two very different cultures: my father's birthplace of Honolulu and my mother's birthplace of Danville. Though the only language I speak fluently is English (three years of high school french hasn't quite made me a native speaker), my English changes in different ways depending on where I happen to be. In recent years this has become strikingly apparent to me.

Take –for example– a typical Sunday evening in Danville; a nice home-cooked supper made by my maternal grandmother ("Nan"); long family gossip sessions around the table, and, as the night goes on, everyone's southern accents come out stronger and stronger. Conversation ranges from any recent U.K. sports activity to drama at work to a little politics before someone quickly changes the subject to how the kids are doing in school.

On the other end, you have a weekend dinner on a trip to Hawaii. The meal is a range of items (probably some Japanese, Korean, and traditional Hawaiian food) cooked or provided by several sources, the main source being my paternal grandmother ("Granny"). I call everyone older than me "Auntie" or "Uncle" because that's just the informal "Mr." or "Mrs." in Hawaii, regardless if they are your biological aunt or uncle. The local dialect (called "Pidgin") flows out of everyone's mouths as they talk about high school, recent trips to Las Vegas, the traffic on the H-1, and end most sentences with "yeah?". Without a second thought, my voice too begins to sound local as I respond to questions about school, my friends, my plans for the future. Before I know it, I'm ending my sentences with "yeah?" and sound just as if I've lived in Honolulu my whole life.

I've never spent more than two weeks at a time living in the islands, but that culture will always be a part of who I am. It will always influence me. Inversely, a part of me will always be in Kentucky, in love with the colorful autumns and rolling hills. I have been raised by two different cultures, but living the beautiful mix of the two has allowed me to see different sides of the same coin. Families who have known struggles, but also wonderful times. Places that both have their beautiful and ugly sides. Perspective is everything in the world, and my dual culture life has forever proved that to me.