Language Biography. Alyssa A

Introduction

I was born in San Antonio, but I grew up mostly in Edinburg, TX. The language spoken there the most is Spanish, but my preferred language is English. However, I did grow up hearing Spanish and seeing American Sign Language. Spanish comes from my dad's side and ASL comes from my mom's.

Introduction

My Family's Origin:

My mother's side is originally from here in the U.S. However, my father's side originated from Mexico. Mi abuela, abuelo, and their padres were raised in the city of Sain Alto in Zacatecas, Mexico. Two of my aunt's were born in Mexico. My dad was born here in the U.S.

Origin

Familia/

FAMILY

Although my household was mostly English, I also grew up hearing Spanish on my dad's side mostly because that was the only language my grandparents understood. My dad speaks spanish very fluently. My mom is an ASL interpreter so I grew up signing with her and I know it better than I know Spanish. Honestly, I knew how to sign before I could even talk!

Escuela/

Throughout school, I was surrounded by Spanish speaking and it always made me feel left out. However, with ASL, I got to perform songs for my school in Sign Language. My friends were really interested to learn from me! In school, I got to work with deaf students and got to learn more about that community.

School

Eventos/

During outings with my friends, we would constantly run into Spanish speaking in the Valley. I lived there my whole life so I learned new words everyday. Some people say the "Valley Spanish" is different than "Proper Spanish" so I probably don't know any Proper Espanol. Growing up in the Valley expanded my Spanish speaking along with my ASL. The Valley has an entire deaf community that hold their own types of events. I have picked up new signs so much by attending so many of these social gatherings.

Social Events

Amigos/

Having an ASL interpreter for a mom, you meet a lot of her friends in the deaf community. By doing so, you learn to respect who they are and where they come from. The only difference between us and deaf people is that we can hear. Many do not see it as a disability so neither should we! For example, Deaf Karaoke is a thing and it is awesome! My dad has tons of Mexican-American friends that talk only in Spanish so I try to learn from them too. Having family friends in both the Deaf and Spanish community has taught me to respect and embrace both!

Family Friends