Culture is a broad term describing the way people live. Each area in the world occupies a different culture. Each culture therefore has its own norms and expectations. In the United States we have the culture described as being a melting pot. One agreement across all cultures that occupy and exist in the United States is the idea of freedom and security. The Mara Salvatrucha gang, otherwise known as MS-13 to many people is a threat to their freedom and safety. As you dig deeper into the mission of the Mara Salvatrucha’s you find that they have formed their own culture, with …show more content…
Language/pg. 42: A system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract thought.
Language is essential in every culture, region, and populated place around the world. In America we have many different kinds of language present all around us. The basic language of America is English, with most of the citizens being able to speak English fairly well. This is then backed by the second most present language in America being Spanish, or some form of Spanish. Spanish has many different dialects, as does English. The language dialect depends on the region of the country we live in, or the region of another country that we came from. The dialect we have is how we pronounce words and form sentences. In America we also have a growing population of people who are able to speak sign language. American standard sign language is becoming the most popular out there. What is so cool about sign language is that you are able to form full words by just making one symbol with your hand. This is a nice discrete way to communicate if you can form your own sign language symbols. Well, the Mara Salvatrucha was able to. In this way the gang members are able to communicate without anyone around them knowing what they are saying. The gang members could be signing to each other to kill the person standing across from them, and that person would never know until it was too late. Because they were able to create their own form of discrete communication through the use of sign language, the gang is able to be more efficient and thus much more powerful. Language is the basis of all communication, and without language people would not be able to communicate their thoughts or ideas. It may seem brutal, but in this way the MS-13 sign language is essential for the gang’s operation, and for them to be able to kill the opposing gang members discretely.