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Cultural and linguistic diversity
Cultural and linguistic diversity
The importance of the English language as our lingua franca
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The debate of instituting English as the official language in the United States is a debate that has been going on for centuries. Many people believe that English should be the official language because we are American, and Americans speak English. However, many of those people fail to realize that we all come from different heritages and corners of the world. Language should be an art of expression, one where people of all heritages and backgrounds can speak in the language that they have learned. Implementing English as the official language in the United States would be to essentially ignore and disrespect all of the heritages, nationalities, and religions that make the United States a unique place to live. The United States is unique because of the melting pot effect, referring to all the different kinds of people living in one place, expressing anything they want too without consequences. In households all across the United States, families are speaking languages that either are a result of their heritage, or language they choose to speak around each other. However, these families know that once they get out into the real world in the United States, they are going to have to know English. English is the most dominant language in the world, and in order to do business in the most powerful country in the world, people are going to need to speak and read English. In France, many business students are being told to learn English, because “English is becoming as commonplace as creeping ivy and mortarboards” (Carvajal). Professors are telling French students to learn the English ways, because not only is that where the jobs are, but in order to communicate with the most important people in business, they must know English... ... middle of paper ... ...d cannot live it. Works Cited Carvajal, Doreen. "In Many Business Schools, the Bottom Line is English." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Apr. 2007. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . Marquez, Myriam. "Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public." Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers. Ed. Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2009. 542-43. Print. Mujica, Mauro. "Why the U.S. Needs an Official Language." The World & I. N.p., Dec. 2003. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . Salais, Leticia. "Saying 'Adios' to Spanglish." Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers. Ed. Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2009. 545-47. Print.
Bilingualism should be celebrated and encouraged, rather than stamped out. Anzaldúa recalls that a teacher told her, “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (2947). The irony in her teacher’s statement is that Mexicans and Native Americans inhabited North America long before it was colonized; so, technically speaking, Anzaldúa belonged in America more than her teacher did.
Another struggle for identity with Latinos is their struggle with the Spanish and English languages. While some Latinos may speak Spanish in their homes, the language may not be conversationally used in their schools. Some Lat...
Agosin, Marjorie. "Always Living in Spanish: Recovering the Familiar, through Language." The Norton Field Guide to Writing. By Richard H. Bullock. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2009. 21-24. Print. 11 Nov. 2013
Gloria Anzaldua, wrote the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” communicating and describing her adolescence in a society brimming with sexism, cultural imperialism, racism, low self-esteem, and identity formation. The reason one comes to America is to finer themselves academically, and intellectually. One must learn to speak English to live among the American’s, because that is the language they speak. Though, no one has the right to deprive you of your familiar tongue. At a young age, Anzaldua was scolded, even mistreated for speaking her native “Chicano” tongue. Anzaldúa described this ignorance, cruelty, and discrimination when she states: “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” She overcomes this hostility throughout her life.
The discussion of making English the nation’s official language has sparked an ongoing debate among many individuals for several decades. As of now, the United States does not have an official language due to the diverse population. Many individuals believe that by establishing an official language, the United States is being culturally insensitive, that diversity is the key to forming America’s identity. However, establishing English as the official language would promote unity among not only American citizens but also the nation.
From the time the Pilgrims landed in this great nation at Plymouth Rock, immigrants have been culturally diverse and have spoken many languages. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they did not know how to communicate with the natives. Through intense study the natives learned the Pilgrims’ language. Even with the common language they were still a melting pot of different culture. Some would say that America has gotten over the language/ cultural barriers and now almost everyone speaks the common language of English, but there are still many immigrants who do not know English. Bilingual education is put into public schools for this reason, so that immigrant children can be assimilated to English gradually. The national language should be English instead of the official language because America has prided herself in being very diverse. If we take away the diversity, then we take away the core values that America has always had since her founding.
Hispanic America language has some strengths and weaknesses as observed in the article and this makes it one of the influential groups in the United States. It is also important noting that those who belong to this group originated from various parts of the world. The strengths in the pattern of communication make this language one of the most adorable languages in the world as many people feel respected whenever they talk to someone from this particular group. The weaknesses that can be identified only show how people tend to believe they are shy, but it is as a result of respect for
English as the official language of the United States could benefit the U.S. Government and America as a whole. America has long since been a multicultural nation and has been an English speaking nation since it was founded. The constitutional and federal documents are all in English, which furthers the American people, believing English should be our official language. The majority of states already have English as their official language, for English has always provided a much needed cohesion to our diverse citizens since it was founded.
Language is a mean of communication in any given society. It represents the ability to evolve and progress through the ongoing process of living with other human beings. Many can perceive this instrument as tool of liberation and transformation but others as an instrument to enslave, manipulate or oppress a group of people. Whichever the case one need to acknowledge that it is necessary and not a waste of time the many different discussions about this ongoing topic regardless of the time period or social context any country might have. In Puerto Rico, there has been an ongoing dilemma about languages; Dr. Alicia Pousada examines on her essay what many might define “the language madness on the island”. Throughout this paper some of her most interesting ideas will be shared and discussed so that this already extended topic might find another page to take place.
A large number of people in the Hispanic community whether Hispanics are not able to get the English literacy skills that they need not because they want to keep born in Latin America or the United States, speak Spanish primarily. This is basically because in present day time, Hispanics are more likely to pass Spanish to their kids now than they have done in the past. (Ortiz, P.149) This is seen as a social problem, especially because of the fact that there is an increasing demand that English should only be taught in public school and it should also be spoken within the Spanish community. Even though Hispanics do speak a lot of Spanish most of the time, they still do learn English also, especially the young. But, because of the large flow of immigrants, the use of Spanish is used more often because they are constantly encountering immigrants who speak no English. (Ortiz, P. 150) Before hand there has been said to have been lower achievements when Hispanics make frequent use of the Spanish la...
dominant language in the US has been a symbolic and practical means of showing who is in
While reading this article, one of the most shocking sections was when the students were talking to Monzó and sharing their outlook on their place and their language’s place in society. These students, even at this early age, are feeling how devalued their first language has been. They feel like they have to speak the right* English, only use English in public places, never their first language, and that they must assimilate to the American culture as much as possible. This reminded me of a chapter in Lippi Green (2012)’s text. Within this chapter, Lippi-Green (2012) discusses how in the United States Spanish speakers are not only expected to learn English, but they are expected to learn and utilize the right* English determined by the majority and assimilate entirely to American culture.
In conclusion, the motion to make English the official language of the United states is on I strongly oppose. To do so would result in the further segregation of American people because it chooses to ignore the population's diversity. If the English Language Empowerment Act of 1996 were to pass, it would only add to the confusion that immigrants are overwhelmed with upon entering America. The act requires that governmental ballots be in English, which further complicates and deters non-English speaking citizens a role in government. Instead of passing laws which threaten and penalize non-English speaking citizens, the government should develop programs with incentives that encourage people to steadily convert to English. Furthermore, Dickstein holds that people should not be limited to only English. It is important to remember that every American citizen is an individual and therefor has a right to maintain their own identity.
My decision to do parts of my web page in Russian and English represents the value that I place on bilingualism and multilingual cultures. Before studying other languages, I had admired such cultures because I felt that their knowledge and understanding of the world was much broader then my own because they could to communicate with more diverse groups of people. These values concerning the importance of language are shared by the Puerto Rican historian José Luis González. In his essay "Puerto Rico: The four Storeyed [sic] Country," he discusses the effects of US colonial rule on Puerto Rican culture. In discussing the relationship between language and cultural hegemony he claims that: "We Puerto Ricans have to learn English, not as the route to cultural suicide whereby we become dissolved into the turbulent mainstream of American life, assimilated to that ‘brutal and unruly North that so despises us,’ to quote José Martí, but so that we may with greater ease and profit integrate ourselves into that rich Caribbean world to which we belong by historical necessity" (30). In these concluding remarks González challenges the traditional nationalist notions of the use of language in the study Puerto Rico, in order to show the value in bilingualism.
The majority of Americans believe English is the official language of the United States. However, The United States has no official language at all. This mistake is commonly based upon English being the most popular language spoken in North America. Making English official has recently become a popular topic, and more people every day join a curiosity of why it is not the official language. English should be the official language of the United States to give the people what they want, to recognize the historic role, and to limit controversy.