America Should Not Become Bilingual

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America Should Not Become Bilingual

I can't really think of a flashy intro that will grab your attention. I could dazzle you with some outrage statistics about how the world will becoming to an end if my problem is not solved right away. I could write a really funny story about how this problem relates to all of us, to show how my problem is of dire importance. Or I could find some really good quote that would take up one-third of the page which would leave me with only six and two-thirds of a paper left to write. This is what I chose.

". . . the man who becomes completely Americanized. . . and who talks United States instead of the dialect of the country which he has of his own free will abandoned is not only doing his plain duty by his adopted land, but is also rendering himself a service of immeasurable value. . . A man who speaks only German or Swedish may nevertheless be a most useful American citizen; but it is impossible for him to derive the full benefit he should from American citizenship." Theodore Roosevelt April 14, 1888

You may be asking yourself "Why should I care about a hundred year old quote about language and communication in America?" Well, today in the United States the problem of communication and language has risen again. Should America become bilingual or stay as it is today, without an official language? I know some of you are now looking for the nearest exit to get off of this site, but wait. This topic is of interest to you. The way you communicate in the future will depend on the government's stance. You need to be concerned about this issue because soon your tax dollars will be going to the solution. You should care about this problem because it will affect every asp...

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...ish. End of problem. The Germans, forced again, learned English. End of problem. Latinos, allowed to keep their heritage and language, totally not influenced by government, learn English. Then end of problem.

Let's recap what you have learned. There is a communication in the United States that is being fueled by stereotypes and racism. There are two sides to the issue, EO and EP. Neither side is right. The United States should not become bilingual because bilingualism has not worked for other countries and bilingualism will not, unlike the EP believes, be a harmonious place. The United States should not become monolingual because the government would be alienating a lot of citizens in the process and a monolingual country has not succeeded in the past. The United States should let the tide of immigrants be, stay out of the problem, and things will be ok.

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