Summary Of Two Ways To Belong To America

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Liberty and Justice for All? America does not have an official language and is a nation of immigrants who come to a new land to make it their home. All Americans relate to immigrants or are immigrants themselves. In fact, since the beginning of American society, immigrants have come in search of a better life-one free of trouble and hardship they have left behind. Immigrants face a number of problems in a new community, when they arrive in a new country. Baharti Mukherjee explains in her article “Two Ways To Belong To America,” that weather immigrants get their citizenship or not, it is not an easy adjustment. Immigrants that take the step to become a citizen and to pay the price of self-transform to avoid being treated as an outsider, have …show more content…

It is an ongoing reality that non-native speakers of English receive unfair treatment in this country because of the way they talk. It is easy to see that fear plays into American’s consciousness when they hear a language other than English being spoken. Throughout history, preserving English as the dominant language in the US has been a symbolic and practical means of showing who is in control. In his essay Jake Jamieson gives an example of a judge in Texas who told a Mexican mother than speaking only Spanish to her daughter at home was abusive towards her (268).
Myriam Marquez acknowledges in her essay that to get ahead in America, immigrants need to learn English (528). However, knowing this does not give an American the right to label someone’s native language as abusive just because one chooses to speak at home or in public to their family members. How can one be so intelligent to be a judge and at the same time …show more content…

It means that one can say
"The Pledge of Allegiance" and that one can vote for the President, county clerk, and the Mayor.
Marquez acknowledges in her essay that immigrants do not have to stop speaking in their native language in public places to show respect for America (528). Immigrants are taught their native language and different culture back home; they come here to adapt and to learn another language, culture and habits. America is a diverse country with many people capable of speaking two or more languages. As an immigrant living in America, I believe we should not have to be told whether to speak Spanish or not. What is important is which language we choose to represent ourselves freely. Americans need to be more understanding about immigrants being able to use their native language to communicate between families and friends; of course immigrants can speak in English if they want to, but it is easier to speak in their native language especially to those who are elderly. An immigrant will have to use languages in different scenarios. It may or may not be convenient at times, but sometimes they have to resort to

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