Disadvantage Of English Language

Compared to other Countries, America stands less developed in bilingual abilities due to language requirements taught within our school systems curriculum. Being bilingual is an important skill to have in America, with multiple different prominent languages spoken within our country other than English, we are constantly surrounded by language. The problem that our country is dealing with now, is that we started with the idea that anyone that moved to America should adapt to our languages, instead of us Americans, taking the initiative to learn a new languages. In a report by Hyon Shin and Robert Kominski, showed the number of citizens in America that spoke a language other than English. The “data on speakers of languages other than English

In America, there is a predominant growth in multiple ethnicities and cultural backgrounds; leading to the usage of multiple languages in the American culture. There is a growing need for many people to learn and utilize multiple languages within the workplace and within one 's own personal life. The importance of bilingualism and the knowledge of multiple languages is ever increasing, and therefore becoming more important for the younger generations. The push for knowing multiple languages and becoming bilingual has many potential negative and positive effects.

When my grandfather was thirty, he could speak four languages. He would talk to his parents in Farsi, his friends in French, his neighbors in English, and his cousins in German. Fifty years later, he continues to surround himself with the culture of those he has met and connected with. He may be living in a largely Farsi speaking community, but the cultural appreciation fostered after years of stumbling through three foreign languages has followed him. Language unlocks doors between different peoples and cultures, ultimately laying the foundation for clear communication and honest discourse. We currently live in a world where the

In the article “Mauro E. Mujica: English is The Key to the American Dream” by Mauro E. Mujica, He states that “ English is becoming the key to economic growth there. Now more than ever, having one common language is becoming more and more a crucial part of our national identity—and a key to an individual’s success.” Since English is a primary source of communication. It's the method through which we share our ideas and thoughts with others. See, when you are speaking to someone who fluent in English whether it's your classmates, your professors or your business partner you’re not talking to them meaninglessly. In fact, by speaking the same language you’re talking to them with heart. The language barrier are no longer an issue. You’re forming relationship and bond with them. And these kinds of relationship irrefutably a key to achieving American Dream.

English as we know it is indeed the dominant language, but does that mean everyone should learn it? Should English be the global language? Should you have to know English to communicate if you are someone that lives in a place where the native language is something different? The answer is no. However, first you must consider the statement “It is a fact that English is the dominant language in the world today. Everyone, in every country, in order to participate in the modern world, should learn English. After all, a language is just a random collection of words, so how hard can it be”. Personally, I believe it is tremendously difficult to learn a new language as an adult, but in order to make the world go round, we all should know more than one language; no one language should rule. Barbara Wallraff, David Crystal, and John Tagliabue share a few words that connect to the statement to show their personal mindset behind English being a global language. In this essay, I will extract statements from each of the authors that explain their views on a global language to support my overall perception.

As time progresses, foreign languages are being abandoned in English-speaking countries. This is because English is becoming a dominant language in international affairs. A common question has arisen because of this situation as Americans are left wondering what will become of foreign languages in the future. At this present time, monolingual English speakers are at a disadvantage. Being multilingual offers better opportunities in the working field and improves brain flexibility. On the other hand, it is understandable that it can be useless as English is becoming an international language and it is expected that people who live in America should know English already.

James Fallows in his essay on “Viva Bilingualism” argued that bilingualism should not be feared by the people in America. The author claimed that it is possible to learn more than one language and by doing so, people connect better with one another. He stated that there is no need to adopt English as the official language, because that is understood. Fallows proved that America won’t have separation problems because of its uniqueness compared to other countries. Simply learning two different languages can be extremely beneficial to Americans. He believed that English is a strong language but despite of that he had a strong incentive to learn Japanese. Immigrants that come to America have incentives to learn another language, whereas, most Americans do not have reasons to learn another language. Although the author is very well spoken, he provides little to no evidence to support his claims. However, in a logical sense, individuals are already aware, to a degree, of the benefits of being bilingual. The author’s sarcasm and inability to back up his information steers audiences away from his claims.

Barack Obama at the town hall meeting of the 2008 presidential campaign, as reported CBS news, said, “I don 't speak a foreign language. It 's embarrassing!” His statement was an emphatic response to the English hegemony faced by the U.S. immigrants. They should be confident to have a language ability other than English, despite the fact they have been struggling to learn English. In making this comment, Obama urged us to learn a foreign language other than our native tongue because being bilingual is better than monolingual. It was also a critique of the initiative of the “English Only” movement which intensively advocates for making English as the official language of the United States. Therefore, I agree that Americans should work together to foster a language pluralism and to challenge any endeavors to make English-only as the official language.

As America is one of the world’s largest and most powerful countries, a crucially important reason to bolster language education is in regards to international relations. Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, once said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” (Okpomo, 1). America needs politicians, ambassadors, and diplomats who can connect to leaders of other nations on that level; business leaders to promote American interests abroad; and soldiers who can relate to the common people that they are fighting to protect. All of these endeavors require multilingualism.

In “Why Foreign Language Education Matters” Representative Rush Holt expresses the idea that the average American is generally deprived of what is known as cultural enrichment in their day-to-day lives, even though others believe that English should be the primary and only language Americans should speak. Holt conveys the overall concept that being bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual is a benefit not just for oneself but for our society. Rush Holt presents the argument with extreme concern for our upcoming generations and the consequences it may cause our nation’s economy to decrease in federal funding’s for education programs, as well as our global marketplace and national security who is highly dependent of translators, specialist, and

The number of Languages spoken throughout the world is estimated to be 6,000. Although a few languages are for wider communication around the world, these are very often spoken as second, third, fourth, or later-acquired languages. Fewer than 25% of the world 's approximately 200 countries recognize two or more official languages, with a mere handful recognizing more than two. Despite there being lots of bilinguals and multilinguals, there is also a bunch of monolingual people in the world. The adult population is allowing their children not to learn a foreign language, drastically underfunding language courses in middle to high school level classes. Because they think it 's not necessary in this century, thinking they don 't require communication with other people from other countries. But the truth is that it can actually benefit in more ways than people think. The United States school system has started to not require foreign language class for graduation requirements, this places the U.S at a disadvantage in the world scene.

Last Night I was reading the newspaper while drinking some tea and eating a biscuit. The paper really gave me insight into the tragic realities of the world. There are a plethora of countries that don‘t have the opportunity to read “Garfield” because they cannot understand English. Due to this, English should be the global lingua franca. It is assumed that wherever anyone goes in the world, someone will speak some sort of English. It may be extremely choppy and broken but it is English nonetheless. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Many people speak it as a primary or secondary language. In fact, an estimated 1 billion people speak English (PBS). There are two sides to having English as the lingua franca of the world. On one side, there is easier communication for business as well as innovation. On the contrary, the influence of English can destroy small languages and cultures.

While some bilingual individuals perceive English as a language they had to learn out of necessity, there were some other individuals who see their ability to speak English as their strengths to connect with various people from different cultures. Some individuals also expressed that English affects “the way one sees the world, how one connects with people and possibilities one’s future holds” (Aguayo 2017:5).

Why should people nowadays see languages as a big prize? A person speaks more languages have more opportunities are skewed to him because he benefits the profit comparing to a person who speaks only one standard language. It is time for globalization and its effects on children for speaking other languages as a must. In two articles “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez and “Whose Voice Is It Anyway?” by Victor Villanueva, the two authors both expressed their opinions on native language and how the assimilation impacts a child. However, Rodriguez believed that the assimilation was beneficial for him as he had grown up in the English-speaking world and he disliked bilingual education which created many controversy.

A survey done by the Center for Applied Linguistics in 2008 found that "The findings indicate a serious disconnect between the national call to educate world citizens with high-level language skills and the current state of foreign language instruction in schools across the country"(Cal:Research). This is concerning as all of the competition for the U.S. is gaining a step and we 're doing nothing . If the U.S. expects to continue to be competitive in the global market we need to have bilingual citizens. In order to ensure this, we must require a foreign language be learned in high school.