Spanglish Essay

All languages are important and realizing it will make you become a stronger, more diverse human being. We need take make an effort not only for ourselves but for other citizens living in the United States who don’t speak English; we need to make them feel welcomed into our country. Marjorie Agosín described that,”here in the United States, where I have lived since I was a young girl, the solitude of exile makes me feel that so little is mine, that not even the sky has the same constellations, the trees and the fauna the same names or sounds, or the rubbish the same smell. These are the dilemmas of one who writes in Spanish and lives in translation”(Agosin 599). Agosín has lived in the United States for quite some time now, yet still feels like she is living a life through “translation”. She should not feel this way, Agosin should feel apart of our country and feel as if she is a citizen. It is important for us to take a stand now to make language become apart of the curriculum within our school systems starting in Kindergarten, so that our children have a more diverse life filled with opportunities. One thing we know about the future for sure is that we will still have our knowledge about language, but it is how we use that knowledge that will depict how we will succeed in life and as a

As society begins to change so do other aspects that are within that particular society. Within the articles “Why Good English is Good for You” by John Simon, “Do You Speak American” by Robert MacNeil, and “Lost in America” by Douglas McGrey, each author gives their own insight as to how social changes have impacted the language within America, as well as the implications of those changes. While they each argue different views on how those implications have benefitted or hindered the language, they all agree on the fact that the language is ever-changing.

In her essay “Se Habla Español,” Tanya Maria Barrientos discusses her struggling as an English speaker with Latino heritage on self-definition and ethnic identity in the multi-cultured American society.

There is a saying foreigners use that goes “If you speak three languages, you’re trilingual. If you speak two languages, you’re bilingual. If you speak one language, then you’re probably American.” Living in America, the home language is English. So when foreigners come and are unable to pronounce or understand the traditional language, they come off as a useless individual to some members of American society. On the contrary, America is one of the few countries that is so heavily dominated by just one language. There are around 40 million Spanish-speaking citizens in America, however, compared to America’s population of over 320 million people, that is under fourteen

The English language is considered one of the global languages. It is spoken in many countries and is well-known everywhere. But do you ever wonder how many obstacles people face when they speak English as a second language? Or when they speak with an accent or use black vernacular language? In United States (US) people glorify Standard American English (SAE), and it used as a tool to discriminate and oppress. In the Article “8 Harmful Example of Standard American English Privilege”, Hernandez (2015) states that:

The great thing about America, is that it’s a country that accepts people of all different cultures as citizens of the country. This is a distinguishing quality that no other country in the world shares. By having this unique quality, it drew in nearly every imaginable kind of person to this country, a country with just one primary language, English. With that came hundreds of new languages spoken by the immigrants. To this day there’s still people who isolate themselves within their ethnic groups, instead of learning to speak English, the most prevalent language used in America. There’s something to be said for learning at least a little of a language whether someone is visiting a country for a day or planning to live there for the rest of their life. It shows that person cares about the place they’re in, and that they respect its residents. According to Brice, “Making English the official language would encourage new migrants to learn the language of the country they have adopted as theirs. The end goal is to unite the American people, while improving the lives of immigrants and native born inhabitants.” Speaking and

With nearly 30 million immigrants crossing our borders in the last three decades, the United States education system has seen a dramatic increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering the classroom (Migration Policy Institute website, n.d.). With this influx of non-native English speakers has come the need to find the best ways possible to meet them where they are academically and teach them accordingly. However, after years of research, education gurus are still divided on how to best meet the needs of ELLs. While there is no clear-cut approach, there are several strategies and programs that schools can implement in order to help immigrant learners and their families be successful in our school system.

According to his work, “English is the fastest-spreading language in human history and is used by an estimated 1.27 billion people globally” (Neeley, 2012). The English language is already the most popular language in the world, accompanied by each person’s native language. Also, compared to other languages English is relatively easy to learn (McWhorter, 2015). This does not mean that the meshing of new versions of English are always pristine. Ana Lucia Gonzalez, reporter for BBC, wrote the article, “Life in Spanglish for California’s Young Latinos” to address this issue of blending language.

In a country like America where people all over the world come to obtain a better future for themselves and their children, there is a large diversity in culture and languages. Most immigrant families come to America speaking a different language and have to adapt to the American language, English. However, several people do not learn English or have difficulty learning it. Usually older people struggle to learn English because they do not have time. Though, children may not have a hard time learning the English language because they are often sent to school. Currently children are now expected to learn a new foreign language, but most of the children’s families would like them to continue speaking their native language as well.

As a result, speaking Spanish opens a greater door of opportunities by simply being able to translate and communicate information in Spanish. I have the advantage of reading an article or book in Spanish and being able to acknowledge every piece of information a monolingual would not be able to do. For my natives class I was able to read books and do projects that had to do with my heritage and language. For example, some books that I was able to read were Macario, Bendiceme Ultima, and Cuando era Puertorriquena by reading this books it helped understand the Spanish language. I realized that by talking and reading in Spanish it has helped me alot in my communication and fluency skills. Spanish goes beyond communicating with my family and community because of its diversity I can apply it to other academic subjects. For example, in history I am able to make connections on past events that have now became a

The level of the English language by Latinos descendants is growing, they usually prefer to speak Spanish only at home, to be exact, are 3.4 million children (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007), but nevertheless, Most latinos belive that if they do not have a good English, things would difficult to them, principally at work and it could be a reason why the new generation prefer English outside and Spanish in their house; even so, in a study of 2013 was found that only 2% of the latinos community speak a decent English (Gonzalez Barrera & Hugo Lopez, 2013)

Whether it has been the segregated schools, bathrooms, buses, jobs, or anything else, the issue has made its presence worth mentioning in the matter of equality, and the English language does not make the situation any better for society. There has always been that stereotype on the type of English the individual is speaking, whether it has a sort of Hispanic, African American, or even European accent. Regardless, racism takes its role in society and people like Amy Tan, who wrote Mother Tongue, discuss what these limitations of the English language can do to people. They can impose negative consequences to individuals and leads to ineffective communication between people. She wrote about the fact that speaking imperfect English meant that people could not take you seriously or care about what you had to say.

While English is the most spoken language in the United States, it is not the only means of communicating in this country. Spanish is spoken by a large amount of the population; as a result, knowing how to speak both is the key to success in America. For those who came to this country and already knew this language, it is an important part of who they are. As a direct result of learning it, individuals who embrace it as a second (or even third) language grow closer to their roots, or broaden their horizons. Speaking Spanish is more than gaining a new skill; it is a great step in becoming a better person and a citizen of the world.

When people come to the United States of America, they experience changes and many hardships. One of the biggest difficulties for them is not speaking English. In addition to having a hard time adopting to a new life and language, immigrants are usually oppressed by the English speaking population and have to deal with much discrimination due to their lack of English. As the United States was growing as a nation, Americans were hard on the non-English speakers in the name of good will. Whether they were Native Americans, slaves, Latinos, from south western territories, or European and Asian immigrants, the United States passed many laws that restricted the use of their native language in order to restrict their opportunities. America oppressed the non-English speakers by taking away many of their rights, forcing them to learn new ways of living, and threatening them with deportation.

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