The English Language

The growth of English language has increased tremendously over the years and has become the most widely spoken languages in the United States. This observation aims to explore why when moving to the United States, many non-English speakers feel the social pressure to learn English and what difficulties they encounter. After my observation, I found that many feel the need to learn English in order to assimilate into a community, and though straddling two languages is difficult, it opens more opportunities, and language privilege.

In the article “Should English Be the Law?” the author Robert D. King tell us about several civilizations that were influenced by all different types of language. The point is there are countries out there that don’t want a singular language. Some countries such as India in their constitution nineteen different languages are recognized. But then other countries like America a bill was passed in 1996 making English the national language. Truth is every country is different some want a national language and some don’t I feel no one should be forced. The government should just do as the people request.

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.

The film “American Tongues” documents a variety of English accents that are present across the United States and highlights a lot of the opinions people have about accents and people who speak these accents. A large majority of the people who express opinions about other peoples’ accents tend to express negative views, as they see their own accent as the superior one. The film focuses on showing the array of accents found in the U.S., but also how a lot of people who speak these “inferior” accents work to learn “Standard American English” to increase their chances of getting jobs and communicating in more official domains. Although the film was made in 1988, it expresses views still present in today’s society towards different accents, as people tend to continue judging others based not only on what they say, but also how they say it.

Those who believe a shared language shows a country’s identity do so because of the cultural assimilation this provides. Because language is a large part of culture, to learn one language is to culturally unite all of those people in a country with the same shared language. Henry Ford, the creator of Ford automobiles, believed in such an ideal; he was even famous for his English school which taught newly-migrated immigrants to learn the “language of America” while also providing them with jobs and wages. However, shared language does not always mean unity. For example, even in the US where English makes up the majority of spoken language, there are always ideological disparities today between people—like the disparities between Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, and religious groups and non-religious groups. Likewise, multiple languages does not lend itself to disunity. Even the US Bill of Rights’s guaranteed protection of the “freedom of speech” is not limited to the English language, supporting the idea of a united yet pluralistic society. Throughout the years, though, there have been laws made in America that have either supported or gone against the use of only

Language has clearly become a powerful force in many countries where different communities actually want to split apart on the sole basis on the language they speak. An article about Spain’s language diversity explains how people feel so passionate about their native languages that the country had to create autonomous regions for each of the major languages, and people are still fighting to have their language become the dominant dialect (Berdichevsky 276). This is also seen repeatedly in America’s history where immigrants to the country struggle to keep their languages alive. These immigrants realize the important role that language plays in keeping a community together, and many immigrants from the same country will choose to live by each other in America and are resentful when they are forced to learn English. My own great-grandparents chose to live in an Italian neighborhood in Ohio when they first came from Italy so that their culture would not be lost. This allowed my grandma to learn Italian as well as English, and even though she was going to an English school she was still taught the morals of her culture because she was able to talk with the older Italian people who did not speak English. My grandma says that this has helped her throughout life because even though she lives in America she says, “I respect my Italian heritage,” and that it has helped “build my confidence” (12 April 2003).

The United States has always been a unique country in more ways than one, and although immigration is still high, back when Europeans were entering through Ellis Island into New York City, it created a concentrated “melting pot” in New York. This lead to not only a variety of different ethnicities, cultures, and traditions being mixed together, but also created an exclusive American dialect in New York City.

United States of America, small in history but large in diversity continues to face new challenges with language as time continues to turn. In the documentary “Do You Speak American?” Robert MacNeil analyzes the English language and reveals many dialects that culturally defines us. Regional dialect is one of the many strongholds of all cultures and now it has reached its’ zenith and today it is slowly declining because it does not possess the human nature of advancement. Optimistically, it allows people to learn how to cooperate with each other. In order to advance and adopt a person has to change; I believe that the acceptance of cultural adaptations, diversity, and industrialization can prove that the decline of speech does not cause a

If people maintain their native language, then they can represent their culture and linguistic needs in government. This way of thinking about multilingualism breeds acceptance and appreciation of other cultures and languages. Finally, I agree with and enjoyed Benjamin Rush’s commentary on multilingualism. He, “expressed his concern that, “narrow-minded people,” fearful of retention of the German language among Pennsylvania’s citizens, would not recognize the benefits a German college might provide the nation. The spread of learning among citizens, no matter what their native tongues, was crucial to the cause of the government” (23) by promoting democracy through freedom of speech and freedom of language. Additionally, multilingualism works to make stronger foreign relations, advances in science, math and all other research and allows America to communicate its success to other countries, The presence of multiple languages makes America the accepting, culturally diverse mixing pot that it is

Reasonably measure of individuals can contend that numerous dialects are talked in the Unified States, however English is without no question is the national dialect. Our establishing fathers fabricated this nation by composing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in English. Be that as it may, I do trust that the instructive framework here in the Unified States needs to educate the understudies a moment dialect, particularly Spanish since it is the second most talked dialect.

While reading chapter six from Beyond Grammar Language, Power, and the Classroom, written by Mary R. Harmon and Marilyn J. Wilson, I began to realize how much we become caught up in the rules of the so-called Standard American English. It is sad because people are being judged on their dialect, which is a representation of who people are and where they are from. I have found myself correcting people that have a different dialect, or correcting people that say words that I have been told were not proper language, such as the word ain’t. Standard American English is something that is embedded in our brains at a young age and as we go through school; language is something teachers are constantly correcting children on. Reading about dialect has

The United States of America is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations. Even though there is not an official national language, most Americans speak Standard American English (SAE). However, the most prevalent native English vernacular dialect in the United States is African American Vernacular English (AAVE). According to Sharon Vaughn, AAVE is “a dialect used by some African Americans” (110). In order to examine AAVE, one must explore the origins, grammatical features, and prominent resolutions, which created a precedent for educating students that speak dialects other than Standard American English.

The South is probably the most linguistically diversified part of the nation. Blacks and whites from Atlanta to Charleston to Nashville speak a different form of standard English in a different version of the Southern accent. Part of this linguistic diversity is reflected in the way that the Southern aristocracy can “shift not only vocabulary and pronunciation, but even grammar, according to the audience” ((1)McDavid 219). This

The language barrier is one of the biggest problems people face when they move to another country. Many immigrants who come from other countries are met with many linguistic challenges that not only impede their control of daily life tasks but also their ability to survive. I believe that it is important for immigrants to speak a national language. If they are unable to speak a national language, they will be unable to function to the fullest and therefore become isolated and disempowered from the community.

Everyone has a different interpretation of the word, “invention”. However the word is simply defined as; a new device, method of process developed from study and experimentation. An invention is just a mental fabrication; it’s a falsehood (Dictionary.com 2013).1 Although in the essays, “Why I write” by Joan Didion, “Life in a new Language” by Eva Hoffman, and “Basmati Rice: An Essay about Words” by Audrey Thomas, each author has their own view on the English language, how they each began inventing their own writing styles, and also their reasons for why they chose to become writers. These are the three things that make their definitions of invention very particular and their own.