What Is Bilingualism In The United States

“Our culture, our traditions, our languages are the foundations upon which we build our identity.” - Unknown. Bilingualism has many different interpretations and definitions and can cause problems in the community or unite it. The concept of bilingualism represents several different ideas, two writers, Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez share in their essays their personal stories about being immersed into the English culture and learning the language. They share their views of what bilingualism means to them personally and make arguments about the importance of the concept. The two essayists bring awareness to the major role bilingualism plays in the communities today and highlight the effects of disagreements between cultural groups.

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.

Introduction - Being a part of a bilingual speaking family, like with my mom and dad who are Chinese immigrants, is an experience that no one can imagine unless you are part of a bilingual speaking family. Experiences such as knowing a language that not many of our neighbors don't know can be frustrating for both sides. Being young in my early years, learning English was not only a struggle for me but for my family. I noticed that my parents struggled learning english and communicating with the outside world. From buying groceries to paying for the bills, I observed the painful experiences that my parents persevere through all these years. I was glad public schools gave me the opportunity to not only learn English but to help my family live in this English superior society.

Historically, the United States began as a nation that valued language diversity due to the fact that in the 1789 Constitution, no official language was designated. As the years progressed, English became the popular language and was a way to keep power in the dominant English speaking white population, while keeping power away from the non-English speaking minority groups. However, now that times are changing and the Spanish population is rising, Spanish and being bilingual are becoming more valued.

With technology and travel, our culturally diverse planet has become a global melting pot and while the division of nations and nationalities still exists, all countries are comprised of individuals from various nationalities. As such, a great benefit of bilingual educations is that they often afford their students ample professional opportunities and tend to open more employment doors. Houston happens to be a perfect example of how and why bilingual education is important because as the 4th most populous city in the United States, it is also one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. With that, the need for individuals who speak languages other than English is an important attribute and is indicative as to why an incorporation of bilingual education can be helpful. Mizab and Bahloul note “[t]he 21st century is shaped to keep pace with the requirements of our interrelated world. The role of translators shifted as well from transferring meanings between languages to a more sophisticated cluster of professions: they become ‘language services providers’” (p.190). Though there are many people who “believe” that

In the “Advantages of Being Multilingual” Mendez stresses the importance of being bilingual, Mendez provides a numerous amount of evidence to back up her argument. The author also includes disadvantages, and provides those in the beginning, by doing this Mendez hopes that the reader knows that there will be a few obstacles. Mendez targets mostly teenagers, but also parents that are looking forward to teaching their children a second language. Following that, Mendez provides a list of the benefits that an individual will gain or have if you are bilingual, “…cognitive flexibility, higher chance in job employment, and improved communication.” Providing advantages give a good impression to the reader, therefore, the readers challenge themselves to learn another language.

It is estimated that there are more second language speakers of English than native speakers (Genesee, 2009), and there are as many bilingual children as there are monolingual children (Paradis, Genesee, & Crago, 2011). It means that many children are being raised as bilinguals. Sometimes bilingualism is required for them, because the children’s parents may not speak a dominant language fluently. The dominant language is the language that is the someone’s strongest language, and people feel more comfortable when they are speaking, reading, and writing in that language. Therefore, the child may learn one language at home and he/she can learn another at school. But sometimes bilingualism is a preference. Because parents may want to expose their children to another language, even if they do not know and speak a second language.

The struggles of learning a new language often overshadow the added advantage of bilingualism; in a globalized English speaking world however, the need to acquire the tongue of the trade becomes more apparent. As an immigrant, my advantage of having access and support to learn English at a young age enabled me to embark on a smooth journey transitioning into bilingualism. However, had this opportunity come at a later, less malleable stage of my life, I would have surely been lost, like my parents in a limbo between cultures and stranded by language. A debate surrounded by both political and ethnic tensions, the argument over bilingualism and the enforcement of English education creates a polarizing split in opinions. Although Richard Rodriguez and Martin Espada shares the common similarity of bilingualism, their arguments reveal two uniquely different views influenced by their opposing backgrounds.

Growing up, bilingualism did not play a very prevalent role in my life. My family, friends, and everyone else I interacted with spoke fluent English, and because of this, I became sheltered from other languages. But as I grew older I began to realize that other languages did in fact exist in our community and they played a large role in most people's lives. I also began to witness the struggles others faced with language and soon understood the importance of bilingualism. Bilingualism not only allows people to communicate, but it also allows people to connect with each other. Accredited authors, Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez both explore the necessity of bilingualism in their essays. Espada, a poetry professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst, uses his poems and essays to fight against xenophobia and promote bilingualism. Richard Rodriguez attended Stanford, Berkeley, and University of California and he uses his writing to explain the necessity of bilingualism in his own and others lives. Both authors care deeply about their languages and argue passionately about the importance of bilingualism.

According to Psychology Today, around eighteen percent of Americans are bilingual. While eighteen percent may seem like a small portion of the population, this translates to fifty one million Americans who speak a second language. The steady growth of bilingualism in America has made way for many debates surrounding the role of multiple languages in society and education. Martin Espada, a poet and advocate for the Spanish language, uses his works to defend the right of Latinos to speak their own language. He defines bilingualism as a link between people and culture, allowing them to adopt their cultural identities. Meanwhile, Richard Rodriguez holds a different viewpoint on the debate. According to Rodriguez, Spanish is a private language and English is a public one. Rodriguez portrays bilingualism as a pathway to public society, allowing social connections to take place. While the word itself simply means the ability to speak more than one language, the idea behind bilingualism exceeds this definition. Bilingualism allows people to preserve the language of their ancestors and tie them to their roots. Culture can be kept alive when bilingualism is present in our modern society.

To Espada, bilingualism is more than just knowing more than one language in some minds. The concept has much more depth than that; it carries the weight of a person’s cultural identity and customs, bilingualism gives these individuals a connection to their family and past. Espada speaks of a time where a Latino parent called his place of work, begging for their help, as her child’s school banned the spanish from lunch. After learning what was going he explains the situation, “The

Before considering findings, it is necessary to define the terms for the concepts studied in this project. Bilingualism can be defined in many different terms mainly due to how proficient an individual can communicate in a second language. Bilingualism can be defined as the “native-like control of two or more languages” researchers consider one can only be bilingual if they are fluent and have mastered at least two languages. Anyone who has basic skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening in a language other than their mother tongue is bilingual. However, during the twentieth century, the concept (or definition) of bilingualism changed and became broader (Anderson and Anderson,

A natural language is an extremely complex and varied phenomenon and very different from both other human cognitive functions and animal communication according to Zuidema (2015). Wei (2000, p.18) perceives bilingualism and multilingualism as “having a determined effect on the human being’s intellectual and spiritual growth”. That is to say, language has always opened the door to investigate and explore complicated biological and cultural phenomena. Part of such phenomena is bilingualism and multilingualism. Grosjean (1982, p. 1) maintains that bilingualism is practically present in every country of the world and throughout all classes of society and age groups, adding that it is difficult to find a society that is genuinely monolingual.

In the North Clackamas school district of Portland, Oregon, counselors and teachers offer a variety of foreign language courses to teach the culture and dialect. Students may take up the opportunity to achieve a minor or major in a foreign language, because they have a passion for it. Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez, portray the significance and passion they feel for bilingualism in their essays. Both authors base their support upon real life events and experiences, but their ideas beautifully contrast in a way that expresses the true meaning of bilingualism.

Being human, we are surrounded by language every moment of our lives. In fact, language is the fundamental ability that differentiates us from other mammals. We use language to communicate our thoughts and feelings, to connect with others and identify with our culture, and to understand the world around us. And for many people, this rich linguistic environment involves not just one language but two or more. In fact, most of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual. The Associated Press reports that up to 66 percent of the world’s children are raised bilingual. In a survey conducted by the European Commission in 2006, 56 percent of respondents reported being able to speak in a language other than their mother tongue. In many countries that percentage is even higher. Even in the United States, which is widely considered to be monolingual, one-fifth of those over the age of five reported speaking a language other than English at home in 2007, an increase of 140 percent since 1980. Millions of Americans use a language other than English in their everyday lives outside of the home, when they are at work or in the classroom. Europe and the United States are not alone, either. (The DANA Foundation -The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual, By: Viorica Marian, Ph.D., and Anthony Shook, Wednesday, October 31, 2012)