Multilingualism in America

In his article "Immigrants' language skills crucial in era of global economy" for the San Jose Mercury News, Representative Mike Honda makes a great observation about the language irony in America: we fear multilingualism, and we look down upon immigrants whose native tongue isn't English, and yet we value native-speaking employees who could speak other languages. Children of immigrant parents are embarrassed to learn their parents' native tongues, and grow up refusing to speak anything but English only to spend up to "thousands of dollars to acquire a second language" later.

In fact, there are roughly two categories of multilingual communicative competence. We look at them here under the context of bilingualism:

• Compound bilinguals: people for whom "words and phrases in different languages are the same concepts." They are fluent and native-like in both languages.
  

• Coordinate bilinguals: people for whom words and phrases "are all related to their own unique concepts." One language is more dominant than the other for these speakers, and they often use their first language "to think through the second language."
  

Because of the American fear of multilingualism, then, many American children of immigrant parents who could have grown up compound bilinguals have to take foreign languages only to become coordinate bilinguals. So why the waste of resources? Why the fear of multilingualism?

Some people have argued that multilingualism and multiculturalism dilute the American culture, an argument Representative Mike Honda also addresses in his article. As he states, how can a culture made up of many other cultures be diluted by addition of new cultures, or by respecting and preserving these new cultures? Others may argue that multilingualism undermines American unity. I beg to assert otherwise: by looking down upon and alienating immigrants and non-native speakers, America is only forcing them to create and withdraw into their own communities to protect themselves, further promoting disunity in the nation. "The faster we embrace new communities, the faster they become Americans," as Representative Honda recognizes and asserts.


Sources:

• Multilingualism - Wikipedia

Have a good weekeed, everyone!