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 * American Monolingualism **

What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who only speaks one language? American.

This stereotype, unfortunately, has some truth and relevance in the America we live in today. According to the US Census Bureau, less than 20% of Americans can speak more than one language. So America, the land of immigrants, the salad bowl or mixing pot of different cultures, is largely monolingual.

There is no doubt about the benefits of learning a new language. You are exposed to a new instrument of communication and expression, knowledge of other countries is increased, and even your understanding of your own language is enhanced. I know for me, learning Japanese to communicate with my relatives was and still is a struggle. But the moment where you realize you can speak without even thinking or translating the languages in your head is so rewarding. It's then that you know that all the time spent studying, speaking, and sounding stupid was worth every minute.

However, there's an attitude of disinterest and lack of motivation to learn other languages among many Americans. We seem to think that English is spoken everywhere and that it's unnecessary and a waste of time to learn another language. But the truth is, in our increasingly globalized world, there's a great need to communicate with foreign companies and peoples. Technologies have brought the world ever closer so we can no longer be secluded in our English bubble, remaining in the safety of our mother tongue. Yet despite the changes around us, America still stubbornly refuses to open up to other languages.

As I learned in APUSH, throughout the first and second waves of immigrants, there has always been an underlying current of nativism among the so-called “true Americans” against different cultures and languages. The goal was always integration and eventual assimilation into the American way of life, at the expense of the immigrants’ culture. There was pressure to abandon their native language in favor of English and preservation of foreign customs and traditions were thrown out the window.

This troubling situation has continued through the years and my father is a classic example. He came to America from Vietnam at the age of 7, learned English to survive, and can now no longer speak Vietnamese. Not only has my dad lost his language skills but America as a country has lost something as well. The US government has actually acknowledged monolingualism in America and is actively promoting language education. The State Department has a list of critical languages, including Vietnamese, which are languages with a large demand for fluent professionals but little supply.

However, there’s only so much the government can do- the rest is up to the people. There's a common misbelief that learning a language other than English is “un-American” and unpatriotic. It’s true that we have long relied on English as a unifying factor for our national identity, but times are changing and being able to speak English no longer equates to being American. Now, being American is defined by other ideals like individuality, freedom, and self-expression; therefore, we should be free to learn and speak whatever language we want because “to be American is to be different.” But perhaps the main factor against multilingualism is just plain laziness. As Miriam A Ferguson infamously quoted, “If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough for the children of Texas!” First of all, there is no way Jesus would have spoken English. And second: Why should we be complacent with just “good enough”? Instead, we should ask ourselves, how can we make this better?

Now, this also applies to our Spanish program here at Foothill. I think we can all agree that the story-based learning method is not for everybody. The kind of teaching here is part of the problem, but even more troublesome is students’ disinterest. Kids don’t want to learn, no one can force them, and the result is a student, who after 3 or 4 years of Spanish classes, still doesn’t know Spanish. When I imagine the America I wish to live in, students study language for the sake of learning it, not just to fulfill a college entry requirement.

I want to see an America where being monolingual is rare and being multilingual is the norm, where other cultures and languages are embraced rather than suppressed. In my vision, America will no longer appear to other countries as ignorant or uneducated in the field of languages. A society of openness and acceptance. An America without a monolingual mentality because the idea of “English only” creates a sense of American exceptionalism, or belief that we are superior. I want an America where immigrants learn English but also where Americans learn the immigrants' language because it should go both ways. As the future leaders of the world, we need to learn that a common language leads to communication and communication in turn fosters peace. Because as Nelson Mandela insightfully stated,

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.

US Census Bureau
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