Language Barriers within the US - Essay Example

Part I Ever since Europeans first came to the United s, language barriers have existed and have led to conflict. In early American history, the Spanish, Dutch, French, and British all brought troops and citizens to the United States, with language playing an important part in the differences between those countries. As a result, language barriers have always existed and remain until this day. Since these other countries all maintained control of certain portions of the United States, they attempted to expand their influence through the use of this language. James Crawford cites the Pennsylvania Germans, Louisiana, California, American Indians, Puerto Ricans, Native Hawaiians, and various European immigrants as being the prime targets of forcing English upon people throughout the years. In Louisiana and California, the English wished to eliminate French and Spanish from the culture, as this was a method of showing the superiority of English. The same can be said more recently among Puerto Ricans, who speak Spanish, and Hawaiians, in their native language. All of this was done because the English-speaking majority wished to push their influence upon other people in the country. It can be argued that this was done to create a melting pot society, where everyone would eventually fall under the same language and culture within the United States. Crawford also gives the example of the Quebecois in Canada, who have caused numerous political problems because they have been given legal rights to protect their language and the culture that goes along with it. 2) In “Rumbling in the Mines”, the Chinese and those of European descent actually got along quite well to start. These people had a job to be done and they worked together in the coal mine. The issue arose, however, when the European workers wanted additional pay for their work, but the Chinese were content to work for what they had been offered. This led to a significant conflict between the two sides and many Chinese ended up dead. Language comes into play in this situation because the white workers believed that the Chinese were working on a monopoly. They feared that all of their jobs would be taken, since the Chinese would work for less. The underlying issue, however, was that there was a language barrier between the two sides that led to distrust. Some of the Chinese could speak English, but very few Europeans could understand the Chinese, so there was reason to believe that they were up to something. The viciousness of these attacks shows that many of the Europeans believed the Chinese to be subhuman, which goes back to language once again. The inability for the two sides to communicate, and the European’s insistence that the entire issue was the fault of the Chinese, led to this conflict. If both sides of this issue would have been white and English speaking, it is highly doubtful that this violence would have erupted in the manner that it did. Part II The central idea that runs through both Us and Them and the article by Crawford is that the majority will always attempt to dominate the minority in order to maintain control. In "Blankets for the Dead", "A Town Called Rosewood","Untamed Border" and "A Rumbling in the Mines", these differences could be classified as both language based and racial, although the racial portion of these differences is probably the most important. The goal of the majority was to conform the minority to whatever they wished and the second the minority stepped out of line, violence ensued. The fact that these differences led to such violence shows just how important this domination is to the majority, as they fear that an uprising could threaten their power very quickly. The issues in "The Silencing of Mary Dyer", "The Ballad of Leo Frank", and "A Rose for Charlie" can be classified as different since, for starters, race was not the main difference between the two sides. These differences are to do with ideology, which is different because it is not immediately noticeable. It takes time to figure out ideological differences, which shows that hatred does not have to be immediate, but can built up over time. The main these that runs through all of these stories is fear of the unknown, as the majority was always quick to squash anything that it did not understand. There was no attempt to see things from the other point of view, as this fear of the loss of power took over immediately and led to violence. 2) Us and Them does not necessarily need a story on linguistic diversity because language differences do exist throughout most of the stories. It can be argued that some of these differences were caused by language since, in these cases, the aggressor did not take the time to learn about the other’s ideologies before becoming violent. Lack of understand is the main reason for all of these conflicts and that includes language barriers in many of these stories. If Us and Them did include a story on language, it would be best to include a more modern example. This is because minorities are still discriminated against because they do not speak English well enough, even though English is not their first language. While English is the language of majority in the United States and that should be respected, the fact that this is a country that was built on immigration should provide some leniency. We are currently seeing a situation where those who speak an Arab language are being discriminated against because of recent worldly events, which have led to fear. Race, however, is also part of that equation, since many Americans make judgments on other before they even hear them speak. Us and Them does an outstanding job of showing how this has been a problem throughout the country’s history and although it does not necessarily have to focus on language, another story that focuses on the difficulties that the new wave of immigrants from the Middle East are facing would provide some value. Read More