The Issue of Language in the United States - Essay Example

Linguistics Limited information has always left many people in darkness as far as facts are concerned. In my case I just realized that I have always held skewed opinion on the issue of language in United States. It is a common misconception by many people around the world that United States is a pure English speaking nation. Critical and in-depth reading of various scholarly writings exposes more informed ideas. The reality is that United States is a multicultural country composed of various races and ethnic factions with their own language. The immigration that has characterized United States from the period of Slave trade to this era of globalization explains its cultural diversity (Finegan and John 271). The article under study reveals critical data and additional information on all aspects of English as second language (ESL) and language in education across United States. There is significant cultural diversity which is reflected in demographic distribution across various states and subsequent disparity in languages spoken by the population. According to the data from United States Bureau of Census, it is evident that there is substantial pattern of bilingualism in which the better part of the population is caught between their native language and English. Spanish and Portugal have remained the commonly spoken language which reflects increased immigration of South American and Caribbean into USA. There are other languages spoken by the multicultural minority community in the US when they are at home or areas of their ethnic dominance (Finegan and John 280). Investigation and analysis of this article therefore puts it clear that English is considered second language by a larger proportion of United States population. It is important to note that from the time of Theodora Roosevelt, the government stepped up campaign for multiculturism and unity through one common language which is English. This means that various immigrant languages were to be spoken but English remained the symbol of national unity. The consequences of poor mastery of English by immigrants ranged from social interaction challenges to economic obstacles. However, research still indicates that most of the immigrant communities still speak their languages at home even as they seek to shift steadily to English. In a bid to ensure that English became national language, the curriculum and general education sector was structured to be executed in English. In this respect, any child in United State that seeks to seek higher education is compelled to understand and speak English. In this respect, most parents are struggling to initiate gradual transition from their native languages towards monolingual culture of English in the best interest of their children (Finegan and John 276). This scenario explains the increasing pursuit of English as second language by those who have immigrated to US or are planning to do so. From the early 2000’s, there has been an increasing trend in transition from bilingual culture to monolingual English speaking as reflected across various ages and a long generations. Native language is still registered high among the adults who may be speaking it at home while the young people aged 13-18 years shows significant use of English in communication. The reason behind this phenomenon can be explained by the curriculum development in the learning process in which native minority language may be learnt up to a certain grade. In most cases, past13 years, English is the dominant learning language in various schools and this forces the child to acquire the language. Despite efforts to keep their culture and language, the immigrants have limited choice when it comes to learning English as second language for their own and the children. There are critical factors that make it vital to learn English. As the article explains through example of immigrant interviewees, knowledge of English is a determinant in better survival in United States. From access to good institutions of higher learning to securing job in lucrative firms, one needs to know or learn English as second language (Finegan and John 277). A larger population of the South American and Caribbean immigrants hails from lower literacy places and end up in poor social environment with degrading jobs in US. This factor complicates their efforts towards learning English since such social settings are characterized by use of native language. This has been a big obstacle for the immigrants to learn English which is passed on to the children. Since the child language development begins at home, the parents play central role in their overall English acquisition process. In the event parents have scanty knowledge of the language as observed in immigrant residence of low socio-economic empowerment, the children are likely to use local language or have a poor mastery as derived from the parent. This has been one of the challenges facing immigrants and minority groups as far as cognitive development of the children is concerned. The socio-economic barriers facing immigrants has made transition to English language almost constant as noted from the census data and the educational statistics in the article. The inadequate trained personnel, transportation costs, childcare among other factors have significantly discouraged the minority and immigrant communities from participating in ESL (Zimmerman 51-4). This has forced some of them to struggle in informal language acquisition setting which include workplace and other interactive environments. The relative difficulty in learning English as second language at adult age explains the acquisition disparity between the 30 plus years age group versus the 13-26 year bracket. The percentage rate of transition from bilingual to monolingual is on an increasing trend through intergenerational change since the immigrants who have participated in English as second language effectively transfer the same to their off springs (Finegan and John 282). This means that effort by some communities to retain their cultural identity by forcing local language on their children is likely to fail. At the same time, socio-economic factors hamper participation of some individuals and communities in ESL i.e. discrimination which contribute to slow shift to monolingual culture. Further reading and research can provide greater insight into the aspect of English as second language and language in education with respect to the cultural diversity of United States. The current trend in ESL acquisition predicts a better future in terms of monolingual debate. Work cited Finegan, Edward, and John R. Rickford. Language in the U.s.a: Themes for the 21st Century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Internet resource. Zimmerman, Lynn W. Esl, Efl, and Bilingual Education: Exploring Historical, Sociocultural, Linguistic, and Instructional Foundations. Charlotte, N.C: Information Age Pub, 2010. Print. Read More