What is wrong with being monolingual?

[Qyöt27]

Wow. I haven't spent a lot of time in the South (just enough to pass through, for the most part), but never knew it was that linguistically diverse.

It's not that wide swaths of area are like that, it's more like dozens of Little [insert demography city here] in major metro areas. The only big area I know of in the South that speaks a different language is Acadiana, aka Cajun country. And in that instance, the language is Cajun or Créole French, not Spanish. I do have to say I was rather disappointed when passing through Louisiana that there weren't any bilingual road signs save for the Welcome to Louisiana/Bienvenue en Louisiane sign we saw when we entered the state during our trip home to Florida from Missouri.

Of course, even though that's a geographically large area, the population density of the big Spanish parts of say, Miami or Tampa probably outclasses it by a lot. I have no idea what the linguistic geography is in Miami, but in Tampa it's mainly Ybor City that acts as essentially 'Little Havana'.

Or for an odd example, my home county (Pinellas) has a big Greek-speaking population in Tarpon Springs.

I think a big part of the issue is with the impression sometimes given out. People don't view Acadiana or Tarpon Springs as threatening - they're viewed as a benefit of diversity and a rich cultural heritage. It's only Spanish that's viewed as threatening. Part of that may be because of historical tensions between the British and Spanish Empires, or between the US and Mexico or Spain (seeing as we also fought wars with both of them), or for the more mundane or casual observer, it's because the heavily-Spanish areas are often very poverty-stricken and therefore have a higher percentage of crime. That might just be a polite way of tiptoeing around the issue of anti-Hispanic xenophobia, though.

In the end, it doesn't matter what the reasons actually are: the US may be majority-English, but no language is officially recognized, to the point of the suggestion that we have an official language even being rejected by the Founding Fathers IIRC (and for that matter, one of the suggestions being tossed around then was making the US German-speaking in order to distance ourselves from Britain). If a person can live in a non-English-speaking area and has no need to travel outside that area, then there's simply no benefit involved. And if one language overtakes another, then that's just life. It happened when the English of the lower classes overtook the French of the ruling Normans (although it does somewhat survive in Legal French, sort of like Ecclesiastical Latin).

 

[NorwayUnn]

If I was mono-lingual I would not have been on CF for instance, as I would not have understood what you guys were saying, and a very few would understand me if I wrote in Norwegian here, lol. I am just glad and thankful that I learned English, French and German in school. It helps me communicate with people from other countries, and I also love to travel and meet other peoples, cultures etc.

 

[shinkou]

If I was mono-lingual I would not have been on CF for instance, as I would not have understood what you guys were saying, and a very few would understand me if I wrote in Norwegian here, lol. I am just glad and thankful that I learned English, French and German in school. It helps me communicate with people from other countries, and I also love to travel and meet other peoples, cultures etc.

I am the same like you. I think it is OK to speak only one language if that is what you want to do. But I think it is great to be able to speak more than one language. I am thankful that I learned Korean and English.

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

I think it is a real shame for people not to be educated in several languages, especially languages that are not closely related or similar in structure.

I have seen posts from people here on CF that seem to think that difference between one language and another is the translation of one word to another. The level of ignorance i have seen regarding translation, especially with the bible is astounding.

Language is something that really helps open your mind to the different ways that people can think and see things. It is really hard to describe unless you have gone deep down into a language.

 

[Nooj]

Bleeding hearts gonna bleed.

Haters gonna hate.

I'm a linguistics student btw. I've been to some Aboriginal communities who are trying to revive their languages.

And FTR nobody speaks those languages, not even most of the Indians themselves. There's a real struggle to keep them going nowadays.

It's not true that 'nobody' speaks those languages. The ones that survive are endangered, but they're still around. Some languages actually have a large population base. Cherokee for example.

I find the sentiment that immigrants should learn the local language ironic. Now if only someone had told that to the European colonisers...

I really, honestly dread this.

Over 30 million people in America speak Spanish at home. And that's just the fluent speakers. Spanish is the most studied language in America. It's only a matter of time. There's really nothing to dread. Switzerland has four official languages, as a nice Swiss girl told me. She knew all four fluently (as well as two more, Italian and Spanish from her parents).

 

[IamStefanie]

It wise to learn more than your native language. To be able to communicate with people from all different areas is a blessing. I agree what some said about being in America and people coming over who do not speak English. In my neighborhood, there are many classes available for Spanish speaking people to learn English. Now how many of them actually make an effort to go, I don't know. But, I believe the if someone is going to live in another country where their native tongue is not the official language, then they should make an effort to learn said language. Makes sense to me.

 

[Apollo Celestio]

Most people will come around when the need arises.

I know bits and pieces of Spanish and Japanese, and I know how to write in arabic. (I still have my books too.

Maybe it's time to invest in rosetta stone..

 

[Tamara224]

It's good for people to study other languages. It makes us better communicators in our own native tongues and it widens our cultural horizons. One cannot study another language without also studying another culture because culture and language are inextricably bound together.

Also.... to those saying that we need to have better education for immigrants. I say bah-humbug. The best way to learn a new language is immersion. Most of our ancestors from Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Japan, Korea, etc, etc, etc, didn't have ESL classes to learn English when they immigrated to the US. They learned the old fashioned way. Or if they were too old to learn new languages easily, they used their kids as translators. If they want to learn English, they will without us expecting government to force it on them.

Also, I see the rise of Spanish speaking in America as a good thing. If I have kids, I want them to be at least bi-lingual and the more bi-lingual our country becomes, the more likely it is that my children will be fluent in more than one language. And Spanish is a lovely language.

One more thing.... the anti-Spanish-language sentiments in the USA are mostly a product of racism. Just sayin.

 

[broken_one]

Haters gonna hate.

I'm a linguistics student btw. I've been to some Aboriginal communities who are trying to revive their languages.

But to other Australians? Probably nothing more than a mere amusement.

It's not true that 'nobody' speaks those languages. The ones that survive are endangered, but they're still around. Some languages actually have a large population base. Cherokee for example.

Compared to Spanish? Creole? Russian? I think you are too sentimental and romantic.

I find the sentiment that immigrants should learn the local language ironic. Now if only someone had told that to the European colonisers...

It's a case of living in an insular society. It still is a case of living in an insular society. That being said, if the world uses English as a second language, where does the society end?

There's really nothing to dread.

What about for those who can't or don't have the opportunity to learn the language? What about their lot?

 

[Blank123]

One more thing.... the anti-Spanish-language sentiments in the USA are mostly a product of racism. Just sayin.

yup.

 

[kevlite2020]

It's good for people to study other languages. It makes us better communicators in our own native tongues and it widens our cultural horizons. One cannot study another language without also studying another culture because culture and language are inextricably bound together.

Also.... to those saying that we need to have better education for immigrants. I say bah-humbug. The best way to learn a new language is immersion. Most of our ancestors from Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Japan, Korea, etc, etc, etc, didn't have ESL classes to learn English when they immigrated to the US. They learned the old fashioned way. Or if they were too old to learn new languages easily, they used their kids as translators. If they want to learn English, they will without us expecting government to force it on them.

Also, I see the rise of Spanish speaking in America as a good thing. If I have kids, I want them to be at least bi-lingual and the more bi-lingual our country becomes, the more likely it is that my children will be fluent in more than one language. And Spanish is a lovely language.

One more thing.... the anti-Spanish-language sentiments in the USA are mostly a product of racism. Just sayin.

sooo immersion is the best way to learn because they did it in the old days? Sorry but that doesn't float...

I'm not a leading ESOL researcher, but I've read enough research studies and experiments to see that bilingual learning programs (where they provide instruction in both English and the home language of the learner) shows HUGE gains over immersion.

 

[Nooj]

But to other Australians? Probably nothing more than a mere amusement.

Probably because to lots of Australians, Australian Aboriginals and their cultures don't figure into their radars. We should appreciate and respect our indigenous cultures.

Compared to Spanish? Creole? Russian? I think you are too sentimental and romantic.

Er...so what? A language doesn't have to have millions of speakers to be healthy. In fact for most of human history, less than a million speakers was the normal state. It was only with the rise of city states, empires and colonisation that languages ever got to such ridiculous numbers of speakers like Spanish or Russian. In my country, we had over 250 languages at least. It's unlikely that any of them ever had more than a thousand, maybe two thousand speakers.

As long as Cherokee has a healthy line of transmission from parents to children, it will live on. But this isn't certain at all. What started with the colonisation of the Americas might finish in a few decades from now, with the complete destruction of North American indigenous languages.

What about for those who can't or don't have the opportunity to learn the language? What about their lot?

Why would they need to learn it? In a country where most people are bilingual, you can still get by with one language.

 

[Thunder Peel]

One more thing.... the anti-Spanish-language sentiments in the USA are mostly a product of racism. Just sayin.

That's quite possibly the funniest thing I've read on CF all year. Congrats on sweeping generalizations, especially when people like myself have many good friends who are Latino.

If I move to Mexico I should be expected to speak Spanish. Why is it racist to expect them to learn English if they're going to settle here?

 

[Gym]

Switzerland has four official languages, as a nice Swiss girl told me. She knew all four fluently (as well as two more, Italian and Spanish from her parents).

uhh sir.. Italian is oen of thosefour official languages....
French, German, Italian and Romansch

 

[Apollo Celestio]

sooo immersion is the best way to learn because they did it in the old days? Sorry but that doesn't float...

I'm not a leading ESOL researcher, but I've read enough research studies and experiments to see that bilingual learning programs (where they provide instruction in both English and the home language of the learner) shows HUGE gains over immersion.

Sink or swim is a good method though, and most people get by.

 

[Gym]

I'm nto sure if I'd agree it 's a good method.. but it works

 

[Nooj]

uhh sir.. Italian is oen of thosefour official languages....
French, German, Italian and Romansch

You're right! I must have mixed it up.

But I can't remember what her other language was...oh, English.

 

[TheDude2011]

One more thing.... the anti-Spanish-language sentiments in the USA are mostly a product of racism. Just sayin.

That's really a very inaccurate way to present the issue. Hispanics are forcing themselves into the role of a multi-generational underclass because they refuse to become proficient in English. It's a very real social concern to have a group of people move into your country, establish themselves in ghettos, and then do everything they can to keep themselves there. You see similar problems with Muslim populations in Europe that refuse to mainstream. The inability to speak English is a bar to educational opportunities, employment advancement, and even basic public services. Juan from Mexico might be quite happy to be in the US working for a lawn mowing service, but it's unlikely his children will be satisfied with that position on the socio-economic ladder. However, with no English language skills Hispanic immigrants will find themselves unable to mainstream and attain the success that previous waves of immigrants have earned. People that cannot succeed through mainstream methods will often turn to criminal methods to attain greater levels of material comfort for themselves. We already see this with the rapid growth of Hispanic gangs across the US.

 

[Gym]

You're right!

I'm sorry.. can you say that again for me?

 

[shinkou]

That's quite possibly the funniest thing I've read on CF all year. Congrats on sweeping generalizations, especially when people like myself have many good friends who are Latino.

If I move to Mexico I should be expected to speak Spanish. Why is it racist to expect them to learn English if they're going to settle here?

I think no one will say that they should not learn English. I think everyone agrees that they should learn English. However, that is not the only reason the community with those kind of people wants a worker who can speak English.

Think about it. The people in that community has family. Those family member is going to visit. Do they have to learn English because they want to visit their family and be able to buy something or do something in there? Even because there is that community there, many tourist who speak that language probably visit those kind of community too. Of course we cannot expect them to speak English if they are just tourist.

But the main reason is for immigrant. You know, immigrants move to same areas as others and so those kind of place will always have new people that speak that language. Learning a second language is very difficult. It takes a very long time. Even they are doing their best, sometimes it is better to have a worker that can speak their language. Unless you like waiting 20 minutes behind someone in line that is still learning to speak English it is something that is necessary for many businesses.