Should Language Be Legislated
Should Language Be Legislated
Hundreds of different languages are spoken all around America. With different languages come different cultures and backgrounds. Part of a person’s identity is their native tongue. Language plays a huge role in the identification of the culture a person represents. The United States of America is not one country of one kind of people. It is a country of people from many different backgrounds and cultures. So if not one group of people, and one culture, why would we have one language? Bilingual education is a very important part of education in the children of today. In a time where so much diversity exists in a single school it is important to give each and every student an equal learning opportunity. In Richard Rodriguez’ memoir he says he would have been “less afraid” if his teachers had addressed him in Spanish. It is easily imagined that for a person it is not easy adapting to a new country. Telling people who come from other countries seeking opportunities that they must learn a different language is almost forcing them to fit into a certain mold when they have already been formed from a different one. I believe that it is not in the interest of national unity to pass a law making English the national language. While knowing a single language literally makes the people of the United States have a common demeanor it removes a lot from everything that the United States stands for. People migrate to the United States seeking more opportunities and a better future. Hundreds of different languages are spoken all around America and that is what unifies the people of this country. It is not speaking a common language that makes the people one but instead the tolerance of diversity and making hundreds of different cultures work into forming one larger, modern culture. Making language legislated would have many different reactions and implications. It would not make people feel unified through a common language but
Hundreds of different languages are spoken all around America. With different languages come different cultures and backgrounds. Part of a person’s identity is their native tongue. Language plays a huge role in the identification of the culture a person represents. The United States of America is not one country of one kind of people. It is a country of people from many different backgrounds and cultures. So if not one group of people, and one culture, why would we have one language? Bilingual education is a very important part of education in the children of today. In a time where so much diversity exists in a single school it is important to give each and every student an equal learning opportunity. In Richard Rodriguez’ memoir he says he would have been “less afraid” if his teachers had addressed him in Spanish. It is easily imagined that for a person it is not easy adapting to a new country. Telling people who come from other countries seeking opportunities that they must learn a different language is almost forcing them to fit into a certain mold when they have already been formed from a different one. I believe that it is not in the interest of national unity to pass a law making English the national language. While knowing a single language literally makes the people of the United States have a common demeanor it removes a lot from everything that the United States stands for. People migrate to the United States seeking more opportunities and a better future. Hundreds of different languages are spoken all around America and that is what unifies the people of this country. It is not speaking a common language that makes the people one but instead the tolerance of diversity and making hundreds of different cultures work into forming one larger, modern culture. Making language legislated would have many different reactions and implications. It would not make people feel unified through a common language but