Summary Of Two Ways To Belong To America

847 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Challenge of cultural identity

Liberty and Justice for All? America does not have an official language and is a nation of immigrants who come to a new land to make it their home. All Americans relate to immigrants or are immigrants themselves. In fact, since the beginning of American society, immigrants have come in search of a better life-one free of trouble and hardship they have left behind. Immigrants face a number of problems in a new community, when they arrive in a new country. Baharti Mukherjee explains in her article “Two Ways To Belong To America,” that weather immigrants get their citizenship or not, it is not an easy adjustment. Immigrants that take the step to become a citizen and to pay the price of self-transform to avoid being treated as an outsider, have …show more content…

It is an ongoing reality that non-native speakers of English receive unfair treatment in this country because of the way they talk. It is easy to see that fear plays into American’s consciousness when they hear a language other than English being spoken. Throughout history, preserving English as the dominant language in the US has been a symbolic and practical means of showing who is in control. In his essay Jake Jamieson gives an example of a judge in Texas who told a Mexican mother than speaking only Spanish to her daughter at home was abusive towards her (268).
Myriam Marquez acknowledges in her essay that to get ahead in America, immigrants need to learn English (528). However, knowing this does not give an American the right to label someone’s native language as abusive just because one chooses to speak at home or in public to their family members. How can one be so intelligent to be a judge and at the same time …show more content…

It means that one can say
"The Pledge of Allegiance" and that one can vote for the President, county clerk, and the Mayor.
Marquez acknowledges in her essay that immigrants do not have to stop speaking in their native language in public places to show respect for America (528). Immigrants are taught their native language and different culture back home; they come here to adapt and to learn another language, culture and habits. America is a diverse country with many people capable of speaking two or more languages. As an immigrant living in America, I believe we should not have to be told whether to speak Spanish or not. What is important is which language we choose to represent ourselves freely. Americans need to be more understanding about immigrants being able to use their native language to communicate between families and friends; of course immigrants can speak in English if they want to, but it is easier to speak in their native language especially to those who are elderly. An immigrant will have to use languages in different scenarios. It may or may not be convenient at times, but sometimes they have to resort to

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Se Habla Español

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Se Habla Español,” the author, Tanya, talks about her personal experience with dealing with language issues. Tanya was born in Guatemala and moved to the U.S when she was only three years old. Tanya’s mother did not want her to speak Spanish, because they believed that when they moved to the U.S speaking only English would help her blend in. For so long Tanya believed that speaking Spanish went hand in hand with being poor and speaking only English made her feel superior. After many years she has tried to learn Spanish but has found it quite difficult because although that is her native language it was like trying to learning a whole new language for her. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy’s explains how she has come to the realization that she speaks more than one “English,” meaning that the way she speaks in front of a crowd is different than the way she speaks with her mother. The way Amy speaks with her mother is still English although it is not proper. Amy expresses how she does not really like the phrase “broken English,” because if something is broken it needs to be fixed and she does not feel that her mother’s English needs to be

    Read More

  • Romans Influence On American Culture

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    Latin was the main language for the Roman empire and was used all across the land. In document 1 it revealed that,”Latin is the basis for the languages of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian… Even the German and English languages have derived worlds from Latin.” This evidence shows that all these widely spoken languages are all from Latin which means that if it weren’t for the creation of Latin these languages wouldn’t be the way they are and as popular as they are. Just like how Latin affected the way languages are spoken in Europe, these languages also spread to the U.S. as well with some languages gaining more speakers due to the spread. In the article,”The Most Spoken Languages In America” by Jessica Dillinger, around 230 million people speak english and out of the top twelve languages spoken in the U.S. half are romance languages. The latin language has changed how people speak and what to speak in the U.S. since about 70% of the population speak english. Also since all the Romance languages are from Latin it’s easier to learn other languages when you know one already. The way people talk and the way people try to communicate in the U.S. is, ironically the effect of the the one language that no one

    Read More

  • Gloria Anzaldua's How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.

    Read More

  • “Richard Rodriguez: A Bilingual Childhood”

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author describes the social, cultural and linguistic difficulties encountered in America as he attempts to assimilate to the American culture. Richard Rodriguez by committing himself to speaking English, he lost his cultural ties, family background and ethnic heritage.

    Read More

  • Passing for English Fluent: Latino Immigrant Children Masking Language Proficiency

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    While reading this article, one of the most shocking sections was when the students were talking to Monzó and sharing their outlook on their place and their language’s place in society. These students, even at this early age, are feeling how devalued their first language has been. They feel like they have to speak the right* English, only use English in public places, never their first language, and that they must assimilate to the American culture as much as possible. This reminded me of a chapter in Lippi Green (2012)’s text. Within this chapter, Lippi-Green (2012) discusses how in the United States Spanish speakers are not only expected to learn English, but they are expected to learn and utilize the right* English determined by the majority and assimilate entirely to American culture.

    Read More

  • Public And Private Language Summary

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article, “Public and Private Language”, Richard Rodriguez argues that bilingual education delays learning a “public language” and developing a public identity”. I can relate to Richard’s story because my family and me moved to America when I was young and we also had the same struggle learning a new language. I agreed with Rodriguez when he expressed that he didn’t feel like a true American until he mastered the English language because English is the first and main language in America.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Immigration in the United States

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language is part of the few benefits that immigrants bring with their culture. United States benefits from cultures of the many immigrants that migrate to the U.S. the variation of different languages brings great benefit to the U.

    Read More

  • Growing Up Speaking Spanish

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people immigrate to the United States from different countries to begin a better life. Once in the American territory, the first step for success is to learn the English language. Richard Rodriguez, the writer of "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" describes the language decisions he faced as a child: "Outside the house was public society; inside the house was private" (16). The English language is the primary language in the United States, and it must be learned to be able to communicate with the public world. The language that we speak at home is considered to be private because it is only used in the presence of the people we feel comfortable with, our family. Families immigrate to the United States from Mexico to find and give their children a better opportunity to succeed. The children of immigrants who have been raised or born in the United States were able to adapt much faster to the English language. The Spanish language, in the case of Mexicans, is part of our origin that most of us inherit from our ancestors although in the United States many, including me, seem to add a new language, which gives us better opportunities.

    Read More

  • Should English Be The Official Language

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    In first place, having an official language has always been a huge concern to Americans, because it is ...

    Read More

  • Bilingualism Should Not Be Continued

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bilingualism, a very controversial topic to debate in today’s United States. People generally define bilingualism as the ability of using two languages that individuals have. However, this is not the reason why that bilingualism becomes such a debatable issue. In this case, bilingualism is defined as the government’s use of languages other than English for public services in order to support the immigrants’ lives in the United States. People who support bilingualism want the government to continue having this kind policies. They think that bilingualism helps immigrants to assimilate into the American culture and moreover, it will unify everyone who are on this land. Although bilingualism provides some kind of benefits toward immigrants, they cannot solve the problems in the deep root. Bilingualism should not be continued in the U.S. Why? It reduces the immigrants’ incentive to learn English, threatens national unity, and costs so much.

    Read More

  • Comparison of the American and Chinese Cultures

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    Language is universal, but there are different meanings and sounds, which vary from one culture to another. In China citizens speak many languages, but about 94% speak the Chinese language. The difference in dialects was overcome by the written word and eventually a version of Mandrin became the “official speech” (The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 1996,p.304). In America there are many ethnic groups with many varieties of language. The U.S. was created through many people from different countries migrating to the new states. In the U.S. there is an “official speech” which is the English language. The language of both these countries are not only different in meaning and sound, but also reflect the way in which the people in these societies live, believe, and function.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Pat Mora's Immigrants By Pat Moa

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lorna Dee Cervantes said that: “the children run to me, laughing, spinning me blind and silly. They call to me in words of another language.” (lines2-4) I can feel her loneliness through her poem. Because she doesn’t feel she is American or Mexican, even though she doesn’t know who she is. The Native Mexicans call her a prostitute because she gets the influence from America for a long time. Cervantes thinks isn’t her fault, is her ancestor’s fault because she can’t control that. So that’s why I think immigrants should keep their “old language” alive. If we learn English and don’t know our own language, we won’t be able to communicate with our cousin. Even when we came back to our home country, we can’t communicate with other people. I don’t want to feel like I am a stranger in our home.

    Read More

  • English Should Be the Official Language of the United States

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    Being made of diverse peoples, and being able to continue to use your own language may seem preferable as we encourage individuality and do not want anyone to disappear into the soup. This stand, however, also means that more people are needed as interpreters and that more programs and information needs to be readily available to ensure understanding. More people would have jobs associated with interpretation, whether on paper or face-to-face, in order to deal with the transition. If English was the official language, instead of just having interpreters in public places, there would be opportunities to learn the language with classes, etc. Presently, immigrants expect to have to learn some of English to get by, while the children have to learn it on their own to survive in school. With English as an official language, we would feel compelled to offer help to those we expect to learn the language. In part of Canada, where there are two languages, children are taught both languages. If we had an official language we would be responsible for insuring that everyone gets a chance to learn the language. As seen in the statutes of Section 3-3-31 of the Mississippi code, “…the purpose (of the st...

    Read More

  • The Power of Language in American Culture

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language is a very powerful thing. It is the way that people communicate with each other. For a foreigner living in America I think that this is essential. This is why I believe that if a foreigner only attempts to learn English, then they are already assimilating to American culture. Whether or not they choose to change their whole lifestyle into an American way of life, if they take on the English language then they are assimilating to a certain extent.

    Read More

  • Peers' versus Parents' Influence

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ents go on addressing them in their natural language, but the children reply in English. What the children of immigrants end up with is not a compromise, not a blend. They end up pure and simple with the language and culture of their peers” (pg. 30).

    Read More

More about Summary Of Two Ways To Belong To America

Open Document