The Importance Of Communication In The United States

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Here we are, a one-way conversation from me to you. This use of language - writing - proves communication is not limited to speaking verbally. Language evolves and embodies the changes in a society and its cultures. In the United States, there is no official language and in its past, the diversity of immigrants has made it difficult for all people to speak the same tongue. Language comes in all dialects, accents, fluencies, and tones, and it is passed down from generation to generation. Although, you have to admit that sometimes in a conversation, words go through one ear and right out the other, and you stand there nodding away, hoping the other person doesn’t realize you have absolutely no idea what they just said. Nevertheless, language …show more content…

Brittny Mejia, author of the article, “ 'You need to speak English': Encounters in viral videos show Spanish is still polarizing in the U.S.” explores the current contradictory impulses that the Spanish language has brought to America. Mejia describes how a young girl was shunned for having spoken to her mother in Spanish while out in public. Her family had been told that since they live in America, they should be speaking English (Mejia). The family ignored the warning and continued using both Spanish and English. In the past, people were scorned for speaking multiple languages, but ironically now, parents want their kids to be bilingual. There are countless families that “enroll their children in bilingual charter schools” in order to learn Spanish specifically to have the advantage in the job market (Mejia). Children are taught that being bilingual is an extraordinary trait and is something that they should take advantage of by making it their second tongue. Language continues to evolve with our culture and grow with our children and can be very surprising or even confusing when different generations learn exactly how much language has shifted in the relatively short amount of time between age

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