If being bilingual "benefits" the American society, how have we become such a great nation being monolingual?

Question

Personally, I think that being bilingual is only an asset when it presents itself in that matter. For instance, in El Paso, TX, where I currently reside, it can be considered an asset because of the large presence of Hispanics.
However, it is extremely possible to be successful here without being bilingual because, as is the case all over the USA, most people do speak English.
I think that in the educational field (where I am a teacher) it can be an assett to be bilingual in EP because it is quite a nuisance trying to explain grades to parents who dont speak English.

In an area such as Atlanta, GA (and it's surrounding areas), it's not an asset being blinigual because most of the residents there fluently speak English (although there is a growing Hispanic population).
The only possible benefit to being bilingual there is when interpretation is needed in say court or something like that (I'm sure there are others, but thats all I could think of right now).

What do you think?

Little Poe, "everybody hates the US cuz they aint the US!"
Just like the NY Yankees, everybody loves to hate the big guy on the block. That does not say that the US is a great place to live, work, etc. There are millions upon millions who would give their right arms to live in America. And if we bombed our way into greatness, which bombs are you referring to because, if memory serves me, there were no bombs before the trun of the twentieth century to speak of. We were a great country way before then.
Don't hate, appreciate!!

Also, Spanish doesn't mean much to me and why should it? I', an an English speaker, in an English-speaking country. Why should any other language matter? In Mexico, do they give a dam about any other language than Spanish. In China, do they? In Iraq, Iran, Germany, and several other countries, do they care? I think not!
You are just another arrogant-*** Hispanic who thinks that their language is better than all languages and get mad when nobody here in the US cares to recognize it above any others, especially English!

Micah, love the fact that you recognize Black history, but as far as I know, I am, and have always been an American. And last I looked, the language in which most of my ancestors here in America spoke was English.

Answer 1

I am learning Japanese, and it is by choice!
I am learning it and so many people are like “Why don’t you learn Spanish—it will be more helpful” and almost like a double edge sword—I have decided NOT to learn it just because of that.
I believe tampering with another language is helpful to anyone, just about every country has an official language, but also have the mentality that the US is the place to be and teach their children English-most don’t remember it past college unless they have English speaking friends or travel a lot.
I believe school should be full of languages, but with the mentality that English is the language you speak ALL THE TIME and your second language is just that. Does that make sense?
Anyway, to answer your question yes-being bilingual stimulates the brain and helps you view the world in a different way. However, I do not believe we should allow the US to be bilingual nationally. It would cause chaos and confusion for all the different type of people who come here!
We are a country of many different cultures, but we still need something to unify us. And for over 200 years English has been one of those things!

Answer 2

I think it's something of an accident of history. American became a great internation power in the 20th century. Prior to that, one of the greates powers for centuries had been Brittain, so English was already a widely established language, with native speakers around the globe, and a very common second language. The prominence of America in the 20th century, and the rise of telecomunications in that century, only continued that trend.

So, Americans have not been at a disadvantage being monolingual, because their language was coincidentally one of the most common second languages out there.

There is no gaurantee that will continue, and, if a non-English language takes dominance as a second language for international communication, and English falls out of favor, bi-lingualism will have to become more common in the US.

Answer 3

Bilingualism should only be used as a tool to help people learn English. Like when you go to home depot and it says restrooms/banos I can live with that if it helps a person learn English. I am all for helping people learn English through bilingual means because it makes an easier transition.

Answer 4

There have been shifting values and knowledge in the last 200 years+.

Where I am currently I do not use my Spanish very much. However, the travel and experiences that I had to make me so fluent in the language have helped me get better job opportunities, given me a different perspective than other colleagues, and an ability to think outside that box that has allowed for promotion.

Answer 5

If you are an Realtor and tries to sell a house, being bilingual would give you a great advantage over the monolinguals. If you are a doctor, if you have your own business etc... @ the same time being bilingual helps you for networking and marketing. to the Latino population which is a lot of people.

Answer 6

You are more valuable because you can communicate with more people than being a monolingual.

The tide is turning...time to start learning Mandarin and Hindi if we want to be marketable in the business world.

Spanish if you live in an area where there are many Spanish-speaking Hispanics.

Answer 7

Bilingualism is bad for society. One official language makes workers more productive (less translation, telephone options, etc) and it is better for the environment (less trees have to be cut down to print extra copies of documents just in case someone can't read English). Italy, Spain, and France have an official language. Japan, South Korea, and China each try to use one language in their countries.

"A citizens' action group working to make English the official language of the United States."
http://www.us-english.org

ProEnglish: Why English as an Official Language?
http://www.proenglish.org/issues/offeng/index.html

Answer 8

Shame on you...for having had ancestors forced to learn the language you now want to rub on others. You are benefiting by me using this language for you to at least be reminded that once upon a time.... there was "NO"choice as to what could be,read,fed,rode,etc-etc. And for you to want to repeat history on others is insanity! >>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<<<<<<<<<<

Answer 9

Meek does not imply lazy bums and losers... you do not get to difference the definition to fit your rant. But, if the US used to be a Christian Nation, how did abortion come to be authorized? How is there lots of different devout areas of worship and retail outlets, and so on...? How did we come to be with secularism IN the US if it is strictly a Christian Nation? I wager this implies it is NOT a Christian Nation. But you're proper approximately something.... "screw the meek" is the US gov't's motto.

Answer 10

Well considering that most of the America's which are PREDOMINATELY Spanish speaking with the exception of Brazil, are coming here in droves, in the near future we may very well become a bilingual country.....And I ask you, what is so wrong with knowing two languages? I also live in El Paso and its tough in my field NOT to know two languages, I am in the sales/real estate field....We are becoming a global community, and we have to evolve in order to compete.....

Now I ask you, why do people fear change?