Do most Americans welcome bilingualism with english and spanish, we as Canadians speak two languages...do you?

Question

For those that welcome another language and it should be spanish as the population merits it. And why shouldnt you welcome mexicans,,,no one owns their country it should be open to all. learn a second language its to all of your benefit!

Learning a second language is not a threat as some of those that answered this feels. You will not loose your culture. And why blame the Mexican people from trying to live a more affluent life in the USA if you were in Mexico wouldnt you? And for that man that said he didnt want to speak a language of people that are on a lower class is so very sad for you to say that. You have to put yourself in others shoes. America is open to all.

Answer 1

I live in south alabama

I am learning spanish

mardi gras is french

I am learning french as well

Vivo en Alabama del sur Estoy aprendiendo español el carnaval es francés Estoy aprendiendo francés también

J'habite en Alabama du sud J'apprends l'espagnol le mardi gras est français J'apprends le français aussi bien

cool?

Answer 2

Most Americans, it seems, don't. The United States (plus the Anglo part of Canada) is physically one of the largest monolingual areas of the world. Many, many people can live out their lives, and travel quite a bit, without ever leaving the American (in the broad sense) dialect of English.

The US has been the premier economic power for a couple of generations now; there's a sense that there's no need to kowtow to other languages, since the pull of American English is so strong. The Internet and air traffic are both bastions of English as well.

Beyond this, the history of the US is one of speakers of other languages coming here and learning English, or at the very least having their children learn it. I think there's a sense that Americans shouldn't have to learn anything other than English.

English-speaking Americans see Spanish spoken in wider swaths of the country nowadays and feel that they're being taken over. However, here are very few monolingual non-English pockets in the US, and most of them are places like Old New Mexico and Lancaster County where the foreign language is tied up in religion.

People generally don't grow up in the United States without learning English. If all immigration were to be cut off, within a generation, everyone would speak English or be bilingual.

Personally, I love bi- and multilingualism. The mental exercise from having to think in another language is extraordinary.

Answer 3

If you've travelled most of Canada, you know there are areas where bilingualism is not embraced. People generally don't like to be forced to do anything. If your neighbors speak another language and you can find no immediate reason to dislike them OR you must get along with them, you'll naturally pick up their language, and you'll pick it up even faster if there are pressing reasons to do so.

Unfortunately, many US citizens are not given early age opportunities to learn languages, and too many grow up isolated from other linguistic groups, even in the same city.

When they first have an opportunity to communicate with others with a different linguistic background, that is often accompanied by some pressure to learn fast. This is often the case in working situtations. People thrown together who are ignorant of another language get defensive about forced learning.

Immigrant groups often see the need to pick up English, but many factors can slow the process. Government workers, in SOME but not all locations with large immigrant groups, might be hired because of bilingualism they have acquired on their own. In SOME jurisdictions, they may be awarded bonus hiring points for those skills. The general sentiment that immigrants should learn English, and by doing so, make things easier for those born here, is reflected in an oft-resurrected political movement to establish English as the US official language, which is currently not specified anywhere.

In some states, like California, the secondary languages are so numerous that some say bilingualism isn't practiced, but "multiculturalism" is. Outside of certain urban areas the speaking of Spanish is not common, at least not in a public way. So the US is far from instituting bilingualism. There is little resistance among Spanish speakers to learning English, but there is resentment when "Anglos" insist on it and do so in a disrespectful way. If you've ever gone to the small towns of Quebec, you've seen a similar unfortunate indifference shown to Anglos who make little attempt to speak French. (I also encountered this on the streets of Quebec (ville), but the attitude goes away when they realize you're from the States.)

To the limited extent that the Anglo majority concedes the need to use other languages, there's a sense that it is costing the society something, namely unity, and it is costing individuals something, possibly efficiency in communication. To the extent that demands are made upon recent immigrants to "get with it" and use English, there may be a feeling that the immigrants' culture is also being devalued (though this may not be so). Thus, two or more language-groups in the US feel offended by the situation. Unlike Canada, there is no official affirming attitude toward any minority and its unitque rights (as they are historically separate), because the linguistic minorities that immigrated decades ago to the US have truly been assimilated, and the newer immigrants are thought to be amenable to assimilation, not to remain separate within the whole.

Answer 4

Most Americans gain knowledge of a dialect of American English as their first language. There are exceptions. English is anticipated in so much public locations. There are absolutely Americans who don't seem to be secure with English (Spanish audio system from Mexico or Central or South America are probably the most popular illustration). I are living in Michigan, which has 2 peninsuals and is in 2 exceptional time zones (many Michigan citizens are suprise to listen to that. The Upper Peninsula extends a ways west, above Wisconsin). Spanish is widespread right here additionally. Many shops furnish indicators in Spanish as good. You can even discover French, Ojibwa (local American language), and dozens of alternative languages, notably in metropolitan locations. Dialects of French are spokein in locations of New England, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Hawaiian continues to be discovered in Hawaii to a few measure. Aleut languages (they're a household of languages, sometimes called Eskimo) are nonetheless discovered in Alaska.

Answer 5

Even though most Americans do know Spanish, at least a little bit, that will not happen. The culture down here in the States is so abrasive towards meshing cultures that I can't see that happening. I am a Canadian myself (but live down here in the states) and understand completely what you are saying, and it's wonderful in Canada because we are such a great multi-cultural country. The United States is a melting pot, but a creature of it's own habit. It is very hard to get the club to change. However, in states like Texas, Florida, and California the spanish population is probably more than the rest of the population...but still they are not the wealthy politicians that run the country itself. The "good old boys" will not conform to more identities, they'll keep the club to English only.

Just my opinion, but I think it's an accurate one.

Answer 6

In a word, no. I live in an area with an enormous Mexican population. Most of these people have arrived in the last 15 years or so, and have made little attempt to assimilate. There are days when I am the only English speaking person around. It is not pleasant to be made to feel like an immigrant in one's own back yard. I am a "liberal" in every sense, but I feel the way the French must have felt when Germany over-ran Paris. It is not a good feeling.

Answer 7

Okay, I understand that you live in Canada and thus aren't very well acquainted with the idea of illegal immigration, but here it is a *very* serious problem. We cannot just let anyone and everyone into our borders at will--legal or not. Also, yes, I agree that Americans should become a bilingual nation (who also use the metric system, but that's beside the point). However, I wish to become bilingual in Italian and English (English is already done, and I've 3 years of Italian under my belt already), yet I have no desire to learn Spanish, for I consider it to be far too common a language. I wanted something different and rare, so I chose Italian at my high school, and I don't regret that at all.

I welcome bilingualism, but one shouldn't limit it just to English and Spanish. Also, you shouldn't jump to conclusions regarding immigration in a country that is not your own--that's presumptuous.

Answer 8

The Americans that came to this country left their homelands with the goal of forming a new nation, and they were willing to leave behind what was near and dear to them to embrace a new life. They strove to blend and unite, and that's where the phrase "melting pot" came from.

Today's immigrants to the US do not have the same perspective. They retain ties to their homelands and want to continue to participate in their cultures. They speak their languages and teach their children their values. America is no longer a melting pot - it's more like a salad bowl. We're all in it together, but we keep our distinguishing cultural characteristics.

As a language student from an early age, I have embraced multiculturalism and multilingualism, and lived with and among immigrants for decades. Because of my interaction, it's hard for me to generalize them into a group - I see them as individuals, some good, some not so good (just like all the rest of us).

But I see an alarming trend in my country and in my state to view other ethnicities and languages as a threat. There are many reasons cited for sensing this threat, ranging from mild economic concerns all the way to absolute racial hatred. I believe this comes from fear and ignorance (not being personally familiar with those who are different from us).

From my perspective and experience, I feel those of us who appreciate diversity (and therefore bilingualism) in our country are in the minority. It takes an enlightened individual to recognize the value.

Answer 9

No. I don't. I speak Chinese at home. I speak English everywhere else. I do not speak Spanish. I think Spanish speakers are rude in this country. They do not know when to shut up! And they play their music too loud. I would love to put some Chinese music in their f*ing ears!

To Chancelikely:
"However, here are very few monolingual non-English pockets in the US, and most of them are places like Old New Mexico and Lancaster County where the foreign language is tied up in religion."

There are places called Chinatown, Koreatown, and or "Indiatown"? Old New Mexico? Chinatown's in New York (There's actually 3 other "Chinatowns" in New York), Philadelphia, San Francisco, Hawaii, Georgia, Toronto (Canada), etc...! Chinese isn't necessarily tied to religion.

Spanish? Look at China's global impact?

I'm glad you know how to use the Chinese words kowtow (In Chinese, this is a verb of 2 characters/words: kow is an ancient Chinese word meaning the action of bowing the head to the ground; tow is the approximate spelling of the Modern Chinese word for "head").

Answer 10

As a rule, no, we do not speak two languages. With Spanish, there is quite a bit of resentment among most Americans because of the idea that many illegal Mexican immigrants are here speaking Spanish, and as a result we are being pressured to learn their language instead of them learning ours.