Bilingualism in America

Bilingualism in America
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Bilingualism in America
The United States of America is often considered as the ‘melting pot’ of ethnic groups and cultures because many immigrants have made the country their home. The primary language spoken in the US is English, even though it is not yet the official language of the nation. English is used in schools as the language of instruction, the government uses it in its day-to-day business, and everyone recognizes the need to know the language to secure a good job. Many people feel it is prudent to make English a national language. Foreign-born students whose primary language is not English are automatically placed into bilingual programs. The topic of bilingual education is a somewhat controversial one, as it imposes on non-English speaking students be taught all school subjects in their indigenous languages before they move into English classes. Accordingly, bilingual programs were proposed to edify and transition learners from their native tongue into volubility in English. However, it is a practice which ought to negatively impact national harmony. Bilingualism may also culminate into sending the obverse message to immigrants, placing a fiscal burden on the state and also hinder students’ mastery of the English language, academic progression, and their conformity into mainstream America as elaborated in this paper.
Bilingual education for smooth transition
Advocating for bilingual studies as a transition from the native language to learning English is vital to the immigrant child. The shift is due to the efforts to acknowledge the role of immigrants in expanding the American economy as we know it today. Studies also prove that bilingualism facilitates a learner to be open-minded, and seamlessly transition into the American education system. Maintaining that English should be the official language in America can even be deemed racist from some sections (Chua). As language minorities continue to grow, the world appears to get smaller and smaller, and as a result, the creation of more international connections. The growth of technology lays greater demands on the importance of bilingualism (Crawford). Crawford claims that English is far less central to American identity. He claims that the US, from its infancy, was conceived as a country that newcomers could join. The laissez-faire policies made linguistic conflicts very rare in the US. Crawford assumes that English-only plans may formulate a coercion to learn English by making life difficult for those who are yet to do so (J. Crawford 119).
Bilingualism leads to national disharmony and social disunity
Language is part and parcel of every individual. It is a way of revealing what people are, how they feel, and also gives a feeling of belonging. To occupy the same geographical territory, state, or country, people must find what they share in common among them. If one learns that one particularly comes from the UK, the greeting goes ‘how are you?’ even though they may be from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, etc. If someone informs you they come from Kenya, one believes that they all get Kiswahili hence you may use words like ‘Hakuna matata’ or ‘habari’, notwithstanding knowing they have over 50 linguistic groups. Another case is assuming everyone from India understands the response to ‘Namaste’ as a greeting. Sharing the English language unites us as Americans – immigrants and native-born alike. Discoursing to each other in a single common language intensifies trust, also decreasing racial aversion and prejudice.
Additionally, bilingualism may bring in disharmony. Assume a situation in which we would be reading Albert Einstein’s works as drafted in German or Jewish, or having former president Barrack Obama giving his ‘Yes We Can’ speech in Kiswahili, or even Donald Trump declaring ‘mach Amerika wieder großartig‘ in his political campaigns. America is described as a nation of immigrants with the English language serving as a unifying authority. Having a common language to enable the citizens air their viewpoints and exercise freedom in a democratic government, we can forge a strong unity in a diverse nation (Hayakawa 576). Therefore, bilingualism could lead to uncertainty and discomfiture among the people.
Fostering of negative attitude towards learning of English in immigrants
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