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English, An endangered Language?

            
             The knowledge of more than one language has become a crucial element in a society noted for its diversity and multiculturalism where immigrants constitute an integral part of the population. However, there are those who claim that immigrants must abandon their native languages in order to fully integrate into American society. Some view the speaking of another language by immigrant populations as a threat to the unity and health of United States. There have been many attempts to ban bilingual education in schools fearing that immigrants maintaining their languages alive would result in the demise of the English language. In hopes of clearing up certain misconceptions, Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler of Johns Hopkins University conducted a study in Florida examining the children of immigrants and their language skills. Florida is a key state for such a study due to the high influx of immigrants. The study focuses on the children of immigrants who were either born !.
             in the United States or have resided here for more than 5 years. It looks at their ability as well as their desire to speak English and their retention of their parent's language. The significance of this study is notable since it shows to what degree these second generation Americans have integrated into mainstream American culture, as language is one of the most important cultural elements uniting an individual society, and how they maintain their own cultural identity through their parent's language. It attempts to find the elements that determine why some of these children are truly bilingual and the others remain monolingual, speaking either only English or their parent's language.
             The authors establish three hypotheses at the beginning of the study. They claim that English monolingualism is directly linked to the concentration of a certain immigrant group in a particular area as well as the length of time spent in the United States.


Essays Related to English, An endangered Language?

1. Endangered and Minority Languages

In the Americas alone, 182 are endangered by the end of the century. ... We have a lot of information about saving endangered animals and we Ÿre inclined to not buy certain types of clothes made of animal skin, but what about the issue of dying languages? ... But the effect of these situations tends to mean that a large part of population which speaks an endangered language will experience a feeling of dismay and frustration because they can Ÿt use their own language freely. ... Europe has a great number of minority languages that are under pressure to disappear and are co-existing with majo...

  • Word Count: 1941
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Ways to Preserve the Gaeltacht Language

In 1993 UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, listed Irish as an endangered language, with perhaps less than 20,000 fully competent native speakers. ... It is impossible to be a banker, lawyer, advertising executive or to pursue any other well-remunerated career without using English as one's working language. ... The industrialisation of the Gaeltacht in the 1970s was a major disaster, not just because the language of most work places was English, but even worse, because the new jobs stimulated inward migration of English-speakers and returned migration of Irish-speakers with Englis...

  • Word Count: 1884
  • Approx Pages: 8

3. Stages of Second Language Acquisiton

Linguists, who focus on the language and its' components, indicated that some languages still endangered as it is stated that 'Languages face extinction as surely as plants and animals'. (Owens, 2012) There are basic terms about language that should be known before look at the stages of second language acquisition, like bilingual, multilingual, first language acquisition and second language acquisition. ... First language acquisition is the study which focuses on the infants' acquisition of their native languages on the other hand second language acquisition deals with t...

  • Word Count: 2006
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Official Language for America

As such the US is one of the few countries without an official language, although most assume that it is English since we are predominantly an English speaking country. ... By designating English as the official language, we would be sending the message of the importance of learning English so that they may participate in our government. ... Opponents of this issue say that by making English the official language that no other languages will be allowed to be spoken, therefore excluding tourists and non-English speaking citizens. ... Other languages would also be allowed in emergency situa...

  • Word Count: 920
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. English Only Movement

The current English-Only movement advocates that English be the only language used in the United States. The urgency of this movement is because the English language is endangered because more immigrants are settling in the U.S. and those that do not speak English are pampered by bilingual services that have encouraged them not to learn English. ... The goals of the members of English-Only are to make English the official language so that immigrants can learn the language. ... Some states have English as the "official" language of the state. ... English trying to force citizens to mak...

  • Word Count: 1582
  • Approx Pages: 6

6. On Call: Political Essays "Nob

In her essay, " Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And the Future Life of Willie Jordan" Jordan talks about how "Black English is not exactly a linguistic buffalo, but we should understand its status as an endangered species..." ... (pg. 123) now its more referred to as the language instead of the race. There is no one "standard" (pg. 124) for the language either, each country or culture (such as Black and whites in the U.S.) has their own standard. ... After Jordan talks about the qualities of "Black English" (pg. 129) she goes on to talk about the "guidelines for Black English" (pg. 130), wh...

  • Word Count: 592
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Vanishing Voices and Forgotten Cultures

Colonization is largely responsible for the speed at which languages are endangered. ... This resulted in their heritage endangerment when their children found it pointless to learn or speak their language. ... Today, this distinction is proof that English and other colonial languages are indeed killer languages, destroying identity and limiting human diversity. ... Another factor largely responsible for the endangerment of language is urbanization. ... During the next 100 years, the dominant languages are estimated to overtake the endangered minority languages at an alarming rate. ...

  • Word Count: 1038
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Catch-22: A Banned Book Review

However, Yossarian is thwarted by the doctor's argument that if he were truly mad then he would endanger his life and seek to fight more missions. ... He was then discharged from the Air Force in 1945, married Shirley Held, and then pursued English at New York University. ... In 1950, he became a professor of English at Pennsylvania State University. ... These states claimed that the book was "dangerous" because of the objectionable language, sexual situations or scenes, and the crude, black humor that is displayed throughout the novel. ...

  • Word Count: 587
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Why Immigrant Reformation is not Necessary

Furthermore, research also shows that immigrants will have limitation in languages with the refusal to learn English and speak their native language in their neighborhoods (Cooper 1). ... The opposing view believes that "Many immigrants from various nations seem unwilling to learn the English language, and their own reasons. ... It is continually emphasized that immigrants are not encouraged to learn English and this cause language barrier between the communities as far as blending their culture with ours. ... Although it may be helpful for immigrants to be able to have their own langu...

  • Word Count: 2316
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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