Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Fiercely monolingual

In the USA we speak one language. English.

Yes, in reality, there are literally thousands of language that are spoken in the States. But our governments recognize only one.

This is changing - I see more and more packaging that is in Spanish and English.

I would suggest that we should be open to more languages being OK here. It is just part of accepting other cultures.

(The envelope is a return from Canada - note the words on the label. I sent some goodies to some friends in Vancouver, and I forgot that they had moved. Anyhow, even though Vancouver has few French speakers, all of Canada is bi-lingual in the eyes of the government.)

6 comments:

Richard Lawry said...

Here in Arkansas there is some extreme hatred toward Spanish. On the local forum many have expressed anger when they pick up a product at the store and there is any Spanish on the label. I can't understand hating a language. I think that it is just easier to say than I hate a certain type of people.

An Arkie's Musings

paulmerrill said...

Hi Richard.

You are right - in the south, feelings run higher about this sort of thing. In Colorado, the general level of acceptance of people of other cultures might be a little higher than some places.

Richard Lawry said...

I have completed the 5 things meme. You assigned me a very difficult subject, but I came through.

Top 5

An Arkie's Musings

justagirl said...

I'm taking spanish1 right now in KL and the little malay that I do know I love to use! I'm not really a "language person" but I do love being able to communicate through another language.

Marti said...

I've read that America is the #5 Spanish-speaking country in terms of population.

I tend to see diversity as a good thing. But there are those who are really offended by it.

India has 15 official languages, doesn't it?

paulmerrill said...

Not sure about the India number - but to my knowledge, the USA has one.

If we weren't in such a position of power (like English being the main language of the internet), we might have to change. But change is coming, with the number of immigrants ever growing.