Evan Rodrigues

Evan Rodrigues

Molly Fenn

English ¾

16 March 2017

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Acceptance on the Tip of American Tongues

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As Americans, we live in a diverse nation. One in which it is virtually impossible to go a day without crossing paths with someone whose first language isn’t English. Along with the many languages spoken there are also many dialects, each originating from various groups and regions. Although some may argue that in America everyone should be able to speak proper English, other forms of English, such as English spoken with an accent or grammatical errors, should also be accepted as valid methods of communication.

Although I cannot speak on behalf of the rest of the world, the one experience that I have had speaking in a new language in another country was a positive one. This past summer I lived in Panama for two months. When I arrived my Spanish abilities were close to non-existent. I didn’t say a word for the first few days, but when I did start to speak to new people in an unfamiliar tongue I was greeted with smiles and helpful advice on how I could improve. Before I left for my summer I was terrified of how the people there would treat me knowing that I barely spoke Spanish. I thought they would be rude and unsupportive like in the U.S., but I was soon proven wrong. Cashiers, priests, and kids alike all offered to help me out when they saw me struggling. When they realized I had limited Spanish abilities they immediately started speaking slower and pronouncing each word more clearly. After a week there my fear had subsided. Where could it have come from? I am almost certain it was growing up seeing the way Americans treat other Americans who are lacking in English ability.

For those who are still learning English, life can be made difficult by discrimination from people who believe proper English is the only true American way to communicate. This discrimination partly stems from the belief that one’s ability to communicate reflects the quality of their thoughts. Famous American author Amy Tan writes about her thoughts growing up with someone who speaks limited English saying “my mother's ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her…I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect” (Tan 2).

Tan had internalized the belief that what her mother had to say wasn’t anything to be proud of because she couldn’t say it in a way that people could easily understand. She saw first hand how her mother was treated differently, “people in department stores... did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.” (Tan 2). In addition, when confronted with a language barrier people seem to act as if they are the ones being inconvenienced, when in reality the situation is far more challenging for the non-native speaker.

However, despite what many people assumed, Tan’s mother could understand spoken and written English in contexts that are considered to be more professional. In her essay Tan express to her readers that “[they] should know that my mother's expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands. She reads the Forbes report, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbroker, reads all of Shirley MacLaine's books with ease--all kinds of things I can't begin to understand.” (Tan 1).  Her mother is clearly capable of understanding complex ideas. Her How many Americans that speak English as their first language can say that they are capable of understanding reports on topics like finances in a second language? Not many, since it is already hard enough to do it in your first language. After putting in all of the work to be able understand a second language, and then having people ignore them while they are shopping because people can’t get over the grammatical errors you make. This is a challenge many people face daily.

Another reason why different dialects should be respected is the fact that people often feel that their identity is closely tied to the dialect they speak. Gloria Anzaldúa was an American school teacher who was known for speaking and writing about lesbian, feminist, and Chicana issues. In her essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue she talks about the Chicana experience and how language and identity are closely tied. Anzaldúa says:

“So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity - I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. and as long as I have to accommodate the English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate.”  (Anzaldúa 39 & 40).

Anzaldúa states that ethnic identity is parallel to linguistic identity. Not only does Gloria feel that her dialect deserves respect, she also feels that as long as she has to accommodate English speakers her tongue will be illegitimate. If she had her way she would be able to speak in whatever dialect she wanted in whatever context. Maybe the issue that we have with language in this country is that Americans (Native-English speakers in particular) aren’t trying hard enough to understand the people we share this land with.

No matter how strongly certain people feel about the way that Americans should speak, nowhere does it say that to live in America you need to speak English. In fact, the United States has no official language. A quote from www.pbs.org states, “Half the countries of the world have an official language. The United States isn't one of them.” Considering the fact that this country has no official language, how can we expect everyone who lives here to learn English? Various attempts have been made to solidify English as the official language but not a single proposal has passed. This is simply because there are too many languages spoken here for just one to be the official language. This one detail derails any pro-english argument and should discourage anyone from saying that “in America we speak English” because we also speak hundreds of other languages.

In a perfect society everyone would be able to effortlessly communicate without any language barriers, but the reality is that we live in a beautifully diverse place. A place where people from all over can come and work together, for us to be able to work together we need to find ways to communicate and work past language barriers. Just because you are having trouble understanding someone does not give you the right to be rude to them. A person’s inability to communicate their thoughts in English doesn’t discredit what they have to say. For those who are learning English life is already challenging enough. What more can you be doing to bring us all closer together? The last time I checked a smile is easily understood no matter what language is being spoken.

Works Cited

Bureau, US Census. "Census Bureau Reports at Least 350 Languages Spoken in U.S. Homes."      

The United States Census Bureau. N.p., 03 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

"Do You Speak American?" PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

Alzaldúa, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Borderlands/La Frontera. Aunt Lute Books,

1987. 33-45. Print.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” City University of New York. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.