However, the fact is that most Americans have the impression that Hispanic immigrants are perceived as a threat for not assimilating into the American mainstream, more so into the Anglo-Protestant values. Why is that? Is it for fear that the Spanish Language may overrun the country? Similarly, Neil Foley, author of, Mexicans In The Making of America, asks the same questions, why fear? In his prologue chapter, Foley makes a point by proving the fact that in the past, Mexican immigrants were not a concern but were, “ let in to provide the labor force for the rapidly expanding economy”(2).
Imagine being punished for saying one word or phrase in your first language that just comes natural to you. This is another example that makes the audience question their own beliefs on the “English only”
In the Anglos eyes, Spanish is an inferior tongue that should be erased and replaced by English. For example, Roberto, an older student, who was highlighted as an example to the class by Ms. Katherine Elliot as “someone they should aim to be.” A student who is fully assimilated into “American culture” by carrying manners that shows respect and who speaks English fluently. Here the ability of speaking Spanish is stigmatized as holding back the Mexican American students from fully integrating with American society. Most importantly, they are not only pushing students to adhere to the dominant language but they are also teaching them that one linguistic capability is preferred and legitimized over the
Very few, if any, immigrants have the chance to learn English before traveling to the U.S. Because of this barrier, it is nearly impossible for organizations such as the Border Patrol to warn, aid, and communicate with them as they travel to the U.S. Although there are helpful signs along the border, they are written in English and are therefore indecipherable. Furthermore, the language border hinders an immigrant’s ability to survive in American society once they arrive. English is the written and spoken language in almost every city, thwarting immigrants’ opportunity to find jobs and interact with others. As they struggle to communicate, they become ostracized and do not fit in.
Richard Rodriguez and Gloria Anzaldúa are two authors who both immigrated to America in the 1950s and received first hand experience of the assimilation process into American society. During this time, Rodriguez and Anzaldúa had struggled adjusting to the school system. Since understanding English was difficult, it made adjusting to the American school system increasingly difficult for Rodriguez. Whereas Anzaldúa, on the other hand, had trouble adjusting to America’s school system due to the fact that she didn’t wish to stop speaking Spanish even though she could speak English. Both Rodriguez and Anzaldúa had points in their growing educational lives where they had to remain silent since the people around them weren’t interested in hearing them speaking any other language than English.
I can honestly relate to this, in the past, I have been asked specifically not to speak Spanish. I completely understand and respect if the individual does not understand Spanish and might feel unconformable, but their reasoning and logic for such request is "we are in America". How ironic, we are in America and that's my right. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. words where for all to hear and read but it was moreover directed to eight Alabama clergymen and religious leaders.
The English Only movement has been around for a long time, but it has been overlooked by most. Most Americans speak English from the moment they learned to talk; many others learn English as a second language. For this reason, many Americans oppose to the existence of non-English languages being spoken in the United States. In Warren J. Blumenfeld’s essay “‘English Only’ Laws Divide and Demean”, the author speaks about the “English Only” Movement and how people who support and oppose it feel towards this situation. He uses rhetorical appeals such as ethos, logos, and pathos in order to make people understand the severity of the situation and for the writing to have an effect on its readers.
Non-English speaking immigrants grew quickly in numbers. Assimilation was becoming all the more difficult to achieve with such a diverse
As a country that was built by immigrants from around the world, America is a melting pot of abundant cultures and languages. However, it seems as though “proper English” is the only appropriate dialect considered to be civilized, neglecting the presence of other native tongues. Amy Tan describes life with her Chinese, immigrant mother who tries adapting to life in America. Tan uses the rhetorical methods of ethos, pathos, and logos to convey a different perspective on accepting the various types of English and how her mother should not be isolated from society while coping with learning a new language.
Second- generation Latinos and beyond speak English just as well as Natives, despite the fact that they live with their Spanish-speaking parents (Myers and Pitkin, 20). Furthermore, it has been observed that even though second or third generations Latinos may retain their native language, the Spanish language will eventually die out by the third and fourth generations in many families, following the traditional three-generation model of linguistic assimilation that characterized European immigrants of the last century (Rumbaut and Massey,
While those who argue in favor of assimilation possibly argue from a position of National preservation, those who argue against it potentially argue from the perspective of immigrant preservation. However, in his essay “Assimilation & the persistence of culture”, James Bennett suggests that anti-assimilation sentiments can also originate from a place of Nationalism in that, “By global standards, the culture and social systems of the English-speaking nations are some of the most individualistic. Interactions with other cultures therefore inherently involve a challenge to those features of our culture and a challenge by our culture to the less individualistic, less free features of theirs” (Bennett). Further anti-assimilation arguments claim
But even when they didn’t learn English themselves, their children grew up speaking it. Thousands of first-generation Americans still strive to learn English, but others face reduced educational and career opportunities because they have not mastered this basic skill they need to get ahead. According to the 1990 census, 40 percent of the Hispanics born in the United States do not graduate from high school, and the Department of Education says that a lack of proficiency in English is an important factor in the drop-out rate. People and agencies that favor providing services only in foreign languages want to help people who do not speak English, but they may be doing these people a disservice by condemning them to a linguistic ghetto from which they cannot easily escape.
For many new immigrants coming to America, it is difficult to adjust into the new society. Many come to America without the basic knowledge of English, the new immigrants do not have the ability assimilate to American society because of the lack of possible communication between the immigrant and an native. Non-English speaking immigrants that come to America face harsh challenges when trying to assimilate to U.S. society because immigrants are often segregated into ethnic communities away from natives, Americans do not know basics of words of other well known languages, and the lack of government funding education programs. Assimilation into a new society is difficult enough, but when the society pushes any new immigrants to separate part
The temptation of power and control has caused destruction since the beginning of time. From Adam and Eve’s choice to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to Hitler’s massive genocide, it seems as though humanity cannot evade a fascination with personal status and authority. In The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, the ring’s control over characters is a reflection of humanity’s innate craving for power. While most of the characters do not comprehend the ring’s tremendous power at first, Gandalf quickly realizes that the ring has a great influence on both those who obtain it and those who are aware of it. He says, “It is far more powerful than I ever dared to think at first, so powerful that in the end it would utterly overcome anyone of mortal race who possessed it.
In summary, the differences between myself and the community of Mexican-Americans is that I am a black African from Nigeria and the community consists of white Hispanics from Mexico. Mexican Americans came, as the name implies, from Mexico. Immigration of Mexican into USA started from the gold rush in California and the copper mining in Arizona, but a large number immigration came as a result of political unrest in the early twentieth century. This immigration came in four huge waves. According to by Jie Zong and Jenna Batalova in the “Migration Information Source”, the first wave occurred before the Second World War.
