How America Can Get Her Bilingual Groove Back

Is it time to be a Bilingual Nation? Let’s continue the conversation…

I recently met with Levenger store staff members in Tysons Corner, Virginia, which is just inside the Washington, D.C., Beltway. After talking shop, I asked them to tell me what languages, besides English, they spoke. Here are their names and answers:

Adnan Abdillahi:     Somalian
Ricardo Corbet:     Spanish and a little Italian
Christina Nemr:     Arabic and French
Gerri Pineda:     Tagalog
Amish Singh:     Hindi
Erni (Ita) Tazkiah:     Indonesian
Minh Thai:         Vietnamese and a little French
Nova Wakkary:     Indonesian

(Chris Gordy, our store manager, is the only monolingual member of the group but is remedying that: he’s studying Spanish to learn his wife’s first language.)

By this list, you might conclude that we’re running a language school, but we have no language requirement on our employment applications except English. Our staff members just happen to represent the international community found in our nation’s capital, and it’s a good thing they do. They tell me that they frequently call on their other languages when helping our customers.

Our employees are indicative of changes across the United States. According to the U.S. Census, there is a rising tide of languages used in our nation.

Playing catch-up with most of the world

About 35 million U.S. residents now speak Spanish at home, which translates to 12 percent of the population. When the U.S. Census was conducted in 1990, French and German were the next two most popular languages spoken at home. They still are heard in many American households, but another, very different language has moved into the number 2 slot: Chinese.

It’s the sheer number of different languages spoken in the U.S. that is truly impressive. For a quick illustration, take a moment to click to the U.S .Census homepage and pull down “Select a language.” You’ll find Navajo, Swahili, Amharic, Llocano, Dinka and Dari among your choices.

There is no indication that any of this increase in other language usage is associated with any decrease in the use of English. It’s just that we are slowly becoming more bilingual than in the past. That’s a good trend. The trouble is, we’re far behind the rest of the world.

 According to François Grosjean, the author of Bilingual: Life and Reality, most of the world’s population is bilingual.

While quantifying bilingualism is tricky, Grosjean reports these rough measures:

Europe:         56%
Great Britain:     38%
Canada:         35%
United States:     17%

The bilingual advantage

Grosjean explains that linguists have long sought to determine whether there is any advantage in learning, thinking or excelling to be had by monolinguals—the idea that it might help if you have to worry only about one language. The result of decades of research is that no advantages to monolingualism are discernable. To the contrary: Grosjean reports that the world over, bilingual people excel. The fact that people tend to look up to those who can converse in more than one language is justified.

We almost expect today’s world-class performers, such as the tenor Placido Domingo and the tennis player Roger Federer, to speak multiple languages. And we admire Americans like Greg Mortensen, who learned Arabic to help him build schools for girls in some of the least hospitable places on earth.

History is full of bilingual luminaries, including Jesus Christ.

Grosjean writes that Christ may have spoken three or four languages. “His mother tongue was Aramaic; he then learned Hebrew in his rabbinical training and he may also have known Greek and Latin, both of which were spoken in Palestine at the time.”

Turning back to my microcosm at Levenger, I can report that in our headquarters in Delray Beach, we’re fortunate to have three talented computer programmers or developers—all, as it turns out, bilingual Asian women. Their children also excel. One has a daughter who graduated from MIT and is in medical school at Columbia. Another has a daughter finishing her freshman year at MIT and is also a concert pianist. (She was valedictorian at our local high school.) Need I mention that these daughters speak Mandarin?

As part of my own untalented but stubborn attempt to learn Spanish, I watch almost exclusively Spanish television. Telemundo and Univison gave round-the-clock coverage to the earthquake in Chile, showing videos and interviews days after the English mainstream networks had moved on.

With the Internet, speakers of nearly any of the world’s languages can follow events in places outside our borders with an understanding and concern enhanced by their knowledge of the language.

We need to value our own bilinguals and emulate them so that we become better Americans. The challenge is that we are still so heavily monolingual. Grosjean writes, “…the more monolingual a group or country is, the more difficult it is for the society to understand that bilinguals are a real asset to a nation in terms of what they can bring to cross-cultural communication and understanding.”

How America lost its mother tongues

And yet, America was born speaking many languages. With early immigrants speaking Dutch, German, French, English and Italian among many other languages, mixing rather un-harmoniously with Native Americans and their languages, something needed to be done if there was to be any hope of becoming more than a Babel of colonies.

Benjamin Franklin, who spoke five or six languages, at one point thought America might well standardize on German, which predominated in his native Pennsylvania. Thomas Jefferson could have written our Declaration of Independence in French as well as the English he chose (certainly better for King George to understand).

Forging allegiance to its own form of English became a matter of patriotism for the brash young country that pronounced it was no longer English but American. And no founding father felt this necessity more keenly than a young man who left Yale to fight in the revolution, and after victory, had the good fortune of having George Washington as a mentor. The young man was passionate about helping his young country go its own way with language and quit using the hated British spellers, with their examples taken from British countryside. The young man’s name was Noah Webster.

To hear the cacophony of languages in revolutionary America, read The Life and Times of Noah Webster, an American Patriot by Harlow Giles Unger. The man whose name is synonymous with “dictionary” first made his mark with his tiny speller, and through his efforts in copyright law and education reform created the bedrock of the English we speak today. Webster’s dictionaries were taken up by American public schools and libraries. Those public libraries became the people’s universities, where countless adults from Eastern Europe and China labored to learn the English their kids were absorbing in their classrooms and on playgrounds.

My guess is that Webster would be pleased if he could see—and hear—his legacy. His efforts to forge an American English succeeded in uniting a chaotic chorus into the famed melting pot for two hundred years.

But what was so right for our first two hundred years isn’t necessarily right for our next era.

How America can become the most bilingual nation

The first step is to recognize that it’s in our economic, cultural and political interests to become as bilingual as the world average of 51%, and then to go beyond the world average. Moreover, Americans should become the most diverse ilk of bilinguals on the planet—showing off the diversity that has made our country great.

It strengthened America to be a melting pot, with everyone enthusiastically embracing the English of their adopted country and forcing it on their children. Now it’s time to move to a new paradigm. Now that America English won the World Cup of Languages, it’s time to be an enlightened victor, one like Lincoln and Churchill: benevolent in peace.

It’s time to invite with open arms all the languages of the world back into America and celebrate them while learning them. In doing so we will be seizing our natural advantage of having such diversity in our immigrant population.

Only good will come of this new attitude.

Those teaching other languages to native English speakers will strengthen their own English, while native speakers will gain new appreciation for the difficult language we take for granted.

A citizenry that can all speak English well and then another language, too—that is the requirement of many American colleges and universities, and there is evidence that the rest of the country is coming around.

The New York Times reported that the Justice Department has begun reviewing how the New York Police Department interacts with New Yorkers who do not speak English well. Police Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne responded this way:  “…we have the largest number of foreign-language speakers of any police department in the country, and perhaps the world, but certainly in the diversity of languages and the pure number of foreign-language speakers.”

In one generation

It will take leadership beyond enlightened police departments to make American bilingualism a reality.

President Obama should set a simple but profound goal for our nation, as Kennedy did for landing on the moon. It should be the kind of long-term goal that extends beyond any one president: that a majority of Americans be bilingual in one generation from today. That is, by the year 2035, 51% of our population should be bilingual, which would make our nation one with the bilingual world.

Moreover, American bilingualism should be of a unique stature in its diversity. English will remain our official language, but Americans should be given every opportunity and every encouragement to read, write and speak one other language as well—any of the world’s languages.

American bilingualism should be representative of our heritage as the nation of immigrants, and a shining example of what we can be when we are at our best.

We know it’s right to send our students abroad for a year, and we know it’s good to bring international students to America. Why shouldn’t this be even more strongly encouraged so that it becomes as universal as driver licenses? Is there some better way to invest our wealth? And why shouldn’t adults share in the adventure and fun? (Even a college dad like me.)

Technology has already had a transformative effect and will play a growing role. America should strive to lead in that arena. We have the advantage of having Microsoft, Google and Apple in the U.S. to continue to lead the way, but the competition is obviously global. Check out the cool programs the BBC offers for free. What a fine arena for America to compete in with all her might.

A bilingual America will be better able to read the world, to hear the world, and to speak to the world.

Our founding fathers would be proud of us for our success with English. And I think they would be proud of us for recognizing that it is time to move ahead, to the next declaration of unity.

Do you agree? I’d love to hear your comments—in any language. Just click on the Comments link below with your submission. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you'll connect to Comments.)

Comments

[Cyndi]

When I think back on my years in school, the "gifted level" classes did me the most good in life. We were taught Greek, Latin, and primary logic skills. Later, in high school, I took French classes, and while I never gained the ability to speak it conversationally, I did pick enough of it up for something else surprising.

I never graduated from college. I was hired directly out of high school at a dotcom. There, I was exposed to an amazing amount of diversity, including a group of Haitian-Americans. Speaking Creole came naturally to me and before long, I was jesting with the best of them. I also picked up some Persian and Turkish from a friend who spoke 7 languages.

Now, my daughter is in a world language school that teaches Spanish, English, and Mandarin Chinese. My boys are in a regular public school. This summer, they'll all be surprised when I break out the Greek and Latin root word flash cards! I believe their education will be much more thorough if they know the base languages.

[D Gouldin]

As a 30-year classroom veteran in North and South Carolina, I am embarassed to say that whenever there is a budget crunch, foreign language at the most fundamental elementary levels is often the first thing to make an exodus, along with the arts. This means that at an age when our children could easily learn a language in a natural way through music and dance and other fun activities, the opportunity is removed. How sad to then offer upper-level languages when it is so much harder for our children to acquire a second language. Those classes often are sources of great academic torment to our young people, who have passed the age of learning with ease. I am constantly amazed that those in power fail to grasp the importance of recent research on the brain and learning, and do little to support early childhood education across the board.

[Meg]

Es kommt darauf an, was fuer Sprachen Sie meinen, wenn Sie um "bilingualism" schreiben. Meinen Sie, dass Amerika unbedingt Englisch/Spanisch sprechen soll? Damit bin ich, selbstverstaendlich, nicht zufrieden.

I could go on and on in German, a language I speak fluently, as well as write something passable in Russian. But my point, stated above, is: It depends what you have in mind when you speak of America's becoming a "bilingual nation." If you mean that all Americans should learn Spanish as well as English, no, I disagree completely. (For one thing, where I live it would be almost useless -- the second language in these parts is French.)

But if you mean that Americans should all speak another language, definitely. My life has been so enriched by my ability to speak and read German, and is becoming even more so as I make slow but definite progress in Russian. Most Russian-Americans I know are multi-lingual, as well, so yes, it's a good idea. But the idea of forcing everyone to learn Spanish is really offensive -- unless there's a possibility that Spanish-speaking people would be willing to learn to speak German, French, Italian, Russian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, as well as English. Get my point??

[Victoria Smith]

I agree that bilingual is a goal to strive for. I just object to the people who insist on ONLY speaking their native language, i.e., Spanish, and don't bother to learn English. As old fashioned as it might be, my grandparents, both from Italy, insisted on English at home because they wanted their children to be Americans. Go figure.

[Lynn K. Buchanan]

Interesting comment there. 35% of US RESIDENTS speak Spanish. And how many of them are U.S. Citizens or Legal residents???
Here in Yakima, WA, we have to hire folks to translate the local version of Spanish, called MEXICAN, to give them services for free, that is, paid for by the taxpayers. Most of them have better medical services (welfare) than I.

What is Bilingual? I spoke Japanese to a fellow who was insisting on my speaking Mexican and he got upset. This is still the USA.

Lynn Buchanan

[Robert Greenman]

Steve, I was struck by your selection and praise for the Noah Webster biography. I read the book several years ago and not only loved it but got in touch with the author to tell him so, calling the phone number at his Web site. Was I surprised when Unger, himself, answered the phone. He was appreciative of my compliments, and when I told him I cried during the closing pages of the book, he said, "If you cried at that, then you've got to read my Lafayette book." I haven't read it yet but I will.

I just went to Mr. Unger's Web site to get his number for you, but there's no number there anymore, not even an e-mail contact. (Maybe after my phone call he decided he needed a buffer between him and his readers.)

I hope your column will encourage some of your readers to look for Mr. Giles's Webster book.

[Carol Hill]

"Yedda bout gullah?" (Have you heard about Gullah?)

While visiting South Carolina in the early 70's I given** (see below) a recorded (i.e., a 33 1/3 vinyl LP) history of Gullah that included several examples of this "language" of the Carolina low country. This recording had been made as part of a Smithsonian project.

As I recall, Gullah was described as a combination of English, Irish, and several African languages. Apparently this language evolved because plantation overseers were frequently Irish and the slaves they were overseeing had been kidnapped from a variety of locations in Africa, so arrived here speaking a variety of tribal languages. In order to minimize communication among the slaves (wonder what they would have had to talk about??) the tribal groups were split up, so an overseer had to communicate to a group of people speaking several different languages, making Gullah a uniquely American language.

So, not only have Native American languages contributed to our "American English", but many African languages as well.

**The woman who gave me the album had been raised in Charleston during the 40's and 50's where she learned Gullah because her African/American governess, aka her "Mammy" still spoke it. According to this woman, "Mammy's" and Gullah were still quite common in Charleston while she was growing up.

[Norwegian Immigration Association (Rigmor Swensen, Chair)]

Perhaps Adnan the top left in your photo also speaks Norwegian. He is wearing the Norwegian flag--not a very common sight.

[Jerri Pantages Long]

My father and his cousins (all born in the USA) grew up learning Greek as well as English. How I wish that I had had the opportunity to learn it while young! I studied French and German in high school, French continuing into my college years, and (several decades later) Italian in preparation for traveling to Italy for my son's wedding. Alas! The older I get, the harder it has become to add another language. Bilingualism should become every YOUNG American's goal!

[Steve Leveen]

Bilingualism in America is controversial; no sense in pretending it’s not. The controversy and debates should help us clarify just how important it is for everyone to share a common language—English—and share it well. It’s easy to say; hard to do.

Steve

[David G. Stone]

Steve and Staff,

I wholeheartedly agree with the importance of being bilingual. I am semi-biligual in Spanish, and our daughter is bilingual in Spanish as the result of an exchange student experience in Mexico. She went on to dual major in Latin American Studies and Spanish, and in fact teaches high school Spanish. The first week in June (as soon as school is out) she and our 7-year old granddaughter head to Campeche', Mexico to spend 10 days with her "Mexican" sister and extended families.
However, it should be done fully recognizing we each choose to be Americans and therefore English should be our primary language.
Everything goes in cycles, and the pendulum constantly swings from one extreme to the other. Right now it is "politically correct" to be good "global citizens." I would argue in order for Americans to be good "global citizens" we must first be good "USA citizens."
Bilingual: Yes!! English as the primary language for Americans: Yes!!
Regards,
David G. Stone

[Greg Gehr]

What a wonderful post! My wife is the Tribal Linguist for her American Indian Tribe, and actively works to promote bilingualism in her Tribe by teaching both the native language of her Tribe as well as the language of the immigrant invaders (which, of course, is English).

We also watch Spanish TV with our 4 yr old so that he is exposed to other immigrant languages besides English. Our favorite is Sabado Gigante.

(Note to Lynn: The native language of your area is Ichishkíin Sínwit, classified by academics as a northwestern dialect of Sahaptin, a Sahaptian language of the Plateau Penutian family. Complaining about the effort of translating one immigrant language, Spanish, or "Mexican" as you incorrectly classify it, into another immigrant language, English, is truly ironic.)

Yôotva, Steve. Pa mi hih nitápkuup

[Trisha]

You're off on this one, Steve. English is our language, but look how accommodating we already are to those who speak Spanish. Press 1 for English, please, etc.

I just took my children to a University Hospital....the instructions were posted in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese! My tax dollars will even pay for an interpreter if you've chosen not to learn English. Learn English if you are blessed to live here, and learn it well. That's where the focus needs to be....educating our children to speak and write well (which we're sorely neglecting) instead of setting up programs to cater to every foreign language under the sun.

[Frank Grant]

Wow!!!! that has been a pet subject of mine for twenty years. I'm politically pretty conservative, but I find myself at odds with my peers on this subject.
As a high school dropout and single father of a two-year- old daughter, I had very little opportunity to further my formal education and feed ourselves at the same time. In order to remedy the problem I quit my job, and went to work on a farm for a year, which gave me a solid foundation in the workings of the Spanish language--albeit a pretty butchered version.(It turns out that many migrant workers are not native Spanish speakers). I did finally learn the language, and later married a Mexican citizen. We have two daughters, one now 19, and the other 17.
For the first ten years of their lives we spoke no English at home, but lived normal American lives other than that.They were subjected to English everywhere except while talking to their mother and me, and to their grandparents who spoke no English. We are Christians, and they spent a lot of time in church-related activities as well. I had to fight the State of Alaska over the ESL and special-ed crap that they tried to force on my girls. I didn't allow that.
Now my youngest is at the top of the journalism class in HS, and also in English. And the 19-year-old is pulling almost all A's at Boise State U.
I'm convinced that it is because I made them learn both languages while they were still very young.
I firmly believe that ALL Americans should be conversant in two languages at the very least, for the same reasons that you mentioned.
I never made it back to school, but the bilingualism opened as many doors as the lack of a H.S. Diploma closed.
(I am now also comfortably conversant in German.)

[Dari Linguist]

Bilingualism's benefits are immeasurable. I plan on encouraging my kids, nieces, nephews and all young people to start learning a language as early as possible. Whether or not others are learning your language, it doesn't hurt to try and learn a new one yourself.