Like it or not, Spanish has become the second language of this country. But while our country continues to experience wave after wave of Hispanic immigrants (both legal and illegal), and while more and more Spanish-language television stations, radio stations, and publications are appearing in the U.S., English is not about to be supplanted as the predominant language of the United States of America. This is so for two important reasons. First, Hispanic immigrants today adopt English as a first language at the same rate that previous generations of Hispanic immigrants did. Studies show that by the second generation, around 50 percent of Hispanics speak English as their primary language, and by the third, nearly 100 percent speak it as their primary language. Second, English is the lingua franca of global commerce and diplomacy. With the advent of the global economy in this century, Americans who want to succeed need to speak English. Hispanic immigrants are aware of this. After all, they come to the U.S. to get ahead. They know that the ability to speak English here means more economic opportunity.
If anything, Americans could stand to experience some linguistic diversity. When it comes to countries that have a high percentage of bilingual citizens, our country undoubtedly lags behind others.
Sources:
- Robert MacNeil and William Cran, Do You Speak American? (2005).
- Wikipedia
