Will the US become bilingual?

[Glorious KASSRD]

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2 ... ual-nation
http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censussta ... gnlang.htm

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Spanish speaking immigrants enter the US, adding to the tens of millions of Spanish speakers currently living in America. The rate shows no sign of stopping, and the immigrant birthrate is higher than that of English speaking Americans. All of this adds up to a large and growing Spanish minority in the USA.
My question to Nationstates is, what is the future of the USA in the matter of being bilingual? Will the US become bilingual in English and Spanish, or will the Spanish speaking population die out? Is there any chance of a language other than English and Spanish becoming significant in the USA? And if the US becomes bilingual, how soon? Finally, would bilingualism/multilingualism be good or bad for the US?
I think that the US will eventually become bilingual in English and Spanish, although Spanish will not reach the same level as English. Other than areas like Louisiana and Navaja Nation, I think it is unlikely another language will be of great domestic importance. I think bilingualism will be good, and happen sometime within the next half century.

[Luziyca]

The United States has no official language as a whole, so technically, it is not even officially monolingual on the federal level (they tried to make it bilingual in the 1790s IIRC, but with English and German). Thus, the whole point is moot.

[Prussia-Steinbach]

Isn't it already? We don't even have an official language and Spanish is so commonly taught you'd think it'd count by now.

[Jute]

The United States has no official language as a whole, so technically, it is not even officially monolingual on the federal level (they tried to make it bilingual in the 1790s IIRC, but with English and German). Thus, the whole point is moot.

It could become bilingual in the sense that Spanish becomes mandatory in schools, for example

[GreatLitva]

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-13/americans-already-live-in-a-bilingual-nation
http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censussta ... gnlang.htm

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Spanish speaking immigrants enter the US, adding to the tens of millions of Spanish speakers currently living in America. The rate shows no sign of stopping, and the immigrant birthrate is higher than that of English speaking Americans. All of this adds up to a large and growing Spanish minority in the USA.
My question to Nationstates is, what is the future of the USA in the matter of being bilingual? Will the US become bilingual in English and Spanish, or will the Spanish speaking population die out? Is there any chance of a language other than English and Spanish becoming significant in the USA? And if the US becomes bilingual, how soon? Finally, would bilingualism/multilingualism be good or bad for the US?

Louisiana ´d have French as the state language for sure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_French

[Nazi Flower Power]

I don't see any reason to think they won't learn English and assimilate.

Some areas of the US have always had more of a Spanish influence than others, and there might be areas where Spanish sticks around for a long time, same as German and French and Chinese have stuck around in some places -- but I don't think Spanish is ever going to be as widely spoken or as important as English.

Immigration and multilingualism is nothing new. In the American Civil War, there were whole units made up of European immigrants that didn't necessarily know English, especially Germans. Because of the decentralized way troops were recruited, it wasn't that hard for immigrants to go through their community recruiting others of the same nationality, and as long as they had a commanding officer that knew English enough to communicate with the people higher up, the ordinary soldiers didn't need to speak English.

[Nazi Flower Power]

The United States has no official language as a whole, so technically, it is not even officially monolingual on the federal level (they tried to make it bilingual in the 1790s IIRC, but with English and German). Thus, the whole point is moot.

It could become bilingual in the sense that Spanish becomes mandatory in schools, for example

In New England, that would be moronic. There is a border with Quebec, and making Spanish mandatory takes away from time that people could be using to learn other foreign languages.

[Diopolis]

Depends on where. The southwest will probably become totally bilingual in the near future, and arguably is already bilingual.

[The Conez Imperium]

You mean America will finally learn English than their creolish English?

It's likely that America will still remain monolingual (American English), I doubt Americans will be willing to learn a 2nd language.

[Nazi Flower Power]

You mean America will finally learn English than their creolish English?

It's likely that America will still remain monolingual (American English), I doubt Americans will be willing to learn a 2nd language.

Even for those of us who do like languages, there's no reason that everyone's 2nd language should be the same one. We already have English as a common language to communicate with other Americans, so we don't need a 2nd language for that. The purpose of learning a 2nd language would be to do international business, for immigrants to preserve a part of their ethnic identity, or to explore another culture. International business and immigrants don't all come from the same place and not everyone is curious about the same foreign cultures, so there is no reason why everyone should learn the same language.

[Valrifell]

Give it a few generations, similar thing happened to the Germans in Pennsylvania. You cannot go through an American education system and not learn English in the process or as a mandate.

[Kiribati-Tarawa]

I don't see any reason to think they won't learn English and assimilate.

Some areas of the US have always had more of a Spanish influence than others, and there might be areas where Spanish sticks around for a long time, same as German and French and Chinese have stuck around in some places -- but I don't think Spanish is ever going to be as widely spoken or as important as English.

Immigration and multilingualism is nothing new. In the American Civil War, there were whole units made up of European immigrants that didn't necessarily know English, especially Germans. Because of the decentralized way troops were recruited, it wasn't that hard for immigrants to go through their community recruiting others of the same nationality, and as long as they had a commanding officer that knew English enough to communicate with the people higher up, the ordinary soldiers didn't need to speak English.

I hate to agree with "Nazi Flower Power," but I'm afraid I must in this case. The children of immigrants will almost always assimilate into their new country, culture, and language, whether it's the US or Bangladesh. It's simply the natural way things happen.

[Nazi Flower Power]

I don't see any reason to think they won't learn English and assimilate.

Some areas of the US have always had more of a Spanish influence than others, and there might be areas where Spanish sticks around for a long time, same as German and French and Chinese have stuck around in some places -- but I don't think Spanish is ever going to be as widely spoken or as important as English.

Immigration and multilingualism is nothing new. In the American Civil War, there were whole units made up of European immigrants that didn't necessarily know English, especially Germans. Because of the decentralized way troops were recruited, it wasn't that hard for immigrants to go through their community recruiting others of the same nationality, and as long as they had a commanding officer that knew English enough to communicate with the people higher up, the ordinary soldiers didn't need to speak English.

I hate to agree with "Nazi Flower Power," but I'm afraid I must in this case. The children of immigrants will almost always assimilate into their new country, culture, and language, whether it's the US or Bangladesh. It's simply the natural way things happen.

You have a problem with flower power?

[Kiribati-Tarawa]

I hate to agree with "Nazi Flower Power," but I'm afraid I must in this case. The children of immigrants will almost always assimilate into their new country, culture, and language, whether it's the US or Bangladesh. It's simply the natural way things happen.

You have a problem with flower power?

It's rather a joke - I'm assuming you're not really a Nazi

[The Conez Imperium]

You mean America will finally learn English than their creolish English?

It's likely that America will still remain monolingual (American English), I doubt Americans will be willing to learn a 2nd language.

Even for those of us who do like languages, there's no reason that everyone's 2nd language should be the same one. We already have English as a common language to communicate with other Americans, so we don't need a 2nd language for that. The purpose of learning a 2nd language would be to do international business, for immigrants to preserve a part of their ethnic identity, or to explore another culture. International business and immigrants don't all come from the same place and not everyone is curious about the same foreign cultures, so there is no reason why everyone should learn the same language.

That's an interesting thought. Most langauges taught at school are likely

A) French
B) German
C) Spanish
D) Mandarin

[Boomhaueristan]

I have no intention of learning Spanish, I speak English and Italian fluently; with a bit of Pennsylvania Dutch from my last job.

Spanish was probably one of the few classes I nearly failed, and I never took another year of it. It has its value though.

[Nazi Flower Power]

You have a problem with flower power?

It's rather a joke - I'm assuming you're not really a Nazi

No, I'm not a Nazi. If I am going to participate in a racist authoritarian douchebag's cult of personality, it will be William Tecumseh Sherman, not Adolf Hitler. I prefer douchebags that respect the law and have working brains.

[Nazi Flower Power]

Even for those of us who do like languages, there's no reason that everyone's 2nd language should be the same one. We already have English as a common language to communicate with other Americans, so we don't need a 2nd language for that. The purpose of learning a 2nd language would be to do international business, for immigrants to preserve a part of their ethnic identity, or to explore another culture. International business and immigrants don't all come from the same place and not everyone is curious about the same foreign cultures, so there is no reason why everyone should learn the same language.

That's an interesting thought. Most langauges taught at school are likely

A) French
B) German
C) Spanish
D) Mandarin

Sounds about right. My high school offered French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Latin. It's not that uncommon to find German, though.

[Rio Cana]

English will have a hard time competing with this.

Somewhere in California or Texas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOUhyvKWT5E

[Dakini]

The USA does not have an official language, I don't see why it would suddenly adopt two. Individual states have official languages and some of them are bilingual, though.

Granted, I think it would be nice if all students were required to learn a second language because learning an additional language is a rewarding and worthwhile experience.

[Errades]

I don't think Spanish will ever come close to English in the United States; the children and grandchildren of immigrants often lose their language, Spanish, and become monolingual English-speakers perhaps with a few Spanish words thrown in to communicate with their parents and grandparents in a bizarre mélange of both languages with a scandalous amount of Anglicisms. In fact, I know of [typically lower-class] immigrant families who think it is “more American” to have monolingual children; it's a status symbol for them!

[Errades]

I have no intention of learning Spanish, I speak English and Italian fluently; with a bit of Pennsylvania Dutch from my last job.

Spanish was probably one of the few classes I nearly failed, and I never took another year of it. It has its value though.

How do you nearly fail Spanish while being fluent in Italian?

[Pandeeria]

That's an interesting thought. Most langauges taught at school are likely

A) French
B) German
C) Spanish
D) Mandarin

Sounds about right. My high school offered French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Latin. It's not that uncommon to find German, though.

My high school literally only offered Spanish and French. It once actually offered Russian oddly enough, but it ditched that.

[New haven america]

Even for those of us who do like languages, there's no reason that everyone's 2nd language should be the same one. We already have English as a common language to communicate with other Americans, so we don't need a 2nd language for that. The purpose of learning a 2nd language would be to do international business, for immigrants to preserve a part of their ethnic identity, or to explore another culture. International business and immigrants don't all come from the same place and not everyone is curious about the same foreign cultures, so there is no reason why everyone should learn the same language.

That's an interesting thought. Most langauges taught at school are likely

A) French
B) German
C) Spanish
D) Mandarin

Some even have Japanese.

[Pandeeria]

Granted, I think it would be nice if all students were required to learn a second language because learning an additional language is a rewarding and worthwhile experience.

Not to everyone.