Monolingualism Case

Monolingualism

America is a diverse country that consists of people from all over the world. America is known as the "melting-pot" of immigrants who have left their homeland to find freedom in this land of opportunity. Therefore, it was hard enough for the immigrants to leave behind their motherland and now feel obligated to practice monolingualism. These immigrants brought with them their history of culture through their native language in hopes of passing it on to their descendents. Consequently, monolingualism has become an enormous threat to the many immigrants currently residing in America. The article "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" by Richard Rodriguez narrates a story of a Hispanic boy who felt the need to let go of his native language in order to develop a new identity and feel socially accepted. Richard Rodriguez deemed that Spanish should be spoken privately in his home and English as public. Likewise to Rodriguez story, "Tongue-Tied" by Maxine Kingston discusses a story of a Chinese girl who was afraid to speak up in an American school. Monolingualism may be beneficial but it has caused much inner pain to minorities. Thus, monoligualism should not be practice in schools because immigrants will lose their identity and culture because it is tied to their language as a result of being accepted in the American society.

Rodriguez was born to Mexican immigrants and lived in America. At a young age, he preceded to attend a Roman Catholic school. He would love to be at home because he felt the sense of belonging because he and his family spoke a familiar language, Spanish. At the time, he felt Spanish was a private language that was spoken at home and brought him closer to his family. He would rarely leave his home and felt awkward and shy outside his home because he never felt he belong in public with his "broken" English. Then one day his teachers made a visit to his home and encouraged his parents to speak English to him at home as a means to improve his English. Since the day he had a visit from his teachers, he became accustomed to the English language through the encouragement of his parents to speak this gringo language at home. Richard recalls, "Only then did I determine to learn classroom English. Weeks after, it happened: One day in school I raised my hand to volunteer an answer; I spoke out in a loud voice. And I did not think it remarkable when the entire class understood...The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold" (Rodriguez 335). This shows that Richard had gotten comfortable with the English language and is beginning to take on this new identity. He states, "But the special feeling of closeness at home was diminished by then...We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness" (Rodriguez 335). In stating this, Richard lost his sense of closeness that he shares with his family because they no longer speak the same familiar language at home which brought them together in the beginning. Rodriguez recalls, "Pocho then they called me. Sometimes playfully, teasingly, using the tender diminutive-mi pochito. Sometimes not so playfully, mockingly, Pocho...Pocho! The lady in the Mexican food store muttered, shaking her head" (Rodriguez 340). This shows how the Mexican lady felt Richard was a disgrace for taking on a new identity by abandoning his native language. Although monolingualism

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