America: The Monolingual Diaspora
America is a bubble. Although it is one of the most diverse countries in the world, it is also one of the most ignorant. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 79.9% of those born in the US only speak their mother tongue, English, in comparison to Europeans, of whom 56% speak a second language fluently. Despite English being a “universal language”, one that is spoken all around the globe mostly for business purposes, what is stopping the American population from learning other countries’ dialects? Spanish has become the unofficial second language of the US, primarily because of immigration which allows many people to speak their native tongue at home and English in society, but this surge in bilingualism is of no thanks to the American schooling system.
Beyond languages, Americans are generally very proud of their country, which in theory the concept of strong nationalism should be a good thing, but this often leads to an aversion from anything different than the acceptable and “normal” ways of life. 46% of Americans have only traveled to one or fewer countries besides the US in their lifetime, according to the Pew Research Center, and although this number should be viewed alongside other confounding factors such as monetary obstacles, it shows an overall disinterest in the world beyond the comfortable bubble that is the United States. Studying a second foreign language for at least one year is compulsory in more than 20 countries and in most European countries, students begin studying their first foreign language as a required school subject between the ages of 6 and 9. What is stopping us from doing the same? American education systems should incorporate global awareness into their curriculum and stress its importance to their students, through teaching languages all throughout primary schooling and hosting culture immersion programs. If we do not catch up to other countries soon, America will become significantly behind the rest of the world in terms of knowledge and respectability, dissolving the illusion of its “we’re number one!” mentality.
Growing up, I had somewhat of an unconventional childhood for a white girl from California. My parents both worked and were never home, so I was practically raised by my best friend, Dahye, and her family from South Korea. I became accustomed to some of her family’s ways of life, such as taking my shoes off at the door, not liking my desserts too sweet, and preferring to share multiple dishes rather than have a meal of my own. I also picked up some Korean while I was in elementary school, through school classes and by practicing with Dahye. This is where my interest for languages really began.
I also had the opportunity to live in Italy for a few months, in a small neighborhood called Parioli on the outskirts of Rome. Although I speak Italian fairly well and my mom’s side of the family is from Sicily, locals were still shocked when I spoke to them in their language and understood their cultural customs because, despite my heritage, I was still labeled as a “dumb American”. When I would go into corner shops or mom-and-pops restaurants, the owners would call me “la ragazza americana” and proceed to speak to me in English, despite my insistence to practice my Italian, because of this inherent bias they have towards Americans.
Yet, this bias is not their fault; they are not trying to be prejudiced in any way, rather this is just what they have gathered from their experiences interacting with other American people. They have been expected in the past to speak English with Americans, whether they are in their home country or not, and if they do not, they will potentially face adversity or lose business. Upon coming back to the United States, I believed those in my generation were different and that we would be more interested and aware of the world around us.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. For high school, I moved to Newport Beach, California, also known as one of the least diverse towns ever. Despite being so close to Irvine and Santa Ana, places where other cultures are prevalent, no one in my high school class had ever tried food outside of what they are used to and only took Spanish 1 because the school forced them to. I was surprised that my peers were so uninterested in learning about the world, so stuck in their safe environment and not willing to branch out of it. I could not help but think how boring of an existence that would be, to live in a way so that the only thing you ever see is what you already know, never discovering something new. After this experience, I decided to find out if other students have gone through similar situations, where they either felt hidden or disrespected because of their culture, or simply were flabbergasted by the ignorant behaviors of those around them.
I conducted a survey with USC students to examine their multicultural experience, in and out of the United States, and the results were somewhat predictable. Out of all the respondents who had only lived in the US their entire lives, 57% only speak one language, and the ones that speak two or more languages were taught by their families or are spoken at home. Whereas in comparison, every single respondent who had lived in another country besides the US for at least a year spoke at least two languages. I asked a question about if respondents felt strange or different in American society because of their culture, and all of the people that have spent time in another country responded yes.
50% of people said that their heritage had a high impact (4 on a 1–5 scale) on how their experience was at American schools.
The most surprising responses came from when I asked what the main hesitation was for Americans to travel abroad or for foreign students to live and work in the US long term. Those born in the US said their main reservation to travel is the language barrier and cultural differences, while foreign students said they feel out of place and do not blend into American society, so they would be unable to adapt to US corporate culture since it is not very accepting. Given my personal experiences interacting with Americans and their lack of awareness, these results did not surprise me in the slightest and also demonstrate that a change is necessary, more now than ever before.
Why is it a necessity to speak only English in the United States in order to assimilate into society? This answer is simple — Americans do not speak other languages. In other countries we assume everyone speaks English and when people come here, we also assume they speak English, which comes off as entitled or as having a superiority complex, and understandably so. Many children of immigrants also lose the ability to speak their native language because they are forced to Americanize themselves to be accepted.
Ultimately these elements of society demonstrate how the American education system is ineffective which results in Americans being behind compared to the rest of the world in terms of global awareness. This often makes Americans the joke of other countries since they are so ignorant, which could limit job opportunities especially at international companies if they are not taken seriously and are unaware of the cultural differences.
According to the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers, a quarter of U.S. employers are losing business because of a lack of foreign language proficiency.
With the majority of the world’s consumers living outside the United States, most unable to speak English, monolingual culture undermines America’s economic standing. One out of every five U.S. jobs depends on global trade, and demand for workers with foreign language skills is only growing, further emphasizing the need for change immediately. Learning the nuances of different languages is so interesting and provides great insights about the culture it aligns with, so it is only natural that every American student should be required to learn a second language, as it is required in practically every other country. If the United States wants to live up to its “we’re number one” legacy, it is time for a shift in focus from the bubble within to the world beyond.
WP1 Works Cited
Altschuler, Glenn C. “Remaining Monolingual Is a Surefire Way for America to Fall Behind.” The Hill, The Hill, 14 May 2022, thehill.com/opinion/education/3488666-remaining-monolingual-is-a-surefire-way-for-america-to-fall-behind/.
American Academy, Arts and Sciences. “The State of Languages in the U.S: A Statistical Portrait.” State of Languages in the US, 2013, www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/academy/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/State-of-Languages-in-US.pdf?ref=lazo-letters.
Devlin, Kat. “Learning a Foreign Language a ‘must’ in Europe, Not so in America.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 13 July 2015, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/07/13/learning-a-foreign-language-a-must-in-europe-not-so-in-america/.
Harrington, Katie. “USC Student American Experience Survey — WP1.” Google Forms, 30 Aug. 2023.
Silver, Laura. “Most Americans Have Traveled Abroad, Although Differences among Demographic Groups Are Large.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 12 Aug. 2021, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/12/most-americans-have-traveled-abroad-although-differences-among-demographic-groups-are-large/.
