Language In America
...new languages and what languages are most learned. Included are
the characteristics of languages , the endangerment of some languages and the popularity
of others. A discussion will also take place regarding vocabulary and jargon. Language
in America is the make-up of our country. The reason why I am proud to be an
American.
The first and only universal language that started in America was Indian sign
language. “There is evidence that sign language evolved before speech, as the language
and manual dexterity centres sit next to one another in the brain.” (Oldfield &
Mitchinson, p. 8). One must wonder how our language came about; myself included.
Although the information about how spoken language evolved was not included in my
study American language today is very interesting in its attributes.
America does not have an official language, but the majority of the population
speaks English. The variety in North America that is spoken is known as American
English. The majority of Americans are also monolingual but this trend is changing.
According to a 2002 survey by the Modern Language Association, “more college
students in the U.S. are studying languages than ever before”. Although Spanish
continues to be the most widely taught language at American colleges since 1970,
enrollments in other languages, such as French, German, Italian, Japanese and Chinese
have grown.
The learning of foreign languages has grown in light of the fact that only 5.6% of
the world’s total population speaks English as a secondary language. One who would
have an interest in competing in the global market may find it less difficult if the
language of that country is spoken well. Statistics show that the interest in Italian and
Hebrew are of exceptional interest overall in America, while...
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