Oral Presentations
Location
Schewel Hall Room 231
Access Type
Event
Event Website
http://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/red-letter-day/student-scholar-showcase/
Entry Number
120
Start Date
4-6-2016 10:45 AM
End Date
4-6-2016 11:00 AM
Abstract
The United States of America consists of over 300 million people, and 30% of those citizens speak a language other than English at home. English is the most common language spoken in the US, with Spanish as the second most common. With over 60 million bilingual citizens in the US, the percentage of non-English speakers has almost doubled since the 1980’s, giving the U.S. their “melting pot” persona with the inclusion of Chinese, Korean, French, and various other languages becoming prominent in American culture. So why is it that a nation that has formed their identity of being a diverse, intermarriage of cultures, has such a strong desire to eradicate this major key to their identity? Although languages other than English play a major role in the country, there is still a push to mandate English as the official language of the US, a decree that would intentionally hurt and target tens of millions of bilingual and non-English speaking Americans. This campaign of making English the official Language of the United States has coined the name “English-Only”, and is a movement that reinforces racism and anti-immigration in this country.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Leslie S. Layne
Check "Yes" For Racism
Schewel Hall Room 231
The United States of America consists of over 300 million people, and 30% of those citizens speak a language other than English at home. English is the most common language spoken in the US, with Spanish as the second most common. With over 60 million bilingual citizens in the US, the percentage of non-English speakers has almost doubled since the 1980’s, giving the U.S. their “melting pot” persona with the inclusion of Chinese, Korean, French, and various other languages becoming prominent in American culture. So why is it that a nation that has formed their identity of being a diverse, intermarriage of cultures, has such a strong desire to eradicate this major key to their identity? Although languages other than English play a major role in the country, there is still a push to mandate English as the official language of the US, a decree that would intentionally hurt and target tens of millions of bilingual and non-English speaking Americans. This campaign of making English the official Language of the United States has coined the name “English-Only”, and is a movement that reinforces racism and anti-immigration in this country.
https://digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/studentshowcase/2016/Presentations/21