Changing nature of language in the us
- 1. Changing Language Characteristics of the U.S. Ryan Vannier EDH 650 Feb. 26th, 2017
- 2. US Native Language Distribution 2016 The top three languages are English (231,122,908 native speakers), Spanish (37,458,470 speakers), and the Chinese Languages (includes Cantonese, Mandarine, etc., 2,896,766 speakers). http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-most-spoken-languages-in- america.html
- 3. US Native Language Distribution Through Time In 1980, the five most commonly spoken languages other than English were Spanish, Italian, German, French, and Polish. SOURCE: Decennial censuses 1980-2000 and 2010 ACS 1- year estimates. https://www.census.gov/dat aviz/visualizations/045/
- 4. Changing relationship with English, both domestic and abroad. • According to a 2011 paper** by U.S. Census Bureau Demographers Jennifer Ortman and Hyon B. Shin, the number of Spanish speakers is projected to rise through 2020 to anywhere between 39 million and 43 million, depending on the assumption one makes about immigration. **https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/ac s/Ortman_Shin_ASA2011_paper.pdf “Spanish is not a minority language. Not in this hemisphere, not in the United States, not in the world. So why treat it like one? Why ‘other’ it? ---Author Sonja Burrows See: http://middleburyinteractive.com/blog/spanis h-language-future
- 5. Worldwide, Chinese Dialects are #1 • The Chinese dialects combined already have more native speakers than any other language, followed by Hindi and Urdu. • English comes next with 527 million native speakers. Arabic is spoken by nearly 100 million more native speakers than Spanish, which has 389 million speakers.
- 6. Dwindling Numbers of American Youth Learning Foreign Languages… • The number of American students who learned a language other than English decreased by about 100,000 between 2009 and 2013, according to research by the Modern Language Association. Missing an opportunity! See: Why is it easier for a child to learn a new language than an adult? By Sharon Perkins http://oureverydaylife.com/easier- child-learn-new-language-adult- 15590.html
- 7. This is pointing to a need…. • This implies a strong need for foreign language fluency amongst adults in positions that include interaction with native spanish- speakers (e.g. health care, law enforcement). ….but how do we best educate adults in foreign languages?