While the U.S. technically does not have an official language, it is difficult to get by without speaking English and it’s almost impossible to thrive. I recently reported on an organization in Ithaca that combats this challenge by offering adult English classes, but it is just as important to reduce the need for English fluency.
English is a necessity here because nearly everything is in English, and translation services are rarely offered. The U.S. has been known as the “melting pot” where people come seeking opportunities and bring their culture with them, but for many, they are forced to leave behind large parts of their cultural identity when they arrive in the U.S. including their native language.
Immigration activists are encouraging opportunities for language preservation because:
Being multilingual expands job opportunities and improves cognitive function.
A lack of language accessibility limits immigrants’ contributions to the country.
Language is vital to people’s connection to their culture and family.
Studies show that multilingualism, speaking two or more languages, helps prevent cognitive decline resulting from aging, increase job opportunities, improve the quality of work produced, and enhance language acquisition among infants.
Research suggests practicing more than one language may delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms for up to five years, and similar results have been found in dementia cases.
In an article in the U.S. National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information, authors Judith Kroll and Paola Dussias write, "No known pharmaceutical agent has any effect that comes close to bilingualism."
Along with providing economic benefits to individuals through expanded job opportunities, countries that encourage multilingualism have more innovative economies and increased exports.
The other side of this is the loss of GDP seen in countries that promote monolingualism. Research suggests that one in six businesses in the U.S. lose business because of language inaccessibility.
Despite the benefits of multilingualism that have been proven on an individual and national scale, only 16.9% of people in the U.S. speak more than one language as of 2018. This is significantly lower that the estimated 60–75% of people worldwide who speak more than one language.
An article by Cara Triebold published in Forbes & Fifth from the University of Pittsburgh explains that immigrants who stop practicing their native language often do not pass on their primary language to their children.
“Today, due to the great emphasis on assimilation into the United States’ English-speaking culture, children of various minorities are not only losing fluency, but also their ability to speak in their native language, at all.”
This leaves many second-generation immigrants feeling disconnected from their heritage and their family, and they effectively assimilate into U.S. culture. Assimilation is often viewed as a positive outcome of immigration, however it is important that people acknowledge the culture, history, and personal identity that is lost in assimilation.