DN Column March 3, 2010: U.S. Citizens Should Become Bilingual

Coming to Spain to learn Spanish was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’m learning quickly, though it’s still frustrating. But I can communicate pretty much everything I need to. I’ve even gotten my hair dyed, cut and styled here without help from anyone bilingual — and it doesn’t look half bad.

The key is just to jump in and try. I say the wrong thing all the time, but people don’t care because I’m trying to learn, and I’m usually fairly close to whatever it is I’m trying to say. At any rate, you don’t learn unless you practice. So I’m practicing as much as possible.

I figured I’d better start learning Spanish now or I’d never do it. Becoming fluent in Spanish is one of my life goals. I have a lot of life goals, of which some seem more attainable than others. Speaking Spanish is one goal that shouldn’t be overly difficult to work toward, even if it takes me forever.

Being able to speak Spanish is also a matter of practicality. In a country such as the United States where there is no national language, it is important that we learn how to communicate with a variety of people.

I’m referring, of course, to the vast immigrant community from Latin America that grows larger every year. The reasons for immigrating are numerous, which include everything from escaping poverty to getting a higher education. But the reasons are unimportant. The fact is, the United States is quickly becoming a bilingual nation, and we need to adapt with it.

I have probably heard every excuse possible about why Spanish speakers should learn English when they move to the United States, and why English speakers in the United States have no reason to learn Spanish. But when it really gets down to it, it’s not about which language was “here first” or which language is used by the government. It’s about which languages will help us to productively lead our everyday lives.

Spanish is, of course, not the only language used widely throughout the United States. But it is the most widely used outside of English, as well as the fastest growing. In 2007 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that more than 34.5 million spoke Spanish at home. That’s about 12 percent of the population, and the number is expected to rise at a dramatic rate as more immigrants of Hispanic and Latino ancestry move to the United States.

Spanish is spoken by approximately 500 million people worldwide and is the fourth most spoken language in the world, according to a language-learning software company, Rosetta Stone. It’s statistics like these that make me realize that learning Spanish isn’t just a life goal for me, it’s a necessity.

If Americans want to maintain any level of competitiveness in the world, we need to study languages other than English. Spanish happens to be widely used in the United States and around the world right now, but it isn’t the only language worth learning. In fact, the most widely used language in the world is Chinese — a language most Americans cannot speak.

But the point is not that we need to learn every language. Rather, the point is that English is no longer the language of choice around the world, and the world is smaller than ever. While speaking English is important and has many advantages, choosing a second, and even a third, language is more valuable than being fluent in only one.

The rest of the world gets it. In industrialized countries, and even some nations that are still developing, learning a second language is mandatory from a very young age. Last summer I visited China, for example, and spoke to 6-year-olds who were fluent in English. They might come along on the global job market about 15 years after me, but they are going to be some major competition.

So if Americans are at all interested in staying competitive within the job market, we need to become bilingual. It isn’t about immigration, and it doesn’t matter how you feel about immigration. It’s about the future of our economy, our political alliances and our lives.

Not learning a second language is just another form of laziness. If you don’t want to be able to communicate with countless other people, go ahead and forget about becoming bilingual. If you don’t want to get a good job in a variety of fields, don’t take language classes.

If we continue to expect others to conform to our needs, we are going to get left behind. The rest of the world is moving ahead, and it’s time for us to, also. ¡Vaminos!

Sarah Melecki is a senior Political Science major. Reach her at sarahmelecki@
dailynebraskan.com.