Why not acquire the Italian language?
Learning Spanish has become quite controversial, mainly because of the large number of Spanish speaking immigrant who are entering the U.S. illegally. (as far as we know) in recent year it has jumped drastically. A lot of people insist that if Americans would learn to speak Spanish, it would only worsen the problem of illegal immigration by making it that much easier for them to get by. It is widely believed that if they were made to speak English in order to survive in our culture, the immigration debate would quickly disappear by itself.
Americans are not well schooled on their own language. The fact that English is a fairly universal language has led them on a slow slide into complacency.
Nearly all the other nations on this planet require their school children to learn to speak at least English and the country’s native language; indeed, if you visited a European school, you’d discover that the children spend a lot of time learning not just their native language, but also the languages of their neighboring countries too. rosetta stone italian
This means if you go to France to study, you have to take several language courses to learn how to conversate fluently in French and English, also acquiring a basic knowledge of Italian, German and Spanish to prepare you for a bilingual job in your local town or far away.
Americans have never been required to do so, for the simple fact that English is taught in most foreign countries. Traveling the world they are nearly certain to find someone who speaks English at any business. This means that the practice of learning the language of your neighbors has been cast aside. In order to compete in business with Mexico and Canada, Americans should learn French and Spanish, rather than holding the belief that everyone else should learn English to be able to communicate with America.
Never mind the fact that until very recently, the U.S. lacked an “official” language in the minds of its citizens. The United States is a melting pot, and its original settlers came to her golden shores speaking every language under the sun. Indeed, in many areas of the U.S., this is more than obvious.
The second language of Louisiana is considered to be French, likewise in the South West and Florida Spanish is the other offical language. Throughout much of the mid-west, textbooks were printed in the German language until World War II, when a national disgust with anything German, on the heels of Hitler’s siege of terror, caused these textbooks to be reprinted in English, while the German language gradually was pushed away into oblivion.
In light of the extremely diverse linguistic history that the people of the United States enjoy, it is difficult to understand precisely where their objection to the presence of the Spanish language “from sea to shining sea” evolves from.