As a country built by immigrants, the U.S. is a melting pot of cultures. South Florida, specifically, is one of the most diverse regions of the country, home to people from all across Latin and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. As a result, many South Florida residents are multilingual, speaking more than just English – which isn’t even the United States’ official language, as the country doesn’t actually have one given the way in which it was founded, but I digress. In any event, why, then, do some people feel the need to say, “speak English” when they overhear someone speaking Spanish, or any other language, in public?
Firstly, no one should feel the need to comment on the language I’m speaking if I’m not speaking directly to them. If I’m on the phone with my mother, I should be able to speak to her in Spanish without some stranger outside of the conversation commenting on the language I’m using.
That being said, I understand some people’s frustrations with migrants not being able to speak English after living here for an extended period. If I move to Germany or France, I should learn the language. However, I shouldn’t be expected to be fluent in it as soon as I arrive, and no one who has recently moved here from a foreign country should be expected to know English immediately either.
Criticizing people for speaking a different language discourages them from wanting to speak it, which eventually puts them at a disadvantage. In turn, second and third generation Americans are criticized by their own cultures for not being able to speak their languages well. In 2015, Gina Rodriguez, star of the show “Jane the Virgin,” was criticized for “not being Latina enough” because she doesn’t speak Spanish very well. In response, Rodriguez said, “My parents specifically were terrified of us [their children] having accents because they were made fun of their whole lives for [their] accents, so they wanted to assimilate us into a culture that wouldn’t right away put up their guard against us because of our accents. They chose to only speak English in the house.”
These criticisms create a vicious cycle in which Latino-Americans, or any other foreign Americans, are criticized by both Americans and their respective cultures. It seems impossible to win, as either they are criticized for not speaking English or not speaking their respective languages. It can create confusion, insecurity and self-doubt for many multicultural people. Instead of criticizing anyone for speaking another language, we should celebrate and respect the diversity in our region. Also, we should mind our own business and stop worrying about how anyone speaks when they’re not speaking directly to us.
