Liliana C. Melo
Professor Janet Storti
English 101.5767
Paper No. 2 Draft No. 2
October 17, 2006
Ways to Keep Languages
What do “bilingualism” and “multilingualism” mean? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
bilingualism means: the ability to speak two languages, the frequent use (as by a community) of two
languages, and the political or institutional recognition of two languages. And, multilingualism means the
ability to speak more than two languages; proficiency in many languages. To me, bilingualism and
multilingualism mean more than this. It means the opportunity to live between two cultures and strengthen
the creative thinking and sensibility. In fact, the language you speak is closely bound up with your sense of
identity, and how you view the world. But what is the path to follow to keep a native language or set a new
language? The journal, The Nomads of Language, written by Ariel Dorfman, he discusses the impact of
migration on language, the origin of bilingualism and the importance of language in our humanity. Dorfman
explains that “migrants have wavered between extremes that promise to resolve and even abolish this
fragmented, anguished condition from the beginning of the history” (2). As a result, Dorfman gives us an
explanation about two strategies to protect and keep the language as a part of our identity: assimilation and
rejection. In the same way, he brings the advantages of being bilingual or multilingual.
First, one strategy is assimilation: the migrant tries to find to become an integral part of the new
society. The migrant tries to forget or hide his mother tongue, wants to shadow his accent, and cuts his
past (Dorfman 2). In fact, I have noticed that some of my compatriots try to hide their accent when they
speak English because they feel that their mother tongue does not have value. I say that because one day,
I saw a Colombian man in Madison Square Garden trying to hide his Spanish. He was with his family and
speaking English but his accent and pronunciation made him misunderstood by his family. He got mad
when his son told to him that it was better to speak Spanish. This man said that he was not going to speak
Spanish because speaking Spanish was a bad thing in this country and nobody would respect them. I
though about how mistaken this man was, concluding it was not the correct way to assimilate a new
language. He was destroying his past and roots. As a result, the assimilation offers: “the dream that this full
status in the new society will materialize through his children or, eventually, his grandchildren, so that some
far-off offspring will overcome the curse of a bilingual, duplicated existence” (Dorfman 2).
Secondly, strategy rejection: it is the opposite of assimilation. Dorfman explains that rejectionist
strategy is the refusal to learn more than a few words of the host country's language. People’s faces and
hearts nostalgically fix on their native country, and their tongues repeat expressions from their mother
tongue in order to feel home (2). In fact, we can affirm that the rejection is more lived by people who have
been banished from their country for any social, religious and political problems. So they feel that they have
to compromise to keep their own language because they will go back to their land one day. For example, I
have had experiences of rejection through my English learning because I think that I may be disloyal and
false toward my land, my family, my ethnicity, and my personal identity. But finally, I have learned to
balance my feelings and opportunities. As a result, I also support that rejection brings: “a tactic of cultural
survival that holds on to the native language as a pure and intact entity, a bridge, a down payment on that
ticket home” (3).
I understand the importance to protect the purity of the languages; however, I think in the same
way, which Dorfman does, bilingualism or multilingualism offers many advantages for us. I feel that by
having two languages or more, people can take everything that they want to. By speaking two languages or
more, you can open the door to other cultures and help to understand and appreciate people from other
countries; have a positive effect on intellectual growth through knowing new cultures and people; increase
your job opportunities, particularly, when your country has multinational companies; enrich and enhance
your mental development, feel greater sensitivity toward your native language; and know the new
technologies. To me, having the opportunity to speak two languages (Spanish and English), I would like to
adapt the good aspects of both in order to improve and strengthen my knowledge and personal identity.
According to Dorfman, assimilation and rejection represent the two extremes of the monolingualism
Assimilation is the more powerful, influential and effective. However, both are the alternatives that a country
has in order to keep the love for its geography, flag, and hymn among its people, and identify the country
as a nation with a language as a protection against foreign contamination. By being bilingual or multilingual,
it may be possible that their first language lost place in family relationships and the crises of self-image and
cultural identity, and the people may be worried by the uncertainty of their own identity because they are
unable to identify themselves with either their home language, culture, or the dominant new culture.
Languages not only inspire loyalty, they also provoke fear, jealousy, love, admiration, and joy. However,
bilingualism or multilingualism offers many advantages to the people. Being bilingual or multilingual can
make you feel at home in any social situation and can give you two different points of looking at the things.
Works Cited
Dorfman, Ariel. “The Nomads of Language”. American Scholar Winter 2002: Vol. 71 Issue 1, p89, 6p