Immigrants Infuse English Language with Dynamism

Another story proving English is not in any danger of being replaced here. DP

Hispanics, Asians are reinvigorating English, professor says

By Carolee Walker, USINFO Staff Writer

usinfo.state.gov: Washington – English is a living, dynamic language that is invigorated by new speakers, including foreign students, tourists and immigrants, says cultural critic Ilan Stavans.

Even native English speakers never use the exact same language, Stavans said in a USINFO Webchat August 20. “As the language changes, often as a result of newcomers, so do its speakers.”

For example, the mixing of Chinese and English, Korean and English, Japanese and English, and Vietnamese and English are worldwide phenomena, Stavans said. Within the United States, Asian immigrants are using English as their language of communication while also infusing it with their own linguistic attributes. Stavans predicts that English in the late 21st century will borrow from the constellation of Asian languages in unforeseen ways.

“It is a mistake to think of the English taught in the classroom as divorced from the living English, the one heard on the street, in restaurants, on TV and music,” according to Stavans. Teachers should introduce students, even beginners, to the wide array of possibilities of a language, he added. “In a multiethnic society like ours, it is important to use different linguistic varieties as education tools.”

Spanglish is a hybrid form of English and Spanish especially popular among young people, and one of the most striking ways language evolves in response to immigration and globalization, according to Stavans.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.