Diversified American Culture, Essay Example

The American nation has been recognized as the melting point of different cultures given that it has become a distinct destination of thousands and millions of immigrants from all the different areas of the world. Relatively, it could be understood that somehow that it is because of this fact that the American society is recognized as an amalgamation of the different cultures from around the globe. Considerably, people from both the eastern and western areas are consistently coming into the territories of America; however, even considering the heavy inflow of different individuals from different cultures, it could be realized that the distinct problem on language barrier remains specifically evident.

Language, being the core element of connection among human individuals, plays a great role on the distinct process by which the people are able to survive the challenge of living in a foreign land. The fact is that for some, it could be understood that such issue of language barrier has caused the emergence of distress among individuals. An example is that of the written anecdote of Chang-rae Lee, a Korean immigrant in the United States, who presented the kind of life that she and her mother had to deal with in the American region. In her story, she pointed out how her mother tried to keep her mouth shut instead of speaking to the people in avoidance to lose faith. Being an Asian, it is very natural for Koreans to protect themselves from shame. Instead of losing face, they would rather keep themselves away from the possible chances of losing their face. For Lee’s mother, keeping her mouth shut was a necessary step in making a great impact on how she protects her reputation. This is a common problem among immigrants in the United States who transfer to the country at a later age. They find language barrier as a great hindrance to the manner by which they are able to get the best benefits of being in the country as legalized residents of the country.

Amy Tan supports the claim of Lee in her writing entitled Mother Tongue. Here, she points out that there are different types of Englishes. There are instances that the speaker immediately adjusts with another individual based on the level of English that the listener is able to understand and comprehend to. She pointed out that growing up as a Chinese immigrant in US was not an easy task; It was a relatively grueling task that she felt she needed to survive and as she did, she knew that she had to put forth extra effort to make sure that she is able to learn from the lessons presented to her while also becoming highly engaged in the actual use of the language. Overcoming the desire to just give up on everything was a true challenge to take and she had to make sure that she is able to get past through all these obstacles to survive the life she wants to gain in the US.

Regarding the life accounts of Lee and Tan, William Frey (2002) explains that the capacity of the immigrants to survive the American nation’s challenge on becoming a part of the society is strongly decided upon how they are able to embrace the language of the country. Children who come in the country and learn the language at an earlier age have a greater percentage of surviving the American society. The capacity of the younger generations to grasp language lessons allow them to fully adjust from their original roots towards the new ways of living that they are supposed to get accustomed to specifically gives them better chances of becoming well acquainted to the American culture.

In relation to the written works of Lee, Frey and Tan, it could be understood that language is indeed an important aspect of social survival. Being connected with other individuals is a basic need for survival among humans. Language is commonly used as an establishing element that creates the connection between different individuals in a society. Most of the time, it is the incapacity of immigrants to immediately adjust to the American language and the proper use of it in casual conversations that serves as the largest obstacle that they have to win as they remain in the territories of the American nation. There are instances when some nationalities create their own version of the English language just to be able to survive the challenge. Another aspect of survival that they usually take into consideration is the establishment of their micro-cities within a city or micro-communities within larger communities just to be able to practice their national cultures and bring a bit of their original roots into where they are currently living in. Immigration, although it is not the friendliest process of engaging in a new community, many individuals choose to take the challenge that it offers especially if it is the one that would lead them to realizing the most evident source of their success in realizing their personal dreams. Parents who desire to immigrate in America them subject themselves and their children to the challenge of extensive adjustment especially in relation to the aspect of redefining their use of language in casual and formal conversations.

Although there is an impending problem involving language barrier, it is still expected that the number of immigrants in the United States would continue to rise in the coming years. It is because of this that the American society has already learned to adapt to the situation through offering basic services of language tutoring to social minorities, thus allowing them the chance to specifically embrace everything that the American society has to offer. This way, not only are the members of the immigrant communities able to cope up with their personal issues with language use, they are also given the chance to increase their self-confidence as they try to survive the different challenges of staying in a foreign country and adapting to the life and culture of the locals in the areas that they are residing in. Notably, it could be realized that the communities of immigrants in the United States try their best to remain intact and in control of the situation through creating possible alternative ways by which they can learn the language more effectively and be able to survive in the country more victoriously.