UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: LINGUISTIC SITUATION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Language situation in the USA The United States has no official language. English is the language of government, international relations and the main language of the media, education and public life. Some states declared English as their sole official language because of an increasing threat from minority language groups.

Historical Background How did Spanish get into USA? Many years of immigration and settlement of people from all over the world. Although English is the first and only language of the majority of the population, there is a great ethnic and linguistic variety within the United States.

Interesting facts In 1990,14 percent of the population of US residents reported speaking a language other than English at home. After English, Spanish was the language most spoken. In 1995 close to one in 10 of the population were of Hispanic origin. In 1994, immigration accounted for 30% of the increase in the US population.

Spanish speakers in the US

“Those who don't speak Spanish may be left behind” “Those who don't speak Spanish may be left behind”. (By Deborah Sharp, USA TODAY) “With the surge over the past decade in the Hispanic population in the United States, speaking Spanish is becoming more of a necessity than a choice in many parts of the country”. “Americans are scrambling to learn a language that is now spoken by many of the 35.3 million Hispanics in the United States”.

“Hard to ignore” “It's increasingly difficult to ignore the spread of Spanish in the United States. Bank ATMs offer instructions in Spanish. The Yellow Pages in many cities adds a Spanish-language insert. And Spanish is working its way into everyday use”. From magazines to music, Spanish-language media have exploded. Radio stations more than doubled in the last decade, Broadcast TV stations jumped 70%, according to industry estimates. Even so, parents are increasingly urging their children to study Spanish. Spanish class sign-ups have soared more than 90% since the 1970s.

Does this shift also afect Paraguay somehow? Paraguay is also receiving a lot of cultural exchange with USA. Media, big food enterprises, music. Technology: easily have access to meeting people with different culture.

Reflective point Language is the only phenomenon that concerns to every person and is constantly changing for many different reasons. Language change afects every aspect of people’s life: culture, politics, merchandising, social relations… Positive attitude toward the constant changes in language .

References BRAVENET.COM (En línea) Bilingual Education: http://www2.uni- wuppertal.de/FB4/anglistik/multhaup/bilingual_teachin g_canada_usa/html/usa1.html DEBORAH SHARP (En línea) Those who don't speak Spanish may be left behind: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001-05- 09-spanish-usat.htm#more YOUTUBE (En línea) The United States of Hispanic America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzdyfuaEb2I&featu re=related

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