Multilingualism in Maryland

"American Community Survey." Summary File: Data & Documentation & U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau, 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.<https://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/summary_file/>.

This survey contains specific information regarding the Hispanic population of the United States. It is broken down across states and ethnicities. This survey is specifically helpful in providing context for the communities discussed. To understand exactly what cultures are being affected by language loss and which are maintaining their heritage, it is necessary to know exactly what cultures are being represented. This survey works in conjunction with the document provided by Sharon Ennisthat provides relevant statistical information on a national scale. Together, the two will provide the context necessary to discuss how language and the Hispanic population interact, and whether there is any difference in Maryland specifically, as opposed to the general population, Nation-wide.

Ennis, Sharon, Merarys Rios-Vargas, and Nora G. Albert. "The Hispanic Population: 2010." U.S. Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.<http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf>.

This document provides a wide range of statistical data regarding the Hispanic population in the United States. It reports on the various Spanish subgroups that live in the United States, and where these groups are more or less populous. This article will help describe exactly what variations exist across the nation and what can be revealed about the Hispanic population in Maryland specifically. For example, most states report more Hispanics who identify as Mexican than any other subgroup, but this is not the case for Maryland. The fact that there is not a high concentration of one specific Hispanic subgroup in Maryland may have a lot to do with the fact of language loss in the state. More research about whether or not Maryland does see greater language loss in the Hispanic community as compared to the rest of the country will be necessary, but this document will help to decide this.

Rumbaut, Ruben G., and Douglas S. Massey. "Adios, Moter Tongue." Wilson Quarterly 37.4 (2013): 98-101. Print.

“Adios, Mother Tongue” explains how first-language decay happens. After a family immigrates to the United States, it takes only four generations before the ability to speak the mother tongue disappears. This article brings up the fact that to preserve a native language, there must be a stream of native speakers. Immigration, thus, is important to keeping a language alive in a new country. This article explains that when an immigrant comes to the United States, learning English does not have to happen at the cost of losing one’s native language. The younger a person is, the easier it is to acquire language fluency in both languages. The article addresses the fact that even specific areas where Spanish is the majority language (areas in San Diego, for example), see language decay at a very fast rate. This article will be helpful to the discussion of how language decay happens and why it is important to avoid this. This information will help form the discussion of language decay and language preservation specific to America. In conjunction with the statistical information already researched, a discussion can be formed about how immigration to Maryland will help to preserve the Spanish language in the state.

Suarez, Debra. "The Paradox of Linguistic Hegemony and the Maintenance of Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 23.6 (2002): 512-530. Print.

This article discusses language decay. It also addresses the existence of linguistic hegemony in the United States. The article is not specific to Spanish speaking groups in the United States, but it does discuss how various non-native English-speaking groups may feel about maintaining their first language. It refers to the fact that there are groups who do not feel it necessary to maintain their first language and embrace the English national language as completely as possible, abandoning their first language as soon as possible. This article will be helpful in the formulation of my argument that language and culture in Maryland are heterogeneous, but that this may not always be the case. While some language decay is unintentional, other forms are deliberate, as this article maintains.

"The Hispanic Influence on American Culture." Conill. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. <http://conill.com/>

This article describes various ways in which the United States has seen the influence of Hispanic culture on the more mainstream culture. It provides survey data that reports public opinions of Hispanic influence. It also reports various areas in United States culture that have seen an impact from the Hispanic community. This is relevant to the paper’s overall topic because language is a huge part of a culture’s makeup. If the Hispanic communities begin to have a larger effect on the overall cultural makeup of the United States, then language preservation is more likely to occur. This can be applied to Maryland on a smaller scale. Part of the reason language decay may be more prevalent in Maryland is that the Hispanic population is smaller overall when compared to the national average, so the Hispanic influence on culture may be less in Maryland when compared to the nation overall.

Beer, William R., and James E. Jacob.Language policy and national unity. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Allanheld, 1985. Print.

This book discusses how formal policy affects language and multilingualism. It is an older text, but it provides a lot of relevant information about how nations look at multilingualism and whether or not it is important to encourage it in the first place. Each chapter of the book focuses on a specific policy or instance of multilingualism. It explains that national unity and the preservation of native-languages do not have to be at odds. It describes how certain views about the importance (or lack) of language preservation arise in culture. This will inform the paper’s discussion of how Spanish language preservation is affected in Maryland.

Gonzalez, Gwynne. "Spanish Heritage Language Maintenance: The relationship Between Language Use, Language Insecurity, and Social." UA Campus Repository. The University of Arizona Libraries, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizon

This is a study related to how social networks affect a community’s reluctance to maintain their native language. Specifically, how the Spanish language is affected by individuals’ reluctance to use their first language across social networks is explored. This article will inform the paper because the influence of social networks cannot be ignored in any discussion related to culture—language especially. It is important to consider how Spanish speakers’ involvement in social networking communities affects their use and disuse of their native language as well as the English language.