The population of the United States of America is becoming more and more diverse due to multiple waves of immigration that have been striking this country since Columbus’ times. Rodriguez speaks about cultural diversity in a light key, treating the issue as a natural happening that is a part of everyday life of every person in America, the skin color and language origin do not matter. First-person narration makes the article sound warmer, as the author speaks based on own experience.
The question of the language barrier is not explored much; the article is about interactions between people with different cultural roots and their identity (Rodriguez 1). Globalization has made traveling and interactions between various cultures, a part of everyone’s life. The boundaries between the states became easier to cross. The world became more developed and progressive, but discrimination and prejudices still remained a part of it.
People of color get discriminated for their looks – others see your ethnicity, and their minds immediately refer to multiple stereotypes related to your culture. The accent is another trigger that can become a source of discrimination. Even if you cannot read a person’s ethnicity on their face – you can hear it in their voice. In the article by Siapera, the question of languages and confrontations based on language differences is researched well.
The article shows how language and dialect discrimination is treated in various countries and how language minorities face various challenges because of that. Language has always been a sensitive issue as it is a significant part of national and cultural identity. Every country of the world is home to more than one language or the dialect. In some countries, people from different districts and regions of the same country may speak completely different languages (Siapera 41).
In this case, citizens of the same country would not even understand each other if they had to talk. Besides, most countries of the world have a large number of immigrants living in their territories; this adds to the number of languages spoken in the country.
However, not all of these languages can be registered as state languages. As a result, there are always parts of the country that feel discriminated on the basis of the languages they speak. Language battles happen more often than we anticipate, and may lead to a territorial confrontation within a country or a conflict between regions.
Works Cited
Rodriguez, R. “Blaxicans” and Other Reinvented Americans. The Chronicle. 2003. Web.
Siapera, E. Cultural Diversity and Global Media: The Mediation of Difference, Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. 2010. Print.