Language Diversity in the USA

Language Diversity in the USA is a very interesting book published by Cambridge University Press (the American edition is available here). It deals with the controversial issue of ethnolinguistic diversity in the States. The author, Kim Potowski, tackles the matter starting from common statements such as:

“You’re in America, speak English.  It’s our official language.” “Today’s immigrants are not learning English as quickly as those of the past.” “Multilingualism threatens our national unity.”

The author defines these statements “myths” and profiles the top 12 minority languages in the USA (Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, French, Vietnamese, German, Korean, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish), with an additional chapter about Native American languages. She discusses the features of each language and concludes every chapter with a  prediction about the future longevity of each one of them.

Overall, the book allays possible fears that either English or American national identity should be threatened by language diversity, which the author sees as a resource for the US.

An argument along the same lines was made by David Crystal in his English as a Global Language (here is the Italian edition – L’inglese come lingua globale).