English as a secondary language in Miami

Recent reports show that Spanish is becoming the more predominant language in Miami, Florida and if the trend continues, English will be spoken by less than half of the city's population. Reading this article from MSNBC titled "In Miami, Spanish becoming primary language", the demographics show that the dense and ever increasing Hispanic population is making Spanish more than just a major language, the language is actually spoken much more than English. Miami has consistently attracted immigrants from Cuba and other Latin American countries. It is not surprising that Spanish has taken over a vast majority of the city.

This article does not see this as just a natural trend but as something that is negative and responsible for making English speakers feel marginalized. A woman who owns a flower shop in the city reports that her inability to speak Spanish hinders her ability to conduct business. Other Miami residents that do not speak Spanish tell how it has hurt their chances of finding a job or even something as simple as asking for directions. As a result, the white population has gradually been leaving the city and moving north where they feel more comfortable.

Spanish has assumed the role as the dominant language in this city and it is interesting to see this reversal of what is commonly seen in American cities. We are used to immigrants learning English and assimilating to the culture; however in this case, the immigrants are maintaining their culture and Americans are the ones who have to adapt in order to prosper economically. Americans' attitudes towards this trend was also very stereotypical because they feel offended that immigrants have the audacity to arrive here and have a greater advantage because their native language trumps English.

Another article on the topic had a similar viewpoint that immigrants in Miami should learn English. As brought up in class yesterday, there is no official language of the United States and I think that people should be able to speak whichever language allows them to function in society. Coming from Sacramento, the city has experienced similar trends with immigration and increased usage of other languages. English is the top language spoken in the city, but there are various street signs, billboards, and stores throughout the city that are in Spanish, Russian, Hmong, Mandarin, or a number of other languages. I also found it interesting that the white population has started a gradual migration out of Miami because a similar trend has been occurring in Sacramento; one of my teacher's called it "white flight." Within the past few decades, many new cities (Elk Grove, El Dorado Hills, Natomas, Carmichael, etc) have popped up with a very dense white population while Sacramento continues to grow in diversity. It would be interesting to see if language would also begin to travel with the immigrants and shift the dominance of English in my hometown as well.

Here's the first article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24871558/#storyContinued

and the second: http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978158689