March 19, 2013
Written by Calvin N. Ho
Bilingualism, Signs, and Xenophobia
Strip mall sign in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Photo: Tyler Goss (Flickr/Creative Commons)
Two contrasting articles about bilingualism came my way this morning. In the first one, Los Angeles Times immigration reporter Cindy Chang writes about how the changing geopolitical context is pushing middle class parents to ensure that their kids are bilingual:
Nowadays, with China on the rise, it’s considered borderline criminal for Mandarin speakers not to pass on the language. Even parents who were born here address their children in less-than-perfect Chinese in hopes that some of it will stick. Bilingual mania has taken root among the Tiger Mom set, and not just among Chinese Americans. Many families go to great lengths to make sure their kids are fluent in another language, whether it’s Korean, Spanish, French or Swedish.
Bilingualism is great! Mandarin for everyone! But does this mark a wholesale change in the negative attitudes toward the use of non-dominant languages?
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