Languages+in+Contact


 * Wong Fillmore (2000) ||

Some scholars accuse Wong Fillmore and others like her of being sentimental. They argue that migration comes with a cost and that the cost includes a shift to the dominant language of the new environment. They would say that inter-generational tension or miscommunication is a natural bi-product of migration and must be taken into consideration when weighing the pros and cons of emigration. The American model of pluralism is based on this kind of thinking, but Canada prides itself on its mosaic model: "You can come here AND keep your language and culture". Comment in 250 words on your opinion of the mosaic. Is it realistic for second and third generation immigrants to retain the ability to speak the heritage language? Is it desirable? Where possible, please speak from your own experience or from that of someone close to you.
 * Darwinian approach to Language Shift **//posted by Allyson//

Response by Allison Ng

In my opinion, I believe it is realistic for second and third generation immigrants to retain the ability to speak their heritage language along with their culture AND become settled in their new country. The ability to be bilingual or multilingual is common in many parts of the world but takes time to develop. For example, in Singapore, the official languages are English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese and Tamil. In Singapore, a majority of the population is at least bilingual, if not multilingual. The reason for this was because Singapore was a large shipping port in the 1800s, hosting trade from Great Britain to the Orient. As a result, the culture and the language changed over time like any country or city. In order to host trade, residents had to be multilingual in order to converse with their family as well with the people they were in business with. As a result, multilingualism was a necessity and to this day is still widely encouraged.

This can be the same for Canada over time. Since our country is so young, there is still time for multilingualism to develop as long as we encourage this. Being multilingual is highly desirable in Canada because we are such a multicultural nation. In multicultural cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa, it is highly encourage that people are multilingual in order to be hired. Professions like being a police officer, firefighter, government positions and many customer service jobs are more likely to hire you if you have a second language. From a personal standpoint, I wish I had maintained my knowledge of Cantonese but due to Guelph being largely English speaking, I did not care to use the language and as a result, lost my heritage language. My cousins on the other hand from a young age spoke Cantonese with their mother and father, Mandarin with their Nanny, English with their cousins and French at their French immersion school.

It is realistic for second and third generation immigrants to retain the ability to speak their heritage language along with their culture AND become settled in their new country as long as being bilingual or multilingual is encouraged in the community.

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