Being Bilingual Is Not That Easy

denise — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:35:37 -0500

Now that 15.1% of the U.S. population is Spanish-speaking, there are plenty of advantages to being bilingual. But speaking both English and Spanish has its rough edges too.

Before coming to the United States I was learning how to speak, read, and write Spanish. But as soon as I crossed the border I was forced to learn English. It was frustrating and time consuming but it was something I had to do. For starters, my parents depended on me learning English so they could communicate through me. In order to make friends I had to speak their language, otherwise I was just another outsider. Once I was able to have a conversation in English, I became my parents’ personal translator. It was those experiences that convinced me that English was more important than Spanish. But the difficult part was going back and forth between the two languages, especially when I was surrounded by English speakers most of the time.

I use Spanish to communicate with my family members but since the majority of my cousins were born and raised in America, English is more natural and comfortable for us.

At home I speak Spanglish because I don’t like choosing between the two languages that represent who I am. It’s like leaving out butter or eggs when making cup cakes: every ingredient counts.

My mom wastes no time reminding me that I should concentrate on improving my Spanish, but improving my writing and reading is much harder than when I was learning English. I struggle with accent marks and learning when to use “ch”, “y” or “ll” because of their unique pronunciation. My mom is afraid that am decrease my opportunities if I don’t improve my Spanish. Based on a report by MSNBC, my mom is not the only parent who is constantly trying to figure out the best method for their kids to become fluent in both languages.

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Youth Radio - Topic: bilingual

Being Bilingual Is Not That Easy