Month: December 2016

How are we going to save Spanish?Yes, I know that a call to preserve the Spanish language might seem ludicrous at a time when more than 37 million people speak it in the U.S., up from 11 million in 1980. And yes, my question about saving Spanish may seem especially daft now, as America’s deranged politics pit hysterical Trumpian xenophobia, with its fear of being overrun by foreigners and their languages, against liberal triumphalism about growing diversity.But — and I speak to that small, hardy tribe of Americans who still prefer to be ruled by facts and not fears — the realities of immigration, education and language acquisition put the lie to the notion that Spanish has nowhere to go but up. To the contrary, there are clear signs that the Spanish language has already begun its declin...

How are we going to save Spanish?Yes, I know that a call to preserve the Spanish language might seem ludicrous at a time when more than 37 million people speak it in the U.S., up from 11 million in 1980. And yes, my question about saving Spanish may seem especially daft now, as America’s deranged politics pit hysterical Trumpian xenophobia, with its fear of being overrun by foreigners and their languages, against liberal triumphalism about growing diversity.But — and I speak to that small, hardy tribe of Americans who still prefer to be ruled by facts and not fears — the realities of immigration, education and language acquisition put the lie to the notion that Spanish has nowhere to go but up. To the contrary, there are clear signs that the Spanish language has already begun its declin...