What is the future of English in the USA?

In my opinion, your country will be almost bilingual in 2050. By this time, you will have 100 million of Hispanics. That it is an official report of the US Census Bureau.

Perhaps, you need to add more people (students, Puerto Rico, illegal Hispanics, etc).

> Obviously not. No American would say, "furrykef has got..."

Plenty of Americans say "has got". There's the famous AOL greeting, "Welcome. You've got mail!" Also, I think the phrase "get it right" is a slightly special case where this construction would be used more often.

- Kef

>>
Plenty of Americans say "has got". There's the famous AOL greeting, "Welcome. You've got mail!" <<

No. Many American say " 's got" or " 've got", but not "have got", as Guest used.
AOL does not say: "You have got mail", but rather "You've got mail." I can count the times I've heard any American use "has got". Also, the rest of Guest's post sounded non-native, so I simply inferred that he was not an American countryman as he claimed to be. But whatever, it has nothing to do with Spanish in the US, so let's not discuss it further here.

G' day

In my opinion, in 2050 the Hispanic population in the US of A will be totally anglicised even if they reached 100 million they will be speaking Yankee English and they will loath and detest the Spanish language and culture once and for all because they will see the difference between American and Hispanic ways of living. So, no worries for the English language in the US.

On the other hand, Mexico, Central America, Dominican Republic, and especially Puerto Rico will gonna be bilingual in both Spanish and English. These countries will implement English as co-official language. Lots of people from those nations speak perfect Yankee English. Take for instance the Panamanians and the Costa Ricans, they have an excellent command of the English language although they share no border with the US.

Regards from Oz(Australia)

>> In my opinion, in 2050 the Hispanic population in the US of A will be totally anglicised <<

Good point. I find it so amusing that people are so concerned that English will be replaced by Spanish in the US. The Mexicans will of course want to assimilate into the new culture and they will speak English like the rest of us. And even if many of them don't assimilate, we have to remember that they'll have children, and their children are going to speak English, just like Welsh children learn English, because that's the language that will get them the farthest. Therefore English is quite safe as the language of the US. That's why it's not even necessary to have an official language. I don't understand why people don't realize that the United States is an Anglo-Saxon country, in culture and language--we have our cultural roots from Great Britain, and even if foreigners from other countries start moving in to join us, the English lanugage is not going to be diluted or superceded by another language. And we have to remember, that the Spanish are just one group. There are immigrants pouring in from around the world. In some places in the US, the number of Chinese immigrants far outnumbers the number of immigrants from Mexico.

>> On the other hand, Mexico, Central America, Dominican Republic, and especially Puerto Rico will gonna be bilingual in both Spanish and English. <<

Yes, it seems like that's where it's heading.

> AOL does not say: "You have got mail", but rather "You've got mail." I can count the times I've heard any American use "has got".

I still don't think the particular case of "furrykef has got it right" sounds that ununsual. If you google for "has got it right", you'll find many uses from many regions. The first hit on the third page is a CNN transcript showing that Alex Trebek used this construction. (Trebek is actually from Canada, but I don't think Canadian and U.S. usage really differs here.) I will grant you that most of the hits seem to be from British sources, but I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say that no American says it ever.

Though, looking again, it is pretty clear that the user isn't a native English speaker, though, or else is deliberately trying to sound foreign. "No big to Spanish and English" is as unnatural as it gets.

- Kef

I don't think "has got it right" sounds unusual.

"No big to Spanish and English"-Well, I don't understand what that means. Probably the "no" and "big" were reversed.

Some "parientes" of mine think everyone should speak Spanish. I do, but that kind of thinking smacks of groups who are trying to "retake" the USA (even though my parientes are not from Mexico)...

I think Spanish is practical and easy for English speakers, but I don't think of it as a prestige language. Whether that will influence what language is spoken in the future, I don't know.

>>In my opinion, in 2050 the Hispanic population in the US of A will be totally anglicised even if they reached 100 million they will be speaking Yankee English and they will loath and detest the Spanish language and culture once and for all because they will see the difference between American and Hispanic ways of living. So, no worries for the English language in the US.<<

Agreed definitely - Spanish will go the way that German did historically; German was historically spoken by a very large number of immigrants to the US, and now all that is left is the occasional loanword and some details of phonology and syntax in dialects of English in contact with it, along with some Amish and Mennonites still speaking it and the occasional inscription on an old church or two in German.

>>Good point. I find it so amusing that people are so concerned that English will be replaced by Spanish in the US. The Mexicans will of course want to assimilate into the new culture and they will speak English like the rest of us. And even if many of them don't assimilate, we have to remember that they'll have children, and their children are going to speak English, just like Welsh children learn English, because that's the language that will get them the farthest. Therefore English is quite safe as the language of the US. That's why it's not even necessary to have an official language. I don't understand why people don't realize that the United States is an Anglo-Saxon country, in culture and language--we have our cultural roots from Great Britain, and even if foreigners from other countries start moving in to join us, the English lanugage is not going to be diluted or superceded by another language. And we have to remember, that the Spanish are just one group. There are immigrants pouring in from around the world. In some places in the US, the number of Chinese immigrants far outnumbers the number of immigrants from Mexico. <<

I would disagree with the assertion that the US, as a whole, is Anglo-Saxon in character. Yes, English is definitely the dominant language in the US, but culturally the US is not purely Anglo-Saxon in nature but rather has very significant homegrown elements combined with a good amount of influences from European cultures outside of England.

While some regions of the US have obviously significantly been influenced by English culture, such as the Northeast and the coastal South, other areas have had relatively little English influence while having other significant outside influences, such as the Upper Midwest. Furthermore, much of the rest of the US, especially the further one goes west, probably reflects more a general North American culture with few outside influences except from Mexico in the southwest and southern California.

>>> AOL does not say: "You have got mail", but rather "You've got mail." I can count the times I've heard any American use "has got".

I still don't think the particular case of "furrykef has got it right" sounds that ununsual. If you google for "has got it right", you'll find many uses from many regions. The first hit on the third page is a CNN transcript showing that Alex Trebek used this construction. (Trebek is actually from Canada, but I don't think Canadian and U.S. usage really differs here.) I will grant you that most of the hits seem to be from British sources, but I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say that no American says it ever. <<

I agree - "have got" is not weird to me (an American) at all, even though it is only a construction that I would have as such in relatively careful speech (as in most such the "have" would be cliticized).

>> Agreed definitely - Spanish will go the way that German did historically; German was historically spoken by a very large number of immigrants to the US, and now all that is left is the occasional loanword and some details of phonology and syntax in dialects of English in contact with it, along with some Amish and Mennonites still speaking it and the occasional inscription on an old church or two in German.
<<

But what if the Mexican immigrants keep pouring in unchecked? If there are lots of them already, won't that continue to ensure that Mexican will overtake English as the dominant language of the US?

>> I would disagree with the assertion that the US, as a whole, is Anglo-Saxon in character. Yes, English is definitely the dominant language in the US, but culturally the US is not purely Anglo-Saxon in nature but rather has very significant homegrown elements combined with a good amount of influences from European cultures outside of England. <<

I think that America is very much Anglo-Saxon in character. We share the English language, for example, and all the literature that goes along with it, we have stayed loyal to the Standard system of weights and measures, we are an independent country, certainly, but are really very much still like a colony of the British Empire. We have even preserved many archaic things that have since been lost in even Britain herself. We use common law, for example, and our entire legal system and government is modelled on that of Great Britain. Many of our seeming innovations, are really simply older things that have been lost in other Anglo-Saxon countries. Most of our other homegrown elements have been exported to the rest of the Anglo-Saxon countries as well. Most Americans feel a strong cultural affinity to the Mother country, and feel more at home there than they would anywhere else in Europe, even if their ancestors didn't even come from Britain. While there is certainly some small influence of other European cultures on the United States, it is truly that the UK has had the same influences as well. But culturally speaking, we have exactly the same culture, as that of the Mother country.

>>Spanish will go the way that German did historically; German was historically spoken by a very large number of immigrants to the US, and now all that is left is the occasional loanword and some details of phonology and syntax in dialects of English in contact with it, along with some Amish and Mennonites still speaking it and the occasional inscription on an old church or two in German. <<

Just one thing. The Germans didn't have their country across the border as do the Mexicans, so it'll take much longer then you think.


>>In my opinion, in 2050 the Hispanic population in the US of A will be totally anglicised even if they reached 100 million they will be speaking Yankee English and they will loath and detest the Spanish language and culture once and for all because they will see the difference between American and Hispanic ways of living<<

In my view, the Hispanics are still going to speak SPANISH as long as (new) immigrants keep coming to America, also it doesn't help America that Mexico is across the border. In despite of that, I think California and the other states close to Mexico, especially California, will be a bilingual society (which it already is) but in incalculable numbers.

Unfortunately some Chicanos detest their language and culture (living wise as well) because they see their language poorly executed and sluggishly pronounced compared to English. And they detest Spanish for being so rotten and vague due to the lack of their parents uncultured selfs and not being able to distinguish English from Spanish or vice versa.

In conclusion, many Mexicans and Chicanos alike all they know is Slang-spanish with little knowlegde of standardized Spanish.

It's a sad reality.

<< Agreed definitely - Spanish will go the way that German did historically; German was historically spoken by a very large number of immigrants to the US, and now all that is left is the occasional loanword and some details of phonology and syntax in dialects of English in contact with it, along with some Amish and Mennonites still speaking it and the occasional inscription on an old church or two in German. >>

In addition to the point of Mexico being just across the border, as opposed to the other side of the ocean, the numbers involved this time around are much greater, even if the proportions aren't. Some Spanish-speaking populations are, or probably will be, large enough for them to reinforce their own Spanish usage.

I doubt that Spanish will ever supplant English, though, except possibly in small areas in the same way that we have Chinatowns that peacefully coexist with other communities. I expect a large number of people will speak Spanish, but the Spanish-speakers will also speak English.

- Kef

>> I doubt that Spanish will ever supplant English <<

Um, I wonder how anyone could ever get that notion. How could anyone honestly think that Spanish, or any other language for that matter, will supplant English in any way? Sure, there might be many speakers of Spanish in the Southwest, but that is *only* the Southwest, which is but one region in the US. I can tell you, that here in Wyoming, we don't give a darn whether there are thousands of Mexicans living in California, we're not switching over to Spanish, or any other language for that matter. In 2060, I can assure you that we'll still be speaking English, whether you want us to or not. Or perhaps by that time, we'll have sealed off the border due to excess immigration. I don't understand how people get the idea that the whole country is gonna change, just because lots of immigrants move to *one* region in the country. We're certainly not bilingual here in Wyoming. We speak only ENGLISH, and no matter how many foreigners move to California, nothing is going to change here.

That's why Americans will always be called monolingual and that famous joke about them being monolingual will always live for eternity. I predict that most Americans are gonna be muslims so most of them are going to learn Arabic instead. I see a far better future for Arabic than any other language in the USA. ;)

>>>> I would disagree with the assertion that the US, as a whole, is Anglo-Saxon in character. Yes, English is definitely the dominant language in the US, but culturally the US is not purely Anglo-Saxon in nature but rather has very significant homegrown elements combined with a good amount of influences from European cultures outside of England. <<

I think that America is very much Anglo-Saxon in character. We share the English language, for example, and all the literature that goes along with it,<<

That's a direct result of having a shared language, and applies to any case where multiple countries share a language, not just the case of the US and Great Britain.

>> we have stayed loyal to the Standard system of weights and measures, we are an independent country, certainly, but are really very much still like a colony of the British Empire. We have even preserved many archaic things that have since been lost in even Britain herself. We use common law, for example, and our entire legal system and government is modelled on that of Great Britain<<

Yes, there are particular aspects of American culture and especially American political culture which the US has acquired from Great Britain. In the case of politics, though, such only goes so far, as while the way that law operates as a whole is very similar between the US and the UK, the US and UK diverge very significantly with respect to the actual models of governance. In particular the US being based on a (written) constitutional federal republic model with constitutionally-guaranteed individual rights and limitations upon the powers of government (even if they are very often ignored in practice) while the UK is a unitary constitutional monarchy operated in a parliamentary fashion based on unwritten traditions without any limitations upon the powers of the legislature. At the same time, yes, US and British politics often are far more similar in nature than with politics in many countries in continental Europe.

>>Many of our seeming innovations, are really simply older things that have been lost in other Anglo-Saxon countries.<<

This is particularly true when it comes to the English spoken in North America, but I am not sure how applicable it is to things other than such.

>>Most of our other homegrown elements have been exported to the rest of the Anglo-Saxon countries as well.<<

They have been exported to the rest of the Western World, and to a lesser extent to the world as whole, as well.

>>Most Americans feel a strong cultural affinity to the Mother country, and feel more at home there than they would anywhere else in Europe, even if their ancestors didn't even come from Britain.<<

For starters I take issue at calling the UK the "Mother country". Yes, the US started out as a British colony, but at least from the perspective of here in Wisconsin that's where the idea of the UK being any sort of "Mother country" ends. Yes, there are notions of some sort of "special relationship" or whatnot that some hold, but in everyday life here such are rather irrelevant.

Furthermore, from the perspective of here, the UK is really just a foreign country which happens to have the same language as us, and which consequently has things like shared literature and media, and somewhat similar political tendencies - unlike the case of English-speaking Canada, which is effectively separated from the US by politics alone. Of course, the US and the UK are both developed western countries, and thus have a lot in common just because of such alone.

>>While there is certainly some small influence of other European cultures on the United States, it is truly that the UK has had the same influences as well.<<

Would you consider, for example, food in the US, which differs significantly from food in the UK and which has many influences from continental Europe which are not shared with the UK?

>>But culturally speaking, we have exactly the same culture, as that of the Mother country. <<

Saying that the US and the UK "have exactly the same culture", even if there are significant similarities between the US and UK (in particular in the realm of politics), is quite the exaggeration, to say the very least.