Spanish Vs English Language Analysis

There are hundreds of different languages spoken across the globe today. It is interesting to note that the United States, one of the most diverse countries in the world, does not have an official language. While English is what a majority of the American population speaks, it is by no means the only language that can be heard here. In California, specifically Southern California, two of the most widely spoken languages are English and Spanish. Often in the past, scholars as well as regular people, made theories and assumptions regarding languages. One of the most widely accepted assumptions was that some languages are superior to others. Another common belief was that some languages are more difficult to learn than others. Lastly, one prevailing …show more content…
Laura is fluent in Spanish, and feels just as comfortable speaking it as she does with English. In contrast, Anthony stated while he can speak Spanish, he does not feel as confident with it as he does with English. I had asked Anthony whether or not he believed learning Spanish at home or at school made the process easier. He said learning it at home was easier for him because it was less structured and more of what he would be exposed to on a regular basis. He went on to say the type Spanish taught in schools is rather traditional and not what many native speakers use on a regular basis. I also asked if either Laura or Anthony would like to learn another language. Both said they would like to learn Italian due to it being similar to Spanish. When looking at the article Some languages are harder than others, written by Lars-Gunnar Andersson, the author stated that many people perceive some languages as harder to learn than others. However, Andersson writes that people often think the languages that are easier to learn are the ones that are similar to the language they already know. This seems to be the case with the two individuals I interviewed. Both wanted to learn a language that was similar in both vocabulary and grammar to a language they were already familiar …show more content…
Both Laura and Anthony felt being bilingual was a major part of how they defined themselves. They both felt that it was a vital part of their life and made them who they are. Not only do they see it as part of who they are, but it makes up a big part of their personality. In line with what Koven, author of Two languages in the self/The self in two languages, writes. Koven writes that bilingual speakers often say they experience a different part of themselves when they speak either language. In the case of Laura and Anthony, they both voiced that they felt they could express themselves more freely when they spoke Spanish. In this case, they felt more open and lighter speaking one language over the other. Their tones when talking about the subject was also noticeably