Assignments Review/Reflection Questions Why do so few Americans speak another language other than English? Answer the question from a personal perspective and a national perspective. How do you think Americans who travel abroad but speak other languages are perceived by don’t residents of the places they visit? Compare this to the way recent immigrants to the United States are perceived by English-only speakers in the United States. Can a direct comparison be made? What is the difference between these situations? Debate continues over whether English should be the official language of the United States and whether schools should teach in languages other than English. Give an argument for school being taught only in English, and one supporting teaching with other languages in our schools. Which argument do you support, and why? Cite any references you use. Give several inoffensive examples of words you use that What your parents wouldn’t understand. does this reveal about the nature of languages? Apply the comparison of language in multilingual states to this country. Which approach book’s do you believe would work better, and why? Given current immigration tends, will this be a concern? Toponym Analysis Toponyms reveal a lot about the culture, history, and physical geography of your state. Find a detailed map of your state. It needs to have both political features (cities and counties) and physical features (rivers, mountains, and lakes) labeled. First, identify what non-English language or languages are prominently used in your place names. state’s Are Native American words commonly used in your place names? Identify any place names that state’s are transplanted from elsewhere (e.g., New London, Connecticut, or Rome, New York). What do these place names reveal about the cultural history of your state? Next, identify any historical people used in your place names (Columbus, Ohio, or Lincoln, state’s Nebraska)? Some of the names of the people used in the place names of your state may be very important to the history of the local area, but unknown nationally. Places may also be named for the kings and dukes of the home country. resident’s
Assignments Review/Reflection Questions Why do so few Americans speak another language other than English? Answer the question from a personal perspective and a national perspective. How do you think Americans who travel abroad but don’t speak other languages are perceived by residents of the places they visit? Compare this to the way recent immigrants to the United States are perceived by English-only speakers in the United States. Can a direct comparison be made? What is the difference between these situations? Debate continues over whether English should be the official language of the United States and whether schools should teach in languages other than English. Give an argument for school being taught only in English, and one supporting teaching with other languages in our schools. Which argument do you support, and why? Cite any references you use. Give several inoffensive examples of words you use that your parents wouldn’t understand. What does this reveal about the nature of languages? Apply the book’s comparison of language in multilingual states to this country. Which approach do you believe would work better, and why? Given current immigration tends, will this be a concern? Toponym Analysis Toponyms reveal a lot about the culture, history, and physical geography of your state. Find a detailed map of your state. It needs to have both political features (cities and counties) and physical features (rivers, mountains, and lakes) labeled. First, identify what non-English language or languages are prominently used in your state’s place names. Are Native American words commonly used in your state’s place names? Identify any place names that are transplanted from elsewhere (e.g., New London, Connecticut, or Rome, New York). What do these place names reveal about the cultural history of your state? Next, identify any historical people used in your state’s place names (Columbus, Ohio, or Lincoln, Nebraska)? Some of the names of the people used in the place names of your state may be very important to the history of the local area, but unknown nationally. Places may also be named for the kings and dukes of the resident’s home country.