I love walking down the streets of New York City and hearing the diverse languages that are spoken. I can spot French, Italian, and occasionally German and Spanish, but I also am hyper aware of the diversity of eastern European and central and south American that I can’t always tell the nuance of with my poor hearing. Every time I catch a conversation in another language I think about the people I grew up with who love to say you have to speak English in the United States.
That long time meme about an American hearing someone speaking a foreign language in the grocery line and telling them to go back where they came from, only to learn that they are indigenous is a great way to shock Americans into the reality of speaking English in this country. But, I also feel that New York provides such a great exposure to the diversity of the world, but also the true diversity of this nation, and can also help reveal that folks demanding we all speak English is so very narrow minded.
I wish I spoke more than one language. I wish I had prioritized learning at least Spanish when I was younger, before my hearing went. I love feeling out of my element when people around me are speaking another language. I don’t feel uncomfortable. I am just reminded of how isolated and narrow my view of things are, how diverse the world is, and that I should be working hard wherever I can to expand my horizons. I feel bad for people who get scared and uncomfortable when people are not speaking English in the United States.
