Is English the dominant language in the U.S.?

You’ve seen these types before. Whether it’s your old uncle posting those uncomfortably racist articles on Facebook or one of those “Speak English or Get the Hell Out” bumper stickers you happened to glance at when that Hummer cut you off there’s no question that there’s still plenty of people out there deluding themselves to their English-speaking superiority. Sure, it’s one thing to only speak English on account of laziness but a whole other to claim you’re speaking the master-dialect or something like that.

They’re not the only ones though. It’s shocking to learn that only a few decades ago teachers were taping their student’s mouths shut for speaking Spanish along the US-Mexico border. But enough about Donald Trump’s proposed immigrant policy. The fact is that our world grows more and more bi-lingual every day and there are a plethora of reasons to acquire multi-language skills. One such benefit is it’ll boost your opportunity in the job sector, that’s right according to the US Census Bureau about 12 percent of US Residents speak Spanish at home. Leading to a dramatic increase in jobs that require or at least would prefer someone who speaks Spanish.

If it weren’t solely for the fact that being bilingual can also make you smarter then also consider this: by 2050 it’s predicted that the US will be the largest Spanish-speaking country, according to Humberto Lopez Morales, a general secretary of the Association of Spanish Language Academies.

Of course, statistics aside being bilingual in today’s world is one of the best options you could possibly take. As the workplace becomes even more and more global being bilingual will make you more competitive within society altogether. What better way to impress that Silicon Valley startup than tell them you can communicate effortlessly with a large majority of their clients?

What about when you decide to travel? Spring Break won’t plan itself and with almost 329 million native speakers Spanish is vastly approaching as the second most commonly spoke language in the world. So what’re you waiting for? Don’t look like a square when ordering those Mojitos, gain some language skills and have the whole establishment wanting to serve you and your friends.

Another neat benefit is that learning Spanish is also proven to help improve your English. Like many languages, Spanish is derived from Latin, and learning it will boost not only your knowledge of other languages but also familiarize you with words that might not be used as commonly by English-speakers. Impressive first date material? I think yes.

If anything learning another language like Spanish can help improve your cultural understanding altogether. Like many other ethnic groups, Latinos are one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States. English may be America’s most common language but come to think of it America doesn’t have an official language. Being the cultural melting pot that it is it’d be a fallacy to claim that America is an English-only country. Come to think of it knowing another language may help to get to know your neighbors better.