Immigration and "Americanization": Language as a Contact Zone

This work is an attempt to reason through the history behind modern language use and how it affects immigrants to the United States. It begins by looking at a few of the turning points in history that have led to the standardization of English as the language most used for education. It then follows to talk about a few of the other shortcomings of the current language system practiced by the dominant culture. Also, the paper takes a look at how language can be seen as a contact zone, or a meeting place of cultures. Finally, it takes a look at a few possibilities for change and improvement of the dominant culture, to more fully accept new cultures into its own.

A related essay can be found here.