Language in USA

        The United States of America have been known as the world’s melting pot of culture for some time now. This title stems from the fact that there are many different cultures from around the world in the United States and with many different cultures comes a fair share of various languages that are spoken. The States have been shaped by immigration more than any other country on the planet and language is no exception for that matter.

        The United States of America actually have no official all-national language, even though it would seem that English would be an appropriate candidate for the position. However, English, specifically American English, is the de facto language of the United States, and is used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official matters. Nevertheless there are laws that require some documents (e.g. ballots) to be printed in multiple languages when there are a certain number of non-English speakers in the area.

       Spanish in the United States is considered and reviewed through the course of time. Also, a cultural phenomenon, where two languages melt, called Spanglish is observed and some interesting examples are stated. In total, there are 34,547,077 people in the United States who speak Spanish as their primary language at home, including 3.5 million in the territory of Puerto Rico, where Spanish is the primary language. Over half of the country's Spanish speakers reside in California, Texas, and Florida alone. According to Metcalf (2000), Spanglish (blends of the language names "English" and "Spanish") or jerga fronteriza – refers to the range of language-contact phenomena, primarily in the speech of the Hispanic and Anglo population of the United States and the population of Mexico living near the Mexican-American border, who are exposed to both Spanish and English. These phenomena are produced by close border contact and large bilingual communities along the United States-Mexico border and California, Oregon, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Puerto Rico, The City of New York, and Chicago. Spanglish is also known by a regional name "Tex-Mex" in Texas.
       
        To conclude with this brief glimpse to the languages coexist in America in general, a quotation said by former president John F. Kennedy: “Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life”. And it is true; the English that we hear in the United States today is an account of America’s history by itself. Ever since the first settlers from Europe started their lives on new soil, language has been evolving rapidly. What followed were just waves of new immigrants from all around the world looking for a new life and an opportunity to live across the pond, in a presumably better society. Language is closely connected to culture and culture has been an area of conflict since the dawn of man.


Source: How has immigration into the United States influenced the language? by Jan Hansel.

By Estefanía Benítez Sánchez

The Origins of American state names

I think it’s interesting to know the origins of American State names.

I’ll give you a list with the fifty states of north America and their name’s origins.

State	Origin	Meaning
Alabama	Choctaw	‘I open the thicket’
Alaska	Eskimo	‘great land’
Arizona	Papago	‘place of the small spring’
Arkansas	Sioux	‘land of the south wind people’
California	Spanish	‘earthly paradise’
Colorado	Spanish	‘red’
Connecticut	Mohican	‘at the long tidal river’
Delaware	Named after the English governor Lord de la Warr
Florida	Spanish	‘land of flowers’
Georgia	Named after king George II
Hawaii	Hawaiian	‘homeland’
Idaho	Shoshone	‘light on the mountains’
Illinois	French	‘warriors’
Indiana	English	‘land of the Indians’
Iowa	Dakota	‘the sleepy one’
Kansas	Sioux	‘land of the south wind people’
Kentucky	Iroquois	‘meadow land’
Louisiana	Named after King Louis XIV of France
Maine	Named after a French province
Maryland	Named after Henrietta Maria, Charles I’s queen
Massachusetts	Algonquian	‘place of the big hill’
Michigan	Chippewa	‘big water’
Minnesota	Dakota Sioux	‘sky-coloured water’
Mississippi	Chipewa	‘big river’
Missouri	Probably French	‘muddy water’
Montana	Spanish	‘mountainous’
Nebraska	Omaha	‘river in the flatness’
Nevada	Spanish	‘snowy’
New Hampshire	Named after Hampshire, England
New Jersey	Named after Jersey (Channel Islands)
New Mexico	Named after Mexico.
New York	Named after the Duke of York
North Carolina	Named after King Charles II
North Dakota	Sioux	‘friend’
Ohio	Iroquois	‘beautiful water’
Oklahoma	Choctaw	‘red people’
Oregon	Possibly Algonquian	‘beaver place’
Pennsylvania	Named after Quaker William Penn + Latin for ‘woodland’
Rhode Island	Dutch	‘red clay’ island
South Carolina	Named after King Charles II
South Dakota	Sioux	‘friend’
Tennessee	Name of a Cherokee settlement
Texas	Spanish	‘allies’
Utah	Possibly Navaho	‘upper land’
Vermont	French	‘green mountain’
Virginia	Named after Queen Elizabeth I
Washington	Named after George Washington
West Virginia	Derived from Virginia
Wisconsin	Possibly Algonquian	‘grassy place’
Wyoming	Algonquian	‘place of the big flats’

Source:

‘’The English Language’’, David Crystal.

By: Patricia Domínguez

Native Americans

The History of Native Americans is very interesting and at the same time tragic. 

Between 10 and 90 million Native Americans inhabited America when the Europeans arrived. They have been called Indians, American Indians, but they now prefer Native Americans. They formed a lot of tribes around the land.

During the time the Europeans arrived, the native Americans saw it with enthusiasm but in time, the Europeans disregarded all respect for the valued land and resources and instead displayed insatiable greed and arrogance. The Europeans soon pursued their intent to conquer this new continent with brutal attacks and invasions. 

Due to the illnesses the Europeans brought, the native American population decreased. Important battles occurred in this time. The term 'American Indian Wars' is used to describe these conflicts between The native people of North America and American settlers or the federal government.

An important figure related to this was Tecumseh, who, with his brother Tenkswatawa, organized Tecumseh's War, another resistance to American expansion. Tecumseh formed an alliance with the British, and he took part in the War of 1812.

The Native American people not only were reduced in number but also were taken from their homes, stripped of their customs and even forbidden to speak their native languages. 
In 1876, the U.S. government forced them to live on 'reservations' where the native Americans still live today.

On September 13, 2007 The United Nations adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, which includes language rights. 

Here, I show you videos about some features of two examples of native american language:  Mvskoke, the Creek Indian language, and Mobilian, a form of Choctaw, once spoken from the South Carolina coast to the plains of Texas.

Source:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTYNyFV_RkTWcahhFX8aa-ecJ5OXBEsS6f06DBATLDMZKJnX0TKOyePgKm0182JeE5AiBepW5XpKE7ynabItLAbL2sBG088bocSOrzZHdC5UKveihvaf_Cn9y4lySnLxbJgBY8y7jA3s/s1600/Finding-native-America.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars
http://www.allabouthistory.org/native-american-history.htm

By: Patricia Domínguez.