Kate Wessman

Multilingualism in the U.S.A.

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What does this phrase mean to you?

What languages do you think of?

Where have you heard them before?

…???

Let’s explore multilingualism!

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1. “The Crayon Box that Talked” by Shane DeRolfe (1996)

2. Foreign Language Influence on English

“We are a box of crayons,Each one of us unique.But when we get together,The

picture is complete.”DeRolf (1996)

Chandelier

Oy vey

Cashew

Guerilla (warfare)

Schmooze

Pizza

Algebra

Ballet

Kindergarten

Aficionado

Cul-de-sac

Bungalow

Guess the word origin: Salsa

Fortissimo

Hamburger

Croissant

Sierra

Coyote

Balcony

Pajamas

Hummus

Khaki

Add any others you might know and share them with the class!

Languages in the U.S. Today: On the following maps:

White = language not spoken

Yellow = language somewhat spoken

Red= Language widely spoken

• *Range, varying degrees

English language in the U.S.

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French language in the U.S.

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Portuguese language in the U.S.

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Spanish language in the U.S.

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How did the U.S. become so multilingual?

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Where it all started:

European Exploration of the New World

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Spanish:

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Portuguese

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French

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English

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Timeline of Discoveries

1492: Columbus’ ships (the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria) depart Spain for the New World

1494: Spain and Portugal split territory in the New World with the Treaty of Tordesillas

1500: Portuguese colonize Brazil

1513: Juan Ponce de Leon lands in Florida and names it La Florida, meaning “place of flowers”

1519: Spaniard Hernan Cortés lands in Mexico

1524: French explore region between Florida and Newfoundland for route to the Pacific Ocean

1585: Sir Walter Raleigh of England tries to set up a colony in Roanoke, North Carolina.

1607: King James of England sends a group to settle the Chesapeake region in Virginia. Jamestown becomes the first permanent English settlement in North America.

1608: Frenchmen Samuel de Champlain establishes a fur trading post at Quebec (in Canada)

So how did we go from this…

…to this?! English-speaking French-speaking

Portuguese -speaking Spanish-speaking

& many, many more!

Committee Assignments

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Bibliography of Pictures:1. http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture 2009/02/language-matters/

2. http://umsenglishdepartment.blogspot.com/2010_10_24_archive.html

3. http://arcgis.mla.org/mla/default.aspx

4. http://www.njfamily.com/NJ-Family/September-2012/Eight-Myths-About-Multilingual-Kids/

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colonization_of_the_Americas_1750.PNG

6. http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishlife/ig/Spanish-Flags/Spanish-Flag.htm

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustav_Adolf_Closs__Die_Schiffe_des_Columbus_-_1892.jpg

8. http://terrifictop10.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/portugal-flag.gif

9. http://www.golisbon.com/culture/age-of-discovery.html

10. http://bestflag.blogspot.com/2012/09/french-flag.html

11. http://www.historicfortsnelling.org/history/fur-trade

12. http://zona-information-scholarship.blogspot.com/2011/01/british-chevening-scholarship-20102011.html

13. http://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/bayhistory/johnsmith

14. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110130/education/is-italian-an-endangered-language-in-malta.347685