Speaking Spanish in the United States It should be required for everyone in the United States to take two years of Spanish. A lot of people in the United States speak Spanish, and it is rapidly becoming more popular. Also, Spanish-English speakers are needed to translate in hospitals so that everyone can be taken care of properly. Another Spanish speaking need is going to poor Spanish countries to volunteer in helping the people. The United States desperately needs more bilingual speakers. The United States should require taking two years of Spanish because it is one of the most common languages of the world. According to Listverse, in 2008 Spanish was the fourth most commonly spoken language, behind Mandarin, English, and Hindustani. (listverse.com/2008/06/26/top-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/) This means that Mandarin, English and Hindustani have a larger population of people that speak that language than that of Spanish. Meanwhile, according to ‘O, Pish Posh!,’ in 2013 Spanish is the second most common language, overtaking English in popularity, but still behind Mandarin. (http://opishposh.com/the-top-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/) As this is a more recent list of popular languages than Listverse, it is more likely to be correct and has updated information. Agreeing with ‘O, Pish Posh!,’ ‘infoplease’ also says that Spanish is the second most common language with 406 million speakers, while English only has 335 million. (http://www.infoplease.comipa/A0775272.html) According to the World Factbook, of the 316,668,567 people living in the United States, 10.7 percent speak Spanish, which is more than all other non-English languages combined. (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html) As Spanish is a more commonly spoken language in the world than English, it is only right for the country with the most English speakers in the world to learn one of the two languages more popular than itself. Spanish is the second most popular language in both the world and the United States, thus it should be required for students to take at least two years of Spanish. Say a strictly Spanish speaking citizen were to get injured and sent to a hospital, if no one is there that speaks Spanish, the person will not be properly looked after. In hospitals, and many other workplaces, speaking another language-especially Spanish-is highly sought after. For example, as told in ‘National Center for Biotechnology Information,’ a thirteen-year-old girl named Gricelda Zamora served as her family’s translator . But when one day when having very severe abdominal pain, she was rushed to the hospital, but was in too much pain to interpret herself, and the hospital did not have an interpreter on hand. The nurses and doctors told her parents that if her symptoms got any worse, she needed to come back immediately, even without the aid of an interpreter, otherwise to take her to the doctor’s in three days. Unfortunately, Gricelda’s parents did not fully understand the doctors, so after two days of Gricelda getting seriously worse, she was taken back to the hospital where they discovered her ruptured appendix. Gricelda was then airlifted to a medical center in Phoenix, where she soon died. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2150609/) Also “There is a five-to-one gap – only 6 percent of the medical doctors speak Spanish” and "The bottom line is that patients are getting wrong or life-threatening care." (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/language-279304-spanish-health.html) These are both quotes straight from an article talking about how there are not many bilingual workers in health care, and how because of this not all the patients are getting the medical attention that they deserve. It is unethical that some people will get proper treatment, but not all will, especially when under the Constitution the constitution we are all equal. As Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, there is a great need for interpretation, “The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 22% increase through the year 2018 for Interpreters and Translators,” and many interpreters are needed in the healthcare system “Positions in healthcare facilities like hospitals and doctor's offices include the following: Medical Translators and Interpreters, Nurses, Physicians, Physician Assistants, Medical Assistants, Receptionists, Case Workers, and Medical Billing Specialists.” (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/bilingualspanishjobs/prweb9147153.htm) Cases like Gricelda’s are heartbreaking and it is very unfair to her, and her parents. It is unethical that not everyone is able to be treated equally. More people should be educated in Spanish so that there are even more people willing to translate, seeing as everyone has the right to live. The poorest Spanish speaking country in the world is Nicaragua. According the World Factbook, Nicaragua has a population of 5,788,531 and 42.5 percent are in poverty. (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html) Sadly, this means that 2,460,126 people do not have enough money to provide for their family, and can not receive the proper necessities to live. For Nicaraguans-and other people of poor Spanish speaking countries- to receive help, a group of people might volunteer to go to that country. But if these people do not speak Spanish, and do not have a translator on hand, they will not be able to fully fulfill the needs of the people. Plus, if no one were to go to these poor countries, young children and adults will starve. More people in the United States need to learn Spanish so that more can help those poor souls. The United States should require all teenage students to take at least two years of Spanish. This would be very beneficial to all citizens. Many people throughout the world speak Spanish, and since the United States has the largest English speaking population in the world, it would make traveling a lot easier for them to travel and interact with other countries. Not only would it be easier to provide healthcare to native Spanish speakers, but the citizens would also gain knowledge of other nation’s cultures. Also, citizens would be able to travel to Spanish speaking countries in need of volunteers without needing a translator. Citizens should have to take two year of the Spanish language.
Bibliography "Bilingual Spanish Speaking Healthcare Workers Continue To Be In Demand in 2012." PRWeb. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. "Central Intelligence Agency." The World Factbook. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Chen, Alice Hm, Mara K. Youdelman, and Jamie Brooks. "The Legal Framework for Language Access in Healthcare Settings: Title VI and Beyond." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Oct. 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. "Language a Barrier to Health Care." The Orange County Register. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. "Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World." Infoplease. Pearson Education, Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. "O, Pish Posh!" O Pish Posh. Opishposh, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.