But the US is becoming more multilingual, whether we want it to be or not. Our local school system posts the school year calendar in either 4 or 5 languages. I took a short course in Spanish and unfortunately did not retain most of it, but I am bringing some of it back by reading billboards in my neighborhood and reading the signs at the local "mercado." I can't read the increasing number of store signs in Korean, but I'll probably have to learn to someday.
We have always had a number of languages in the US; I grew up in St. Louis and there were neighborhoods where people still spoke German. However, in the past most immigrants to the US learned English and gave up their own languages within a generation. Now people are learning English but not necessarily giving up their old languages. Instead, the businesses are adapting to speak their language. I was surprised a few months ago to learn (from the woman who cut my hair) that cable TV in Korean is available in our area.
