(no subject)
We had a discussion in my office about how older immigrant families when they came to the United States encouraged their children to speak only English, and how modern immigrant families encourage their children to speak both their birth language and English.
One person said that his grandparents and parents just wouldn't speak to him in Italian when he was growing up.
I believe that the difference is due to the change American attitudes toward diveristy. When people were coming into the country in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and even into the 1950s, the American attitude was much more conformist and insular. Today, Americans are much more accepting of cultural diversity. (Or at least it is considered bad form to be obviously biased.)
One person said that his grandparents and parents just wouldn't speak to him in Italian when he was growing up.
I believe that the difference is due to the change American attitudes toward diveristy. When people were coming into the country in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and even into the 1950s, the American attitude was much more conformist and insular. Today, Americans are much more accepting of cultural diversity. (Or at least it is considered bad form to be obviously biased.)