America's Bilingual Century: How Americans are giving the gift of bilingualism to themselves, their loved ones, and their country

by Steve Leveen Narrated by Sean Pratt

Overview

How can Americans make our country stronger, kinder, smarter? By marshaling our enviable can-do ethic and learning another language. We can do it, no matter what our age: author Steve Leveen chose Spanish as his adopted language in midlife. America's Bilingual Century is filled with tips for learning a language, some mechanical-like changing your phone and laptop settings to your adopted language-and some philosophical. For instance, start by having a place in your life where you'll use the language, Steve says. The "where" makes the "how" more attainable. And recognize that, as with any adoption, you do it for love, and for life--so don't fret when you're not fluent in five months.

If you have kids, start them young. You'll be glad you did when you read about the explosive growth of dual language schools across the country and the significant, measurable advantages they give our young people. Steve also takes us to the top summer language immersion camps, for both children and adults. And he shares his findings from leading language scholars, teachers, sociolinguists, app creators, and bilinguals of all stripes that he discovered during his dozen years of research.

Then he topples 12 myths about Americans and languages that no longer hold in this century. Like thinking the whole world speaks English (it doesn't), that being monolingual is natural (it isn't), and that Americans suck at language (quite the opposite, as he demonstrates). Here and now in the 21st century, America is embracing its many ethnic and cultural heritages. How natural, then, that we enfold the many languages that these heritages thrive on as part of that quintessentially American pursuit of happiness.

If you've never thought of bilingualism as being a patriotic act, America's Bilingual Century may persuade you otherwise. Knowing a second language changes the way we perceive the world, and the way the world perceives us. "English is what unites us," Steve says. "Our other languages are what define and strengthen us."

And even if becoming bilingual leans more toward aspiration than arrival, that's okay. The journey is as rewarding as the destination.

Thank you for supporting an important cause! All proceeds from book sales fund language grants that the America the Bilingual Project awards.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A well-written, attention-grabbing journey into polyglot life."

--Kirkus Reviews

"Full of wit, powerful stories, and genuinely helpful tips, this highly readable book could not be more timely. Read this book and be transformed!"

--Amy Chua, Yale Law professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations

"An inspiring and enlightening exploration of bilingualism, asking and answering all the right questions. Also, it reads like a charm."

--Gaston Dorren, author of Lingo and Babel

"I love this book. It is personal and also highly practical. It is well-informed and also slyly humorous. It equips individuals for a richer, more satisfying life--and is a guide for communities to do the same. This is a book I hope people of all generations read."

--James Fallows, coauthor of the bestselling Our Towns and writer for The Atlantic

"Curl up with America's Bilingual Century to get answers to the questions people REALLY have about language. How can you really learn another one? How hard will it be? Do I really need to? And why? Leveen ladles out wise and witty answers to all of these and many more, as someone who decided to shed his monolingualism in middle age and hasn't stopped since."

--John McWhorter, Columbia University professor of linguistics, Lexicon Valley podcast host, and author of 10 books on language

"Steve Leveen won't make you bilingual. But he will make you wish you were, appreciate the reasons you should be, and figure out how to adopt that second (third, or fourth) language. There may be no better gift than an alternate identity -- unless it's a nimbler brain, an expanded horizon, a rich vein of surprise, or a double helping of empathy. A warm, winning book from the most motivated--and motivating--of students."

--Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Great Improvisation and Cleopatra

"At Duolingo, we see teaching languages as an incredibly powerful way to change lives and change the world. Steve's got the right idea: learning a language should not be a chore, but a source of joy and connection. Steve's book can help language learners get over their shyness and succeed on their own bilingual journeys."

--Luis von Ahn, CEO and cofounder of Duolingo, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, MacArthur Fellow

Kirkus Reviews

2020-11-04
An advocate for bilingualism notes the many advantages of learning other languages.

In this nonfiction book, Leveen, the author of Holding Dear (2013), uses his own experience learning a second language in adulthood as a starting point for exploring the value of multilingual living. He also draws on dozens of interviews with linguistic experts and others—many of which were collected for his America the Bilingual podcast—to explore how and why people speak multiple languages and how it shapes their everyday lives. Some interviewees learned a second language for professional advancement; others did so as children to engage with their immigrant parents; and still others are expatriates who’ve picked up enough words and phrases to get by. One of the book’s main objectives is encouraging English-speaking American readers to expand their horizons. It also gets into the history of linguistic trends in the United States, including the phenomenon of English-only advocacy. Leveen’s writing is solid, and he does an excellent job of weaving his many discussions into an overarching narrative; the compelling stories keep the pages turning despite the book’s considerable length. He’s realistic about the challenges of learning a new language but still encouraging (“I’ve never heard anyone say to me, ‘I took four years of high school band’ and then complain that they can’t sit in with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra”), and he urges readers to understand bilingualism as a continuum, not a binary status. Appendices provide additional references for those interested in bilingualism advocacy, and a substantial collection of endnotes provides additional discussion.

A well-written, attention-grabbing journey into polyglot life.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178743768
Publisher:	America The Bilingual Press
Publication date:	01/04/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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