“What do you call someone who speaks one language? An American.”

BY EMILY GAUDETTE

Map of world languages

Despite the fact that the United States does not have a national language, English is still considered the de facto spoken language in the country.

"We live in a society that is very mono-linguistic. In our society, knowing another language really distinguishes you,” Stonehill professor Peter Mahoney, chair of the Language, Literature, and Culture department said.

He said that Americans need to consciously challenge the culturally-embedded notion of “I’m an American—why do I need to learn another language?”

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 21.7 percent of citizens in the United States speak a different language other than English at home. In 2021, 13.3 percent out of the 21.7 percent of individuals spoke Spanish in the home.

Mahoney teaches Spanish. This includes Spanish contextualized through Spanish and Latin American culture, Spanish films, Spanish literature, and history. Other subjects the department covers includes language and globalism, language and gender studies, and language in the media.

The department strives to teach not only grammar and vocabulary but a language’s culture, community, art, and history, he said.

To cultivate this experience, majors in the Language, Literature, and Culture department are required to travel abroad as their capstone.

“Learning a language is an experiential thing,” Mahoney said, “Students become othered, they are limited in vocab and struggle to understand what's going on. This teaches them how to work and survive in uncomfortable situations.”

Being immersed in something so unfamiliar and stimulating makes students more culturally conscious, Mahoney said.

Since the travel abroad experience is akin to the capstone or senior thesis for language majors, the pandemic dealt a major blow to the department and to the International Studies programs.

Fortunately, Dean of Academic Affairs Peter Ubertaccio and new International Programs Director Hillary Sabbagh are researching alternative experiences for travelling abroad, which will provide flexibility to those who want the opportunity to travel abroad but cannot do an entire semester.

Some of these trips could either be a semester abroad during the summer, a week over spring break, or a couple weeks right after senior graduation in May and June.

Typical abroad locations for language majors and minors include Spain, Morocco, France, Italy, and Germany.

“Learning a language can help build human connections as members of an increasingly connected, global society,” said Mahoney. “However, it all starts at the local level.”