As children in elementary school, we were told that America is one big “melting pot.” The “melting pot” metaphor is used to describe how immigrants who come to America eventually become assimilated into American culture, thus creating multiple cultures that have blended into one.
Then, as we got older, we entered the debate of determining if America is a “melting pot” or a “salad bowl.” The “salad bowl” metaphor is a different view describing that immigrants who come to America combine their cultures with others, but still retain their own cultural identity. Basically, America is one big integration of unique, distinct cultures.
So which is it? The debate between these two metaphors is constant and depends on how someone views the world and the United States.
These two metaphors are used to describe America’s multiculturalism. The United States is home to immigrants from all over the world, which has resulted in such a high amount of multiculturalism. Immigrants are constantly coming to America and bringing their unique cultures with them.
In reality, the metaphor of a “melting pot” is no longer useful. Instead, America is more closely a “salad bowl.” We are all together, as one, but we also all have distinct cultures. Chinese-American citizens still celebrate the Chinese New Year. Indian-Americans still celebrate Diwali. And Mexican-Americans still celebrate The Day of the Dead. The list could go on and on. So, yes, they are American, but they still celebrate and practice their own culture.
On the other hand, America has become a “melting pot” in some aspects.Many cultures celebrate American holidays, even if it is not part of their own culture. For example, many non-Christian families who do not celebrate Christmas still partake in the exchange of gifts on this holiday. This could be termed as some cultures becoming “Americanized,” that is beginning to act as “Americans” do.
On top of that, the majority of immigrants from other countries that come to the United States do assimilate in the language area. Although there is no official language declared by the federal government, English is the most spoken language in the United States, as well as the official language in 31 states. Therefore, most immigrants either come to the United States knowing English, or learn it once they settle down. There has been heavy controversy over speaking different languages in the United States. You may be familiar with the saying: “You’re in America so you should speak English.” Many videos have surfaced on the Internet of Americans criticizing people from other countries for not speaking English in the United States. This shows that there is somewhat of an “expectation” for other cultures to learn English if they chose to live in the United States. This isn’t necessarily correct, but it is a popular viewpoint in the states.
