What happens to a diverse country when justice, health, and identity are all controlled by a single language? Division is what happens. Non-English speakers or non-fluent English speakers often face many challenges in the United States that significantly worsen their lives. For many, this means misunderstanding, exclusion, and unfair treatments. The United States systematically fails non-English speakers by allowing language barriers to create mass exclusion and unequal treatment. Language barriers aren’t just about not understanding someone properly, they also reshape entire lives. These crucial systems are falling short to protect everyone and require urgent attention and revision.
Amy Tan was born on February 19, 1952 in Oakland, California. She is an American writer of Chinese descent who graduated from Linfield University and has published many written works, such as, “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Kitchen God’s Wife.” Her works often explore themes of language, identity and culture, “Mother Tongue” is one such. Published in 1990, this essay discusses some of Tan’s experiences and personal anecdotes of her life with a mother with “broken” English. Its main purpose was to challenge societal stereotypes about people who are not fully fluent in the English language. Through her essay, Tan shares the idea that language unfairly influences how people are perceived and valued, and often, if someone doesn’t speak “standard” English, that perception automatically diminishes. To drive this point, Amy Tan recalls instances in which her mother was ignored by doctors and stockbrokers until Tan herself had to step in to speak fluent English and be acknowledged. These personal stories help bring forward an audience of people that have gone through similar experiences, mainly immigrants and children of immigrants.
Marginalizing people based on the way they speak is extremely unfavorable to everyone in this country. Not only does it stump our growth as a society, but it is extremely inhumane and creates a detrimental mindset for those affected. Amy Tan is no stranger to this conflict. While speaking about her mother, she recalls “I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect” (Tan 2). Tan showcases how her life with a mother who speaks “broken” English negatively affects her views of her own mother and in turn, she becomes ashamed of what others may think of them both. Such a situation shouldn’t be the case. People shouldn’t have to live thinking that they are inferior to others simply because of how they communicate, this greatly restricts people’s personal growth. Language stigmas are nonsensical since the value of someone shouldn’t be determined through speaking mainstream English. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, so why focus on the weaknesses and ignore the strengths? A society that devalues non-fluent speakers is one that creates barriers for itself and limits its own potential. If such discrimination in the U.S. continues, then every part of this society will suffer by not having as many people with different kinds of potential as it can have. The immoral language prejudice in this country will continue to hurt people and as result, the society as a whole.
Janis Palma is an English-Spanish interpreter and translator who is certified by the U.S. courts and NAJIT and was set to obtain her masters in legal studies at the Sandra Day O’Connor School of law in Arizona. With over 40 years of experience in the legal interpreter field, her public appearance, both online and in-person, firmly reflect her passion. An example of such is her non-profit organization, IKIGAI, whose purpose is to provide resources that all kinds of interpreters may need in order to fulfill their jobs efficiently and accurately. Her article, “When interpreting does not remove the language barrier: interpreter ethics at odds with due process rights in U.S. courts” is another result of her extensive career and a focus for this essay. This article, published in 2023, discusses the development of interpreters in U.S. courts over the years and analyzes how interpreter ethics can conflict with the due process rights of Limited English Proficient (LEP) defendants. The author uses this article to show how making courts accessible to people who don’t speak English is not just a matter of providing an interpreter, but also making sure that interpreter is competent and skilled enough to produce accurate and meaningful translations. Palma appeals to judges, attorneys, and policy makers to shed light on problems concerning language rights and fairness in the legal system of the U.S. Additionally, written by Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, Liz Hamel, Samantha Artiga, and Marley Presiado, the report “Language Barriers in Health Care: Findings from the KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health” describes the struggles of U.S. adults with limited English proficiency (LEP) dealing with the health-care system. Published in May of 2024, this article provides many statistics that show that there is a lack of equality in the health care system when it comes to people who are not fully fluent in English. Specifically, the report highlights that LEP adults are more likely to report poor health, less likely to have regular care visits, and are also more likely to be uninsured. By revealing these statistics, the authors appeal to policymakers, health-care providers, and advocates of health equality.
In the United States, there are many essential systems that are meant to help and protect its citizens. While these systems are crucial for people in this country, not everyone receives them equally, or doesn’t receive them at all. Such is the case for many non-English speakers. Time and time again, the legal and health care systems have failed to provide their full services to many of these individuals. When it comes to the legal system in the U.S., the way non-English speakers are able to be provided equal representation in their cases is through certified language interpreters. Though the intentions are present, these interpreters often don’t provide the necessary assistance that LEP adults need to be fully represented. Janis Palma explains that some state courts “continue to resort to ad hoc bilingual individuals who are far from qualified, while others still seem to have trouble understanding the inherent injustice in failing to provide an interpreter at all” (Palma 12). Just because someone can translate from another language to English and vice versa doesn’t always mean that they are able to fully convey the meanings of legal terms as well as the original intentions and tone of the courtroom. For example, with an incompetent interpreter, an LEP defendant would have trouble understanding the possible severity of the situation. They may not be able to understand charges, evidence, or legal consequences and would most likely not be able to fully comply with their lawyers and the judge in order to help their own case. Despite language interpreters being used by the justice system as a way to portray the overcoming of language barriers, the truth is that this is not always the case and many non-English speakers are vulnerable to unfair punishments and unequal due process. Similarly to the unequal protection of the law, people who are not proficient in English are also subject to unequal treatment and exclusion from the health care system in the U.S. Between LEP adults and English proficient adults there is a clear disparity that negatively affects those not proficient in English. The KFF report reveals that the percentage of adults with LEP compared to proficient English speakers who are uninsured and in fair or poor health is 33% to 7% and 34% to 19% respectively. Moreover, the report states that in the last 3 years, about half of the 26 million people who have LEP in the U.S. have reported experiencing at least one language barrier in basic healthcare interactions such as filling out forms and communicating with medical staff. With these statistics, it is evident that language barriers in healthcare settings don’t just occur every now and then to some people, it occurs to millions of non-English speakers. Such information also reveals the indifference that LEP individuals in this environment face, which clearly demonstrates that our healthcare system is flawed when it comes to accommodating everyone who needs it. Language barriers are not just a nuance for people, given the right circumstances, they can also be deadly. When individuals are unable to get the aid they need because of language difficulties, lives start to be put at risk. Taken together, both of these articles show the flaws of the legal and medical systems of the U.S. and how these necessary structures hinder many non-English speakers. Simply claiming to offer language access is not enough. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration such as interpretation quality and unmanaged discriminatory environments. This problem is far from just an inconvenience and it is putting people’s lives in danger. It is clear that necessary systems in the U.S. are failing non-English speakers and there is much to change and monitor. In order to diminish the effects of language barriers, they must first be understood deeply to find every instance in which it can affect people.
All in all, language should never affect anyone’s dignity, as well as their rights to the many services provided in the United States, yet this continues to be the case. Through the personal experiences described by Amy Tan, the failures in courtrooms revealed by Janis Palma, and the many health disparities that are shown in the KFF report, it is apparent that language still dictates who is fully seen and who is disregarded in this country. The many language barriers that affect millions are the very ones that restrict societal growth and threaten the fairness and equality that this nation is so keen to glorify. If this nation wants to live up to its name then it has to take immediate steps to confront this problem and in the process help those millions of individuals that have been forgotten by this systematic flawed country.

Works Cited

Palma, Janis. “When Interpreting Does Not Remove the Language Barrier: Interpreter Ethics at Odds with Due Process Rights in U.S. Courts.” Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy, 2023.

Gonzalez-Barrera, Ana, et al. “Language Barriers in Health Care: Findings from the KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health.” KFF, 2024.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” Course Reader, 1990.