Pasadena Star-News, CA
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA
March 11 2005
County’s diversity shown in language
By Jason Kosareff , Staff Writer
Looking for a conversation in Efik? How about Wu? Want to chat over
coffee in the language of Ladino or Frisian?
These exotic languages aren’t common, but they are a few of the 135
languages spoken in Los Angeles County, which ranks first in the
nation for diversity of tongues, according to a study released this
week.
While California has 11.97 percent of the American population, the
state has a majority of the country’s Armenian, Cantonese, Mandarin,
Samoan and Tagalog speakers, according to the study by the U.S.
English Foundation, a Washington, D.C.- based nonpartisan interest
group. A total of 207 languages were counted in the state.
Using Census data, researchers counted 321 languages spoken across
the nation.
A microcosm of the world’s languages can be found right here in the
region. Sometimes Quoc Tran finds himself a bit of a language
detective.
Tran is the English language development coordinator for Alhambra
Unified School District, which serves Alhambra, Rosemead, Monterey
Park and San Gabriel. Sometimes a kid is dropped on his proverbial
doorstep and Tran has no idea what language that child is speaking.
“It has happened on quite a few occasions,’ Tran said. “We would tape
some of the speech patterns of the child and we’ll play it on the
telephone to a department of education consultant.’
While completely obscure languages are not the norm, the district of
19,900 students is home to 23 different languages. The most common
among them are English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Vietnamese,
in that order.
Some kids just speak languages found somewhere in between two or
three other languages, almost pidgin languages.
“We have Chinese children who come in from Peru,’ Tran said. “They’re
not Cantonese speakers. When that happens, all bets are off.’
Tran said it is best to keep a child’s native language alive in the
home because it creates a better foundation for understanding English
and other languages while improving the child’s earning potential in
adult years.
Lulu Juco, 55, of West Covina, speaks Ilocano, a dialect of Tagalog
found commonly among nine provinces in the northern island of Luzon
in the Philippines archipelago. For Juco and her family, Ilocano is a
proud tradition and she is happy to find a Ilocano-speaking community
of 3,845 here.
There is even an association of Ilocano speakers.
“All of us get together once a year,’ Juco said. “And of course, we
talk our language.’
Rex Chang of Monterey Park speaks Hakka, the 108th most common
language in the county. For the Hakka, anyone who comes from
somewhere else is a part of their culture. They are a people fond of
traveling, and the name Hakka simply means “guest,’ Chang said.
The Hakka diaspora reaches around the globe, Chang said. What keeps
everyone on the same page is the language, which originates from
China’s earliest dynasties in the Yellow River region.
“I don’t know about other families, but my family still forces
everyone to learn to speak Hakka,’ Chang said.
The most obscure language in the region is Pennsylvania Dutch, with
just 20 speakers, according to the study. Other exotic languages
include Cajun with 25 speakers, Hopi with 25 speakers, Palau with 30
speakers, while Keres, Ojibwa and Melanesian round out some of the
rarest of tongues here.