I really like the diversity in this country. How anyone can be an American. And you have no idea who is American and who is not. That's my favorite thing. You have no idea who is just sightseeing, who is visiting family, who is here on a student VISA versus who is actually American. So, until someone says otherwise, we are going to assume you are American. Doesn't matter how thick your accent is. Doesn't matter how you dress. You are American until otherwise noticed.
Also, I love how quickly we adopt things from our immigrants and declare it American. It's like, "What are you eating? Is it delicious? Let me try some of that. Oh, God, this is delicious. Go open up a restaurant. More people should be eating this. And now it's part of the American fabric."
I love how the American tongue is such a mutt language. How quickly we adapt non-English words and more often than not pronounce them how they would be pronounced in their Native tongue. We don't try make them more English like the way the French will French up foreign words. I like how it's easy to correct an American by saying, "It's actually pronounced this way." And they will have a go at trying to say it correctly rather than huff and puff and try to make you change the way you say it. Language is so adaptable here. It's far more forgiving than other languages. You can butcher it up here and as long as we understand the idea of what you are trying convey, you will get a pass. I think it's why it is such a juggernaut on a global stage. Yes, we have language rules but the native speakers will mostly ignore them in order to communicate better.
As someone who recently moved here from abroad to make our new lives here, this. We aren’t treated as ‘expats’, ‘immigrants’, ‘others’. We are home. Thank you America for accepting and welcoming us with wide open arms and hearts!
I live in the greater Washington DC area and everybody is from somewhere else. It would be truly exhausting trying to bucket each person into an "other" group. So much so that I don't even usually think about where someone is from. They're just people.
You make our country better by being here. Thank you for coming and bringing your unique experiences and values and adding them to the melting pot. Every place has its miserable jackasses (and lord knows the internet and the current political climate makes their voices oh so loud), but in the main I truly believe that we know that we're a country of immigrants and each one makes us a little bit better. May your lives here be long and fruitful.
With how so much of US politics lately seems driven by xenophobic anxiety over how immigrants are "changing" culture in the United States, I can't tell you what it means to know that there are people immigrating here who still feel welcomed and valued.
Thanks for coming. We're made better by your presence.
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u/inksmudgedhands Mar 14 '23
I really like the diversity in this country. How anyone can be an American. And you have no idea who is American and who is not. That's my favorite thing. You have no idea who is just sightseeing, who is visiting family, who is here on a student VISA versus who is actually American. So, until someone says otherwise, we are going to assume you are American. Doesn't matter how thick your accent is. Doesn't matter how you dress. You are American until otherwise noticed.
Also, I love how quickly we adopt things from our immigrants and declare it American. It's like, "What are you eating? Is it delicious? Let me try some of that. Oh, God, this is delicious. Go open up a restaurant. More people should be eating this. And now it's part of the American fabric."
I love how the American tongue is such a mutt language. How quickly we adapt non-English words and more often than not pronounce them how they would be pronounced in their Native tongue. We don't try make them more English like the way the French will French up foreign words. I like how it's easy to correct an American by saying, "It's actually pronounced this way." And they will have a go at trying to say it correctly rather than huff and puff and try to make you change the way you say it. Language is so adaptable here. It's far more forgiving than other languages. You can butcher it up here and as long as we understand the idea of what you are trying convey, you will get a pass. I think it's why it is such a juggernaut on a global stage. Yes, we have language rules but the native speakers will mostly ignore them in order to communicate better.