Exposé anglais sur l'immigration aux USA

“US society is a Salad Bowl; immigrants are no longer assimilated” 

Usually, it can be said that US society is multicultural, therefore it is often represented by the metaphor of the “melting pot” which is used to describe how immigrants who come to the United States end up assimilating in order to create one and single American culture.

But is it really the case?

A second vision of the topic creates a debate; indeed, some believe that the correct expression to describe American society would be the one of the “salad bowl”. According to them immigrants are no longer assimilated, which is the fact to integrate into a social group by adopting their traditions or language for example.

This metaphor describes the fact that immigrants who settle down in the United States combine their cultures with others, but they do not abandon their own cultural identity. Therefore, fundamentally, the US are a great integration of unique and distinct cultures. It would then no longer seem relevant to talk about a “melting pot” to evoke the current situation. Because at first sights immigrants do not seem to assimilate to the local culture by keeping their own traditions and customs for example.

This statement could be especially true about the traditional customs that are specific to each culture, thus people who emigrated from china for example still celebrate Chinese New Year while living in the United States.

But dose keeping remnants of their ancestors and roots mean that they do not integrate into their host country?

Of course not. It is important to ask the question of the real existence of authentic American culture. it is only possible that it is a mixture made from those who migrated from Europe to the American continent since the nineteenth century. So, this American culture would be fundamentally based on the ancient experiences of European nations. Of course, it has become over time the culture that is now known today, but it shows that speaking of assimilation in the specific case of the United States can be rather ironic knowing the past of that country.

Moreover, if a certain American culture really exists now, it is wrong to say that o

immigrants are no longer assimilated. Conversely, they adopt the different social codes related to this culture, most of them celebrate for example typical American events like thanksgiving; and even if the country does not technically have an official language English is recognized as such and it really is in 31 states, so most of immigrants adapt to the language by knowing it before coming or by learning it afterwards.

Then yes, it is possible to say that indeed the US society is a salad bowl in the sense that it is enriched by the very diverse cultures of its inhabitants; and that’s what makes American culture so specific, so it doesn’t have that negative connotation that might seem to exist at first glance. On the other hand, it would be wrong to say that immigrants are no longer assimilated because in reality American culture is the culture of everyone, it has been so built. And those who settle in the country always adopt the specificities that are present there. To deny that is to deny the very American culture that is based on multiculturalism.

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