“I would make them all learn English”
Winston Churchill
Last week, the County Commissioners in largely Hispanic Dade County, voted to override a previously enacted regulation making English the official language of the county. This latest vote now permits the county to conduct its business in a language other than English when dealing with constituents who may speak only Spanish, for example.
Meanwhile, English was at the core of a California suit brought on behalf of a boy who contracted Reyes Syndrome after being given aspirin for a respiratory ailment. While an English warning was present on the aspirin package, the boy’s mother, who understood only Spanish, was unable to read or comprehend the warning. Despite the fact English is the official language of California, the appellate court overruled the trial court and held for the plaintiff.
While the generally popular Dade County vote was a foregone conclusion, the California decision remains controversial. Yet, both represent the latest skirmishes in the larger battle over whether our nation should adopt English as its official language. With more than 30,000,000 Americans regularly speaking one of some 148 distinct and recognized languages and/or dialects across our county … this issue continues to surface in schools, courtrooms, state legislatures and even in the halls of Congress.
Leading the charge to mandate English as the official language of the United States is “U.S. English”, an organization founded by former U.S. Senator, S.I. Hayakawa. A naturalized citizen, he had witnessed the destructive affects of multi-lingualism in his native India, resulting in increased levels racial, cultural and ethnic violence.
He argued a growing number of Americans, particularly among recent waves immigrants from Hispanic-speaking and East Asian language nations have frequently been led to believe a knowledge of English isn’t necessary. Many of these peoples have been educated in a feel-good atmosphere of bilingual schools, where they are primarily taught in their native languages while a command of English is de-emphasized.
Strong evidence supports his contention many such people have not been able to integrate themselves into the mainstream of American society. The policies encouraging them to avoid becoming fluent in English have condemned them to lives of isolation, illiteracy, poverty … and an easy mark for political and economic exploitation.
Opposing U.S. English are many dedicated individuals who believe enactment of English as an official language of the United States would inevitably bring an avalanche of restrictive laws, thereby relegating non-English speaking citizens to the same fate Senator Hayakawa believes most of them endure without such legislation.
Meantime, a variety of special interest groups, including some leaders of ethnic minority blocs, the National Education Association, the National Association of Bilingual Education and a variety of politicians for whom power and (their) jobs are at stake, have fanned the flames of this dispute to their own advantage. These social activists, for whom governmental intervention is the universal answer, reject the metaphor of American as a melting pot … replacing it with the myth that assimilation into the mainstream of American society is a betrayal of one’s cultural heritage. They equate laws mandating English as an official language with institutionalizing yet another form of racism in America.
While these “interventionists” with and their divisive and costly programs are dead wrong … the proposed enactment of sweeping English-only laws is equally dangerous!
At a time when many segments of our society seem to be inexorably withdrawing from one another, our common language continues to provide a bond of societal cohesiveness through which most Americans can easily communicate with one another. Perpetuation of the process of enacting laws mandating special consideration to non-English speaking groups threatens to accelerate the slow isolation of Americans from each other.
Our nation’s strength is based on the diversity of its citizens. Thus, denying any individual the right retain, celebrate and share their cultural heritages would be a serious infringement of their fundamental rights. Further, without continued active exposure to the diverse tongues of our planet, our Americanized-English language might cease to evolve and in the process loose much of the beauty and poetic qualities contributed by other dialects.
The polarized rhetoric of the opposing advocates in this long simmering debate needs to be put aside along with their complex legislative agendas. In their place, there must be a national commitment to ensure all Americans, whether native-born or immigrant receive a balanced linguistic education. This would include a firm mastery in English as well as a requirement for all children to become proficient in at least one language other than English.
By embracing such a balanced course our society will offer optimum educational, economic and social opportunities to all of its citizens. And, rather than encouraging separatism along linguistic lines or serving as an agent of racial or ethnic division, it will help engender greater knowledge, understanding and tolerance of the diverse people who make up our heterogeneous American stew.
