English Uber Alles?
Every few years, it seems, there's a hue and cry in the land to make English the official language of this country.
As if we Americans need more laws to make us even more arrogant.
Somebody once said that if you're annoyed talking to somebody with a heavy accent you should remember that he or she is at least bilingual. Americans are almost defiantly monolingual these days.
"Hey,'' some seem to imply, ''if English was good enough for Jesus in the family Bible, it ought to be good enough for these furinners.''
There are at least two senses in which the imprimatur of "official'' in terms of English strike me as wrong-headed:
1) English as the official language in the same sense that McDonald's is the official french fry of the Olympics. What's next? Why not make the New Testament the "official holy book'' of the United States.
Well, that's just silly, of course, but the second sense is deadly serious and has about it the whiff of something ugly.
2) Mandating the official language sounds like desperation, like something that would happen in Germany at the dictates of a bunch of politicians pissed off about the Treaty of Versailles.
Let's face it. This is America, land of Free Speech, even if that speech happens to take place in Spanish or Hindi. It's also home to capitalism and if a businessman figures he can make a few bucks by putting up billboards in Spanish, how is that any skin off your nose?
Obviously, you can get ahead better in this country if you understand the lingua franca. On the other hand, if you're not fluent, you avoid the pain associated with listening to daytime talk shows.
One small comfort if the idea ever becomes law: There are a lot of nativist xenophobes who wouldn't pass whatever spelling or grammar tests were used to see who speaks English.
As if we Americans need more laws to make us even more arrogant.
Somebody once said that if you're annoyed talking to somebody with a heavy accent you should remember that he or she is at least bilingual. Americans are almost defiantly monolingual these days.
"Hey,'' some seem to imply, ''if English was good enough for Jesus in the family Bible, it ought to be good enough for these furinners.''
There are at least two senses in which the imprimatur of "official'' in terms of English strike me as wrong-headed:
1) English as the official language in the same sense that McDonald's is the official french fry of the Olympics. What's next? Why not make the New Testament the "official holy book'' of the United States.
Well, that's just silly, of course, but the second sense is deadly serious and has about it the whiff of something ugly.
2) Mandating the official language sounds like desperation, like something that would happen in Germany at the dictates of a bunch of politicians pissed off about the Treaty of Versailles.
Let's face it. This is America, land of Free Speech, even if that speech happens to take place in Spanish or Hindi. It's also home to capitalism and if a businessman figures he can make a few bucks by putting up billboards in Spanish, how is that any skin off your nose?
Obviously, you can get ahead better in this country if you understand the lingua franca. On the other hand, if you're not fluent, you avoid the pain associated with listening to daytime talk shows.
One small comfort if the idea ever becomes law: There are a lot of nativist xenophobes who wouldn't pass whatever spelling or grammar tests were used to see who speaks English.
posted by Michael Riley at 10:40 AM
7 Comments:
that's fine, as long as US (legal)taxpayers do not have to foot the bill for all the bilingual (trilingual) signage, IRS forms,government forms and instructions at Motor Vehicle, veterans hospitals and many other government offices now in multi-language..the only other language I am willing to pay for is Braille and sign language interpretors...because, where do you stop? Spanish? French" Chinese?
English should be the official language, and it's not silly or wrong headed.
It's recognizing something as a standard. We have people flocking to this country knowing they can come in illegally. They mock us.
In a way, your statements do the same thing.
This has nothing to do with whether billboards are in Spanish (will they have English subtitles??).
And your thoughts about "desperation" and comparing wanting to preserve a standard with World War II German tactics is insulting.
Margaret
next will be accepting all foreign currencies ...
Pretty soon all we'll have is foreign currencies as we're sending all our dollars overseas.
"... where do you stop? Spanish? French" Chinese?"
Hey! Those are all my favorite foods!
I'm torn on this issue. On the one hand, it would make a lot of sense for people to learn to speak the language of the country they emigrate to. On the other hand, let's face it, these are poor people. Many don't even have schooling in their native countries so where are they supposed to get training in English? To fault poor people for what effectively amounts to them being poor is childish and the kind of thing I expect to hear from Rush Limbaugh and the clowns at Fox News.
My husband's father was an immigrant from Italy. His parents came here (as everyone does) for a better life. Also in his family's case, there was the aftermath of WW II, and the poverty in Italy at the time.
Anyway, my father in law and siblings were elementary school age. They learned the language quickly (necessity, of course) and taught their parents, sometimes translating for them. I know this is the case in schools now, where the school systems are flooded with both legal and illigal immigrants.
I believe that Americans, like the Europeans, should be introduced to languages (two or more) at a very young age. And the language studies should continue throughout their entire education process.
This is a very tall order, I know. We can hardly find enough foreign language teachers to help out the schools with the many children who are ESL students. Americans grew up without the benefit of foreign language until they hit high school, in some instances. By that time, it's almost too late, as young children absorb much better a new language.
This subject of keeping English as the primary language in the US is far reaching, and has multiple layers. We can't have total chaos and confusion...there has to be a standard and primary language.
At the same time, we would be wise to wake up and promote more foreign language acquisition. The Europeans are far ahead of us in that regard. If we are such a "superpower" (old term, I know), then we had better evolve a little. That does not mean forfeiting English.
Margaret
Margaret
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