Bilingual Nation
by Should the country vote on a national language? Or should the country vote on national languages?
But what are people afraid of? I am a white male; I have it made; I am sure to get a good job with no glass ceiling. If all of a sudden not speaking Bengali became a detriment to my success I might be a bit miffed. So I get why my kind could be biased. Is anyone else really worried about this? Does anyone believe that formally recognizing that other manners of speech exist is a danger to the fabric of society?
It should be granted that history would answer “yes” to that question. The past several times that a region in the United States changed its spoken language also saw a change in the ownership of that region. I am talking about the acquisitions of the southwest from Mexico, Louisiana from France, and the entire country from its native peoples. But, with those exceptions, does language really play that big a role in things?
I wanted to throw this in there: Louisiana Creole. I”m not sure exactly what I wanted to prove with that, but no one I ever met in Oregon ever complained about Louisiana Creole.
Europe does not get hung up on language the same way America does. Look at Switzerland, the ever-neutral nation of Nazi gold and chocolate. They speak everything in Switzerland; from Italian and French, to German and Cow Latin (an ancient and otherwise forgotten language derivative of Pig Latin), the Swiss horde language like they horde toothpicks and nail files in their spiffy red pocketknives. It makes little sense to compare the U.S. of A. and Switzerland, but the important thing to note is that many countries officially recognize multiple languages. Moreover, ninety percent of European schoolchildren learn English as a second language, and nine European countries claim that more than half of their population can hold a conversation in English.
I don’t know the percentage of multilingual (English as a first language) Americans, but do you think it is anywhere near fifty percent? Conversely, nearly twenty percent of Americans speak a second language at home.
It might be beneficial to Americans to start becoming worldlier. Comprehension of linguistics not only strengthens communication skills, but also helps solidify work ethic in learning environments.
So, should English be our one and only language? Note that the federal government does not recognize any language, and three states are officially bilingual (Louisiana, New Mexico, and Hawaii). What would it even mean if the government was to rule on a national language? If we were put on the books as having two, or even three officially spoken words? Would it be giving “them” a foot in the door? Or might it instead indicate that we are finally ready to join the rest of the world stage?
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Post CommentBob
On May 3, 2008 at 2:10 pm
American Indian languages came first, so they should obviously be our national languages.
ann shrader
On July 13, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Maintaining a common language in the United States would help insure that we are free to learn the many second languages necessary to promote the political and economic place of the U.S. in a global society. For example, if we understood the languages of the Middle East and our economic competitors like China and Japan, our country might be an a different place today.
If we continue on our present path with growing language barriers in our own country, English speaking Americans may find that they must learn a second language merely to accommodate other Americans who don’t use English.
kdub
On July 30, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Comparing the U.S. to European countries just doesn’t make sense. Europe is small (comparitively speaking) and therefore, multilingualism is more practical.
The bottom line for us is that one language unifies the nation. Immigrants that learn English and acclimate to our culture can make significant contributions. Without learning the language, the acculturation cannot take place. Sacrificing our culture and way of life for the benefit or immigration is beyond senseless.
For a good read, check out The New Case Against Immigration by Krikorian.
John
On September 9, 2008 at 12:21 am
Living in Florida I am faced with this question every day. At the end of the day the problem is communication. You and I are able to communicate because we speak the same language. So if we assumed that I only spoke Spanish would it be fair of me to force you to write your article in Spanish. No, the logical solution would be for me to learn English since that is the language you know and you wrote the article. Why should the burden be yours? When I go into banks around my area I have noticed that the majority of the employees (75%) are bilingual and therefore all Hispanic. My son went to get a job with Verizon but since he was not bilingual he did not qualify. He is a white male, but yet he does not qualify. Why should he have to speak Spanish. Why can’t the caller speak English? Because we are allowing people to not learn English by providing Spanish. My city council actually had meetings that were in Spanish only. I received a card regarding new Post Office kiosks that I could not read because they were only in Spanish. There was not enough English on the card for me to know what it was saying. There are billboards that have only Spanish. So how is it that an American who speaks English cannot communicate with American businesses? Because we are making it unnecessary to learn English.
My ancestors as well as those of many Americans did not speak English they day the arrived in America. Imagine if they had never learned English but continued to speak only their native language. I wouldn’t be writing these remarks right now and I would bet that America would not be the country that it is today. Imagine if I could not communicate with my neighbor or more importantly a fire fighter or police man. We must continue to ensure that we all speak a common language. I, as you, did not pick English, but that has become the common language that all of our families have learned and used to prosper. Why should that change now?