By: Daniel Nardini
The Republican candidates and even current U.S. President Barack Obama believe that English should be made the official language of the United States. They keep rehashing the same arguments that it is “necessary to hold the nation together” and to also help better educate an estimated 25 million people in this country with “limited English” proficiency. I have to ask myself the question how declaring English as an official language will help people with limited English proficiency? Some argue that if all information were printed in English only, and that all ballots and government guides were printed in English only then all immigrants would have to really learn English. Still another argument is that if immigrants have all information printed in their languages that they will “not assimilate” as they should. Hence, all information should be printed in English and English only.
I have seen this argument made and rehashed ever since I started writing for the newspaper. It is not a new argument, and it is not a foolproof one. First of all, one of the reasons why ballots are printed in more than one language is to allow those who are learning English but who may have trouble trying to vote to have a chance to know how to cast a ballot. This does not make a person “illiterate” in English—only helps a person exercise their rights as U.S. citizens in one of the most important political processes in this country. No one is denying that learning English is important, and that having basic English proficiency is the key to living and getting ahead in the United States. Without a basic command of English, one cannot read street signs, know where to go for grocery shopping or appointments, being able to attend school, and do anything at the work place.
At the same time, I have to ask the question on whether making English the official language will mean that the U.S. government will invest in more English language education for immigrants? Will it mean trying to help immigrant employees in the workplace be able to understand English better? Will it help them to better understand how to exercise their legal and political rights? One other problem is that the older a person is the harder it is for them to be “proficient” in English. They may be able to learn and use English to a limited extent, but after that asking them to be “fluent” in English may be asking them to know how to paint the Sistine Chapel. Also bare in mind that depending on what language immigrants speak, English may indeed be an incredibly hard language for them to learn. For instance, English bares little resemblance to, say, Mandarin Chinese, Korean or Hindi. It may take almost twice as long for them to learn English compared to a Spanish speaker or someone fluent in French.
And then we have to keep in mind that this country is not a monolithic state. What about the Native Americans and all their languages? English is not their first language, and languages like Cherokee, Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Aleut and Sioux were here long before English. If we make English the “official” language, then shouldn’t we allow them to also have official languages? They were here hundreds of years before the first Europeans settled on this continent after all. And keep in mind that Spanish was being used in this country long before English. Would not this type of law be as equally discriminatory for Latinos who ancestors have been in this country before the United States existed? So far, those politicians who have tried to make English the official language have not succeeded. And of course, this being an election year both Republicans and Democrats will say just about anything to score points with certain groups of voters. Nevertheless, we have to be careful about any attempts in trying to legislate what language we should all be speaking.
The Official English Language Rehash
By: Daniel Nardini
I have seen this argument made and rehashed ever since I started writing for the newspaper. It is not a new argument, and it is not a foolproof one. First of all, one of the reasons why ballots are printed in more than one language is to allow those who are learning English but who may have trouble trying to vote to have a chance to know how to cast a ballot. This does not make a person “illiterate” in English—only helps a person exercise their rights as U.S. citizens in one of the most important political processes in this country. No one is denying that learning English is important, and that having basic English proficiency is the key to living and getting ahead in the United States. Without a basic command of English, one cannot read street signs, know where to go for grocery shopping or appointments, being able to attend school, and do anything at the work place.
At the same time, I have to ask the question on whether making English the official language will mean that the U.S. government will invest in more English language education for immigrants? Will it mean trying to help immigrant employees in the workplace be able to understand English better? Will it help them to better understand how to exercise their legal and political rights? One other problem is that the older a person is the harder it is for them to be “proficient” in English. They may be able to learn and use English to a limited extent, but after that asking them to be “fluent” in English may be asking them to know how to paint the Sistine Chapel. Also bare in mind that depending on what language immigrants speak, English may indeed be an incredibly hard language for them to learn. For instance, English bares little resemblance to, say, Mandarin Chinese, Korean or Hindi. It may take almost twice as long for them to learn English compared to a Spanish speaker or someone fluent in French.
And then we have to keep in mind that this country is not a monolithic state. What about the Native Americans and all their languages? English is not their first language, and languages like Cherokee, Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Aleut and Sioux were here long before English. If we make English the “official” language, then shouldn’t we allow them to also have official languages? They were here hundreds of years before the first Europeans settled on this continent after all. And keep in mind that Spanish was being used in this country long before English. Would not this type of law be as equally discriminatory for Latinos who ancestors have been in this country before the United States existed? So far, those politicians who have tried to make English the official language have not succeeded. And of course, this being an election year both Republicans and Democrats will say just about anything to score points with certain groups of voters. Nevertheless, we have to be careful about any attempts in trying to legislate what language we should all be speaking.