Should English be the National Language?

Posted on May 19th, 2006 by Christine.
Categories: Current Events & Politics.


The debate over how to handle illegal immigration in the US has sparked several spin-off concerns, one being a bill currently being considered in Congress about whether the US should make English the national language. Up until now, the US has had no official language, but until recently, immigrants from other countries have, for the most part, learned English once they arrived here in an effort to successfully assimilate.

With the huge influx of immigrants from Mexico– all Spanish speakers– we are now faced with a large segment of the population who only speak Spanish. And the need to learn English to be able to work, live, and get an education here is waning. It makes sense that whenever you have large communities of people who speak the same language and conduct their lives without really leaving that community– or at least have enough other bilingual members who can translate when necessary– the motivation to learn a new language decreases. If it were practically impossible to live and work here without knowing English, those who don’t speak English would natural feel the need on a daily basis to quickly get to know it.

But that’s obviously not the case. So if they can exist without knowing it, why is this even an issue?

There are several reasons why the ability to communicate verbally is important and to take the stance that there aren’t is simply ridiculous. Everything goes more smoothly when all parties involved speak the same language, from car accidents to sales transactions, to friendly chit-chat with someone standing next to you in line at the bank. Our schools educate our children more efficiently when a teacher isn’t forced to explain things over and over because of a language barrier or explain them in two different languages. Road signs and government forms are cheaper to produce when you only need to make one in English instead of a second one in Spanish. There are definite benefits to having one unified and common language.

And lets not forget that free ESL classes are available pretty much anywhere for people who want to learn. There are plenty of resources available to assist people who are motivated enough to learn English without spending money to do so. But is it in America’s nature to make a policy that there is only one official language here? We are a country of immigrants after all. I’m only fourth generation American myself– all of my great grandparents spoke European languages other than English natively.

So is it racist to create an official language? Are the English speakers just scared that they will someday be in the minority and their language will give way to Spanish as the Spanish-speaking population grows?

With so many other countries in Asia and the middle East and Africa forcing their citizens to learn English so that they can successfully compete in the world market, should we not take a lesson from them? In South Korea– one of the least homogenous countries in the world (98% Korean)– children begin learning English in the third grade. Wealthy parents put their children in special after-school programs to help accelerate their English skills and many begin to teach their kids English in preschool. The Ministry of Education there requires it. Yet… here in the U.S., some people are pissed off that we might start requiring people to speak English in order to graduate from high school. I don’t understand. Isn’t part of being educated the ability to understand how to read and write? Would I dare move to Hungary and then bitch that I couldn’t get a diploma from their schools having never learned Hungarian? It wouldn’t even cross my mind to do that.

The truth is, with the entire world learning English and the wealthy in this country speaking English, to encourage Spanish-speakers to never learn English is doing them a great disservice. Any native Spanish speaker who learned English and speaks fluently will tell you the same thing I’d imagine. Sometimes people don’t always want to do what’s best for them because it’s easier not to. In my opinion, making English the official language would actually help assimilation and reduce racism. There would be even more programs in place to help people learn English, there would be less frustration between ethnic groups once simple communication errors are avoided and therefore, less racial tension. But that’s just my opinion.

15 comments.

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aJ the Zen Master added

I agree.. It’s not just a case of “When in Rome..” but english is becoming more and more the global language. And knowing it in a English dominated country will not only make people more accessible to each other but will make for better business partners as well..

May 19th, 2006

Keith the Director stated

I actually agree with your opinion christine! I think English should be the “official” language. If i go to spain or germany to live and work i should learn spainsh or german. It’s their native language, and it’s what they speak. I shouldn’t force them to learn or speak english so i can get shit done. I am in their country, and should learn the countries language.

It’s only fair here as well. English has been spoken here since Day 1… it shouldn’t have to be labled the official language it’s a known. i hate the fact that when i go to my ATM machine and it asks for english or spanish. I’m in America I speak English it shouldn;t even be offered in spanish!

I just feel if you live in a certain country you should be forced to learn that countries language and speak it. Unfortunately I great grandmother refused to speak english. She aknew a little, but out right refused to speak it. So naturally I didn’t have a clue what anyone was saying so i played outside while the adults visited! I wish now I would have stayed and learned that language so I could be fluent in something other than English now.

I took french in h.s for 2 years and know enough to get by in Canada and in france for a while, and I took spanish for 3 semesters in college and could get by in mexico and spain the rest would come with time spent there. Just like other ppl coming here. Go to school and learn what you ca, the rest you will pick up after living the languge for a couple months.

May 19th, 2006

Christine the Lioness spake, and sayeth

I agree with you both. Excellent points. I actually took 4 years of German in high school and can barely speak it. A couple years ago, I got sick of being in LA and not being able to even communicate with gas station attendants, people working by my apartment, etc. so I hired a tutor to learn Spanish… I speak enough to get by now and when I was in Puerto Rico last year, I realized I even spoke more Spanish than some of them spoke English so it’s been really helpful for me to be able to rely on my limited bilingual abilities to communicate. I was really just more interested in making my own life easier and it’s easier if you speak both. So then… why do people who are coming here as immigrants not see that life is easier if you learn to speak the language? I was thinking about this today as I drove past a Korean bank by my apartment (there is a huge Korean population in the area of city where I live) and I realized I’ve never met a Korean in L.A. who didn’t speak English. Sometimes not so good and sometimes the accent is really heavy, but they speak it. And they are trying to assimilate. And it is way more difficult to learn English when you only spoke Korean than it is to learn English when you only spoke Spanish. The alphabet isn’t even the same. And then I started thinking about how you never see Koreans working at minimum wage jobs either. They work in stores and banks, etc., but they don’t wash dishes in the kitchen or clean motel rooms. And I think part of the reason they don’t do that is because they want to assimilate when they move here and have what other people have and don’t just settle for less than minimum wage jobs because they can speak, and do get educated, and have high expectations for themselves. At least that was just my thought today.

May 19th, 2006

Keith the Director said this

OMG this is becoming common with you agreeing with me christine. o Is there a change in the wind perhaps? Maybe you have finally seen the light and realized that Chris, Eric, and myself are right more times than you have given credit ) heh Seriously though i do see your point, and i have seen it here in pittsburgh the asina pop. does speak English and are holding down better jobs than hotel cleaning crews, and gas pumpers! It’s the same where evere you go. If you get the education you can get a decent job. But you can;t get educated if you don’t learn the language being spoken to you. Nice observation… ) >-

May 19th, 2006

Christine the Lioness remarked

Well, you might be right, and Christopher might be right… but I’m not holding my breath on Eric… -) Basically, I credit myself for educating you all. -)

Maybe the Asians are like, “Those stupid Americans will never be smart enough to learn Korean. Since we have superior intelligence, we should just learn English and save everyone a lot of time.” -)

May 19th, 2006

Keith the Director quibbed this

OMFG…….Christine??? Do I beieve what I’m reading? You cedit yourself for educating us? What have I learned from you? ) As far as the american korean comment. I don’t thnk it has enything to do with a superiority complex or what have you. I know I could learn korean if I absolutely had to. But i don’t plan on living in Korea anytime soon so I’m not. That goes for Russian which is also another hard language to learn, and Arabic. Arabic is so fucked up they speak the same language in the country but the dialects differ so much it’s like learning a totally diff. language. There is an arabic translator i work with everyday,and I see it firsthand.

To further expand on my original post. Not learning english living in America is as bad as the blacks wanting ebonics recognized as a language. It’s lazy and pathetic. All ebonics is is slang terms for the real words they want to butcher! Axe = A sharp metal object witha wooden handle used to chop trees and wood. ( and the occasional limb from a human ) ) However in ebonics Axe means I’d like to “ask” you a question!

I know foreigners who speak english better than some black americans. What’s wrong with that picture?

May 19th, 2006

Christine the Lioness chimed in with

Yes, ebonics was a sad, but fleeting attempt to get the world to accept lazy ass stupidity by suggesting it is “cultural.” I don’t know about anyone else, but I really don’t want “lazy ass” and “stupid” associated with my cultural heritage, but hey… to each his own. Just don’t bitch when people call you on that shit for what it really is.

To address your last foreigner comment in #6, you know… that really is irrelevant. I mean, being educated is being educated no matter what country you’re from or in… so that just proves our earlier point (again). If a foreigner can educate him/herself and learn English well, then there’s no reason Americans (black, white, or Spanish-speakers) can’t also. There just has to be enough of a motivation to learn it.

May 19th, 2006

Christopher the Pyro thought this

My gut feeling on this is that there should be no “national language” I mean.. personally I kind of like the idea of slave labor and as long as 15% of the population isn’t speaking english.. slave labor will be here to stay.. they can clean my house for a $1 a day.. and mow my lawn.. *shrug*…. seriously tho.. if you want to be at all important in the world you will learn english.. that is just a fact.. if you want to be irrelievent like the mexicans here.. you won’t learn english…
I do disagree.. english hasn’t exactly been spoken here since day one.. considering spanish, itailian, old english, and french all fought over this land for a few hundred years.. it just happened to be that the brits won.. so the majority speaks english.

May 19th, 2006

Keith the Director remarked

Don’t gte technical on me chris!:-w i know the history of the US, I mean Day 1 Counting the start date from july 4th 1776 We have spoke english! Sorry maybe I should have made that clear when I initally said it! )

May 19th, 2006

Christine the Lioness scribbled

This is coming from the man who has forbidden me to read, speak, or translate any Spanish while I’m in his car…

Christine: Hehe… that’s funny.
Christopher: What?
Christine: That bill board.
Christopher: Which one?
I point at the Spanish one.
Christopher: The Spanish one???
Christine: Yeah. It says–
Christopher: NO! Don’t tell me! No spanish allowed in this car!
I look at him, worried about his mental state.
Christopher: If they wanted me to know what it said, they would have put it in English!
Christine: Okay. Whatever.

That was the conversation we had about a year ago when we were driving back from the gun club. Oy ve. -)

May 19th, 2006

Keith the Director penned this

Sounds like a nice little conversation, but I think I have to agree with chris on that one. if they wanted the general public to know what it said it would have been in English )

May 19th, 2006

eric the Lil' Devil remarked

i gotta agree with chris on this too, english only in the car, i know how agravating day is at work so i would boycott spanish all together. but, christine; it’s not racist at all to want our nat language to be english, you are right on;)

May 22nd, 2006

Christine 2 the Mercenary thought this

The majority of this country speaks english…and will continue to. I’ve seen parents come in who have under 15 children translate perfectly for them…in both languages. ALors… ecoutez cette quote: “At one stage French and Channel Islands Patois were spoken more commonly than English. French was the official language and patois spoken in the home. The arrival of the English - encouraged by easier travel to the islands on steamers and the presence of the English army in the 1800’s - meant that the islands started to become a little “anglicised”. However the French influence was always strong and still remains so with place names and street names in that language.” Therefore, there’s nothing wrong with setting our own language in place, the people will adapt as they desire. If so many spanish speaking “CITIZENS” move in, and the language and culture is altered, so be it…as long as it was an action of majority culture. Until then….NOUS SAVONS ANGLAISES!!!!!!!!! Si je droits parler l’anglais, tous les americaines droits le parlez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 22nd, 2006

Christine the Lioness hunt n' pecked this

While that’s completely true in theory, C2… and of course, all languages evolve through the introduction of new languages, new cultures, etc, I think the whole national language debate is a response to the issues it is creating right now with major language barriers. Sure, in fifty years it won’t matter… but I can’t blame people for trying to fix the problems they are encountering today even if those problems won’t be significant later on.

May 23rd, 2006

 pontificated

(l)

May 21st, 2007

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