In English or Espanol, It’s no Problemo
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in ImmigrationNo, I do not intend to start using Spanish in the titles of all my posts, but I wanted to make an additional comment in regards to my early post about English as our national language.
A blog called Right on the Right, quoted my passage about all the Spanish I see here in San Antonio as an example of the kind of linguistic incursion to which he’s opposed.
O.k. I can understand the concern. While many of us are comfortable with bilingualism, many others see such a system as creating cultural instability. But, to those who would prefer grocery stores carry products with English-only labels, I have to ask: what’s your remedy?
Spanish-language store signage and billboards and labeling and the like are the product of market-driven decisions. No government agency is mandating this form of bilingualism�it’s occurring because private business are making marketing decisions. Should we pass laws restricting what language American businesses can use on their products or in their advertising?
It’s one thing to say our government communications should use only English, it’s a much different thing to want all our commercial communication to also conform to one language.
As with so many other issues, we have to separate what government can do and what it cannot do. If private companies decide that their business will improve by going bilingual, there is nothing we can reasonably expect our government to do to halt the trend. Sure, private citizens could boycott bilingual-friendly companies, but this is simply not an area in which the government should be involved.
Personally, I am unbothered by the bilingualism I see in my city. I do not think San Antonio is culturally unstable because of it and I do not think English is even remotely in danger of being supplanted. What I see is a vibrant commingling of culture and language�the kind of fusions that have long spurred America to greatness and innovation.
I don’t support Spanish-only classrooms in public schools or anything so over-the-top, but bilingualism in the public square is not something that bothers me. Those who wish it to go away really need to ask themselves how far they are willing to go to stop the trend.
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May 21st, 2006 at 4:10 pm
So if we’re going to make English our official language in order to insure that people assimilate into the American culture, why not take it a step further? Why not ban St. Patrick’s Day, Columbus Day, Kwanzaa, and all other events that celebrate other cultures or any other foreign heritage? It appears that a number of politicians and Americans believe that Mexicans should not to be allowed to openly celebrate their heritage. To my thinking, it simply demonstrates that bias and prejudice are hijacking the immigration dialogue.
Anyone who has walked the streets of any major U.S. city has heard countless foreign languages being spoken and yet no one has suggested that all foreign languages are an issue that warrant the passage of legislation. The issue only arose when the topic was Mexican immigrants. Those who think that race has nothing to do with this particular immigration isue might want to take another look.
read more here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
May 21st, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Making English the common national language is not tantamount to asking them to give up everything they’ve brought with them from their home cultures. Cultural identity doesn’t just lie with the language, and what makes theirs different and special will be accepted by our own culture- and more than likely adopted (as was Cinco de Mayo, St. Patricks Day, Oktoberfest, etc. Kwanzaa, however, originated in the U.S.).
I agree with Alan that bilingualism can only enhance our society, but that we have to have a commonly accepted language. And that language in the United States has always- and should always- be English. Why is it a terrible hardship for the non-English speaking immigrants to learn enough of our language to be able to fill out a housing form without a translator? The Amish, full citizens, have their own language (and culture) that they use in their private lives, but they have no problems speaking English when outside of their communities. They have kept their traditions while adapting to be able to use government services. And that, I think, is how it should be.
May 24th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
ASC,
What you said!! Bilingualism is rathe convenient once you become accustomed. One of the reasons I “go local” when traveling is to experience that attempt to overcome the language barriers and learn some first-hand tidbits about the culture. My experience is that if you at least attemt to communicate in a country’s accepted language most folks will do whatever it takes to communicate.
May 24th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
I’ve thought about it and I think your right Daniel…we should ban Kwanzaa. It is a made-up, confusing, quazi-pagan holiday that symbolizes a symbol of something symbolic and I just don’t get it. Unless someone can explain it to me in three sentences or less, ban it. Christmas is our unifying, national holiday and every Jew knows it. So lets get with the program NPR-listening black people and start going broke and stressing out in celebration of Christ like the rest of us.
November 6th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
I believe that people are making too much of a deal about English being the “official” language of the United States. Just like any other country in the world it has to have an official language and the most spoken one is English. That however does not mean that any other language has to be abolished like most of the anti-immigrant and many other groups make it sound. The US is a country founded by immigrants and by no means would adopting English as the official language signify that every other language is abolished. People simply dont understand that it is not simple to learn a new language in a new nation, why dont they place themselves in the immigrants shoes? Would they learn spanish or french or any other language as quickly if they had so much of that language in their new home? Just because a person speaks a different language than English it should not mean that they should not be attented to or be forced to speak English to be acknowledged. Yes everyone should at least know some English because it is a basic necessity in this country but to all those hardcore pro-English is the best language ever, ask yourselves where you came from and if your ancestors started out speaking English.
November 9th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
It’s “No hay problema.” Please don’t perpetuate bad Spanish. Thanks.
April 25th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I sick of all this m*&&^f*&^&ing b*&^s&^t! Sick!Sick!Sick!