Hi Harold,<br>You are correct. I shouldn't have said "monolingual". They would have been mostly bilingual by the turn of the 20th century.<br>Raquel<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 8:39 AM, Harold Schiffman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hfsclpp@gmail.com" target="_blank">hfsclpp@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Regarding Raquel Sanchez's claim that there were many monolingual<br>
German speakers in the US prior to WWI, I would dispute this. My research<br>
(mentioned in an earlier post several days ago) indicates that German Americans<br>
were switching to English within 2 generations, and that the demand for English<br>
medium education and English medium religious services began to accelerate<br>
at about the time that German immigration peaked in 1882. My own<br>
mother's parents (one born in Germany and immigrated at the age of 8,<br>
the other born<br>
in the US of German-born parents) were both educated in English medium,<br>
and though their home language was German until WWI, they both saw English<br>
as the language of opportunity. My mother spoke German only until the age of<br>
6, then learned English at school.<br>
<br>
As for the other question of whether there should be a requirement of<br>
English knowledge for naturalization, it's already there--it became a<br>
requirement in the<br>
19th century in immigration law, but was never imposed by the federal<br>
government. There's an exemption for people over 60, I believe, and<br>
for very young children.<br>
<br>
Hal Schiffman<br>
<br>
On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 12:37 PM, <<a href="mailto:edling-request@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling-request@bunner.geol.lu.se</a>> wrote:<br>
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> 1. Re: Political Economy of Culture: Where Should President<br>
> Obama Start: By Designing a Consistent language policy or on<br>
> Imposing English Language as a Requirement to the Path of U.S.<br>
> Citizenship? (Raquel Sanchez)<br>
><br>
><br>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
><br>
> Message: 1<br>
> Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 09:14:28 -0800<br>
> From: Raquel Sanchez <<a href="mailto:raqsan@gmail.com">raqsan@gmail.com</a>><br>
> Subject: Re: [Edling] Political Economy of Culture: Where Should<br>
> President Obama Start: By Designing a Consistent language policy or on<br>
> Imposing English Language as a Requirement to the Path of U.S.<br>
> Citizenship?<br>
> To: The Educational Linguistics List <<a href="mailto:edling@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling@bunner.geol.lu.se</a>><br>
> Message-ID:<br>
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> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"<br>
><br>
> I think Bob is referring to societal bilingualism (not individual).<br>
> I believe there were many monolingual German speakers in the U.S. prior to<br>
> WWI (not just in Missouri, but also in Pennsylvania and other states).<br>
> The point is that ideas can be translated into any language. It is common<br>
> ways of thinking that unit people, not a common language.<br>
> In a multilingual society, as long as there are several bilingual<br>
> individuals (not necessarily in the same languages), translation and civic<br>
> engagement can occur. I believe it is more important for people to be<br>
> literate in at least one language than it is to mandate what language that<br>
> should be.<br>
> In the U.S., basic literacy and numeracy (in any language) are more real<br>
> problems than "whose language".<br>
><br>
><br>
> On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 12:18 AM, Hartmut Haberland <<a href="mailto:hartmut@ruc.dk">hartmut@ruc.dk</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>> As much as I sympathize with the point that Bob makes, I'd like to point<br>
>> out that he talks about bilingualism, so there was a shared language. I<br>
>> wonder how many of the Missouri German speakers were monolingual at any<br>
>> time.<br>
>> I am not trying to argue that one shared language is a necessary condition<br>
>> for a civic identity. It is certainly not a sufficient condition. Didn't<br>
>> somebody once point out that Northern Ireland, Rwanda and Somalia are among<br>
>> the most homogeneous areas in the world language-wise?<br>
>><br>
>> Hartmut Haberland<br>
>> Professor, German language and sociolinguistics of globalization<br>
>> Roskilde University, Denmark<br>
>> ________________________________________<br>
>> Fra: <a href="mailto:edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se</a> [<a href="mailto:edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se</a>]<br>
>> på vegne af <a href="mailto:kaboyates@charter.net">kaboyates@charter.net</a> [<a href="mailto:kaboyates@charter.net">kaboyates@charter.net</a>]<br>
>> Sendt: 7. februar 2013 20:05<br>
>> Til: The Educational Linguistics List<br>
>> Emne: Re: [Edling] Political Economy of Culture: Where Should President<br>
>> Obama Start: By Designing a Consistent language policy or on Imposing<br>
>> English Language as a Requirement to the Path of U.S. Citizenship?<br>
>><br>
>> Colleagues,<br>
>><br>
>> If you reflect on American history, Christian Faltis's point that "a<br>
>> national language unifies" is a debatable point is clearly supported.<br>
>> Of course, English did not prevent the Civil War. And, at the time of<br>
>> the greatest crisis in American history, entire regiments, brigades,<br>
>> divisions, and almost an entire corps spoke another language: German.<br>
>> They did not fight to PRESERVE the Union because English was unifying<br>
>> factor.<br>
>><br>
>> In Missouri, the German speakers were crucial in keeping it in the<br>
>> Union. After the Civil War, besides cities like Milwaukee and<br>
>> Cincinnati (and at times St. Louis), there were communities in rural<br>
>> parts of Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri (and I'm sure other<br>
>> states in the Midwest) that had public bilingual schools. (I have<br>
>> visited cemeteries in rural Missouri around Lutheran and Catholic<br>
>> Churches where almost all the headstones from the 1870s to the early<br>
>> 1920s are all in German.) I don't think those people were consider<br>
>> unAmerican until the outbreak of WW I. Of course, when the US entered<br>
>> the Great War, that bilingualism ended almost overnight.<br>
>><br>
>> There are some areas where I live in Missouri that try to celebrate<br>
>> their bilingual past. There is a theater that puts on plays in a dialect<br>
>> of German and a community that has people tell stories in German about<br>
>> what it was like in that community during the Civil War. Hermann,<br>
>> Missouri is a tourist destination that celebrates its German past some<br>
>> of the people will talk about the historic buildings in German.<br>
>><br>
>> I often wonder if the ending of German-English bilingualism had not<br>
>> happened and there were still some areas in the Midwest (beside some<br>
>> small Amish and Mennonite communities) that still had bilingual programs<br>
>> would we be so concerned about Spanish-bilingualism today.<br>
>><br>
>> Bob Yates, University of Central Missouri<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 9:41 AM, Christian Faltis wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> > I have to agree completely with Tom on this. Once you start with the<br>
>> > proposition that minority group doesn't want to learn the national<br>
>> > language, the assumption is that a national language unifies, and<br>
>> > there is much debate about that. Studying the history of the treatment<br>
>> > of indigenous and other minoritized groups in the US will show that<br>
>> > that the dominant groups will promote policies and practices that<br>
>> > ensure their dominance. One strategy is to espouse the belief that<br>
>> > certain minoritized groups don't want do belong, hence placing the<br>
>> > blame on them.<br>
>> ><br>
>> ><br>
>> > Chris Faltis<br>
>> > Professor, language, literacy, and culture<br>
>> > University of California, Davis<br>
>> > Sent from my iPad<br>
>> ><br>
>> > On Feb 6, 2013, at 9:16 AM, Thomas Ricento <<a href="mailto:tricento@ucalgary.ca">tricento@ucalgary.ca</a>><br>
>> > wrote:<br>
>> ><br>
>> >> HI MYRNA,<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Here are your exact words in your e mail:<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> "Fact is, historically, Hispanics are the only ethnic group<br>
>> >> immigrating to the U.S. that has resisted learning English. I'm not<br>
>> >> sure why this is so, but it might be a good basis for some research<br>
>> >> if<br>
>> >> it has not already been done or if it is not already in the works."<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Your statement is categorical, whatever your intentions might have<br>
>> >> been, and it is contradicted by evidence (if that matters).<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> There is a TON of research on this topic; there ARE government<br>
>> >> programs providing ESL classes for immigrants in the US (but not<br>
>> >> nearly enough); this IS a political history with a deep and<br>
>> >> contentious history in the US, which I and many others have spent<br>
>> >> many years studying and writing about. If you are interested in<br>
>> >> learning more, then there is a wealth of literature to read. My<br>
>> >> comment about Huntington and anti-immigrant zealots was not directed<br>
>> >> to you personally; rather, it was describing a political reality in<br>
>> >> the U.S. If you look at the latest poll numbers on how Obama is<br>
>> >> graded on his position re. a path for citizenship for undocumented<br>
>> >> Americans (mostly Latinos), Republican (white) conservative males are<br>
>> >> the only group strongly opposed to his position on immigration<br>
>> >> reform.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Tom<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> ________________________________________<br>
>> >> From: <a href="mailto:edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se</a><br>
>> >> [<a href="mailto:edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se</a>] On Behalf Of Myrna Goldstein<br>
>> >> [<a href="mailto:myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com">myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com</a>]<br>
>> >> Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2013 8:18 AM<br>
>> >> To: The Educational Linguistics List<br>
>> >> Subject: Re: [Edling] Political Economy of Culture: Where Should<br>
>> >> President Obama Start: By Designing a Consistent language<br>
>> >> policy or on Imposing English Language as a Requirement to the<br>
>> >> Path of U.S. Citizenship?<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> HI TOM,<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> You quoted me wrong.<br>
>> >> And distorted what I wrote creating a fictitious context.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> I believe that stereotyping is so very negative and have<br>
>> >> never done so in my life.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Myrna<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Myrna Goldstein, B.S.J., MATESL<br>
>> >> Founder, Director<br>
>> >> Are You in Your English File??<br>
>> >> Second Language Learning Research Center<br>
>> >> Eilat, Israel (formerly Milan, Italy)<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Member:<br>
>> >> TESOL<br>
>> >> Linguistic Society of America<br>
>> >> American Association for Applied Linguistics<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> e: <a href="mailto:myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com">myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com</a><br>
>> >> Skype: myinmi<br>
>> >> c: <a href="tel:%2B%2B972%20053%20525%205360" value="+972535255360">++972 053 525 5360</a><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> On Feb 4, 2013, at 11:37 PM, Thomas Ricento wrote:<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Hello,<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Here is a brief snipet from a chapter I wrote to appear in R.<br>
>> >> Bayley, et al. (editors), The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics<br>
>> >> (2013, p. 540):<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> "Rumbaut, et al. (2006: 458), relying on data from two published<br>
>> >> studies and a<br>
>> >> survey they conducted themselves in Southern California during 2001?<br>
>> >> 2004,<br>
>> >> conclude that ?under current conditions . . . the ability to speak<br>
>> >> Spanish very<br>
>> >> well can be expected to disappear sometime between the second and<br>
>> >> third<br>
>> >> generation for all Latin American groups in Southern California.?<br>
>> >> They<br>
>> >> also<br>
>> >> found that ?the average Asian language can be expected to die out at<br>
>> >> or near<br>
>> >> the second generation? (ibid). To account for such a wide discrepancy<br>
>> >> between<br>
>> >> the apparent facts and widely held misperceptions, it is necessary to<br>
>> >> consider<br>
>> >> the influence, and effects, of deeply held beliefs about language and<br>
>> >> identity<br>
>> >> that are resistant to contrary evidence".<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> It is amazing that someone who has expertise in English language<br>
>> >> teaching also succumbs to the stereotype that 'Latinos refuse to<br>
>> >> learn<br>
>> >> English'. This<br>
>> >> has been the battle cry of Huntington and others (mostly right wing,<br>
>> >> anti-immigrant advocates) who categorize Latinos as refuseniks. It's<br>
>> >> just not true. Maintaining Spanish (an American Language) alongside<br>
>> >> English should be viewed as a positive outcome, even though, as<br>
>> >> Rumbaut and his colleagues demonstrate, Spanish is being lost. If<br>
>> >> 'experts' make such claims as Myrna does, it shows that we as applied<br>
>> >> linguists have a long way to go to educate the broader public.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Tom Ricento<br>
>> >> Professor and Chair, English as an Additional Language<br>
>> >> Faculty of Education<br>
>> >> University of Calgary<br>
>> >> ________________________________________<br>
>> >> From: <a href="mailto:edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se">edling-bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se</a> [edling-<br>
>> >> <a href="mailto:bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se">bounces@bunner.geol.lu.se</a>] On Behalf Of Myrna Goldstein<br>
>> >> [<a href="mailto:myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com">myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com</a><br>
>> >> ]<br>
>> >> Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 3:21 AM<br>
>> >> To: The Educational Linguistics List<br>
>> >> Subject: Re: [Edling] Political Economy of Culture: Where Should<br>
>> >> President Obama Start: By Designing a Consistent language policy<br>
>> >> or on Imposing English Language as a Requirement to the Path<br>
>> >> of U.S. Citizenship?<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Dear David,<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> I read your piece with interest, trying to understand the<br>
>> >> rationale behind it, beyond the numbers of the Hispanic<br>
>> >> population. Fact is, historically, Hispanics are the only ethnic<br>
>> >> group<br>
>> >> immigrating to the U.S. that has resisted learning English. I'm not<br>
>> >> sure why this is so, but it might be a good basis for some research<br>
>> >> if<br>
>> >> it has not already been done or if it is not already in the works.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> I'm not judging. I'm curious. In order to get decent jobs, immigrants<br>
>> >> to any country in the world realize that they must learn the L1. If<br>
>> >> they<br>
>> >> don't, they will always remain in low-level jobs, be isolated from<br>
>> >> society<br>
>> >> at large, and will not be able to study at universities to let their<br>
>> >> talents bloom.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> I'm not sure that legislation is the answer; this would have to be<br>
>> >> studied.<br>
>> >> But common sense is. So rather than compelling people from above<br>
>> >> (government)<br>
>> >> to learn English, it would seem more logical that people themselves<br>
>> >> would<br>
>> >> want to learn the nation's common language if those people have a<br>
>> >> vision of a<br>
>> >> better life that they feel they can achieve. I believe this has<br>
>> >> always<br>
>> >> been the<br>
>> >> basis of every group's immigration everywhere in the world.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Perhaps after the U.S. gets its fiscal house in order, it could<br>
>> >> finance<br>
>> >> an immigration program that includes ESL courses, thus giving people<br>
>> >> the option<br>
>> >> to attend or not to attend. That way, people who do not want to learn<br>
>> >> the nation's<br>
>> >> L1 would not be compelled to, but people who do, would have free<br>
>> >> lessons, say,<br>
>> >> to get themselves to a B1 (intermediate) level (Common European<br>
>> >> Frameworks). People<br>
>> >> who would like to get to an advanced level could do so either through<br>
>> >> self-study or<br>
>> >> through community language programs.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Let us not forget that non-native speakers must take various<br>
>> >> standardized tests to<br>
>> >> be admitted to many universities and colleges. I'm not sure if<br>
>> >> community colleges<br>
>> >> require TOEFL, GMAT, SAT etc. So, the fact remains, David, that<br>
>> >> English is the nation's<br>
>> >> L1 and the future of every immigrant who wants to better his life and<br>
>> >> the life of his<br>
>> >> children resides in learning that L1.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Linguistically yours,<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Myrna<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Myrna Goldstein, B.S.J., MATESL<br>
>> >> Founder, Director<br>
>> >> Are You in Your English File??<br>
>> >> Second Language Learning Research Center<br>
>> >> Eilat, Israel (formerly Milan, Italy)<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Member:<br>
>> >> TESOL<br>
>> >> Linguistic Society of America<br>
>> >> American Association for Applied Linguistics<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> e: <a href="mailto:myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com">myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com">myrnaenglishfile@gmail.com</a>><br>
>> >> Skype: myinmi<br>
>> >> c: <a href="tel:%2B%2B972%20053%20525%205360" value="+972535255360">++972 053 525 5360</a><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> On Feb 3, 2013, at 2:35 AM, David Balosa wrote:<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Political Economy of Culture: Where Should President Obama Start: By<br>
>> >> Designing a Consistent National Language Policy or by Requiring<br>
>> >> illegal Immigrant to Learn English as a Path to the United States<br>
>> >> Citizenship?<br>
>> >> By<br>
>> >> David Balosa<br>
>> >> University of Maryland<br>
>> >> Baltimore County, (UMBC)<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Spanish is currently spoken as a first language by<br>
>> >> approximately twenty-two million people<br>
>> >> in the United States. The Hispanics are currently America's<br>
>> >> fastest growing ethnic<br>
>> >> community and their numbers are set to rise to 96.5 million<br>
>> >> by 2050. This is not without<br>
>> >> problems as the United States does not have legislation which<br>
>> >> states that English is the<br>
>> >> official language of the Union; it has always relied on the<br>
>> >> desire of immigrants for social<br>
>> >> assimilation and mobility to consolidate the pre-eminence of<br>
>> >> English.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> (Miranda<br>
>> >> Stewart, 1999: 6-7)<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> In his address regarding "Fixing broken immigration system" entitled<br>
>> >> "Vision for winning the future" President Obama mentioned four key<br>
>> >> points which he calls accountabilities and responsibilities: 1.<br>
>> >> Responsibility by the federal government to secure our borders, 2.<br>
>> >> Accountability for businesses that break the law by undermining<br>
>> >> American workers and exploiting undocumented workers,<br>
>> >> 3. Strengthening our economic competitiveness by creating a legal<br>
>> >> immigration system that reflects our values and diverse needs, and 4.<br>
>> >> Responsibility from people who are living in the United States<br>
>> >> illegally. My question for discussion and my reflection will focus<br>
>> >> on<br>
>> >> the president's point number 4. I think that the President plays too<br>
>> >> much politics here and that he is undermining the scholarship on the<br>
>> >> everlasting debate on language policy in the United States. Fixing<br>
>> >> broken immigration system is one thing, but requiring illegal<br>
>> >> immigrants to learn English as one of the requirements is tantamount<br>
>> >> to English-Only America movement. Until there is a coherent language<br>
>> >> policy, by coherent I mean agreed upon by the United States citizens,<br>
>> >> a unidirectional language requirement by federal officials,<br>
>> >> especially<br>
>> >> the president of the United States is getting out of the house<br>
>> >> through<br>
>> >> the back door. I am not saying that illegal immigrant should not<br>
>> >> learn<br>
>> >> English or Spanish, the point is that so far there is no legal basis<br>
>> >> to require any one to learn English for what so ever in the United<br>
>> >> States. If the President is going to initiative a path to language<br>
>> >> policy weather English or English and Spanish as official languages,<br>
>> >> then the United States will make a big step forward in solving big<br>
>> >> issues regarding intercultural relations. To clear understand my<br>
>> >> point, let's analyze the president approach to learning English as a<br>
>> >> requirement to illegal immigrant path to the United States<br>
>> >> Citizenship.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> One of the key requirements that the represent mentioned that<br>
>> >> illegal immigrants living in U.S. must fulfill to the path of U.S.<br>
>> >> citizenship is learning English. The president's statement reads: "<br>
>> >> Those people living here illegally must also be held accountable for<br>
>> >> their actions and get on the right side of the law by registering and<br>
>> >> undergoing national security and criminal background checks, paying<br>
>> >> taxes and a penalty, and learning English before they can get in line<br>
>> >> to become eligible for citizenship. Being a citizen of this country<br>
>> >> comes not only with rights but also with fundamental<br>
>> >> responsibilities.<br>
>> >> We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair and reflects<br>
>> >> our<br>
>> >> values." Wait a minute! Is Mr. President here trying to have his cake<br>
>> >> and eat it too? Since the president favorite sentence in this<br>
>> >> immigration debate is "We are a nation of law and a nation of<br>
>> >> immigrants", is the president telling us that English is going to<br>
>> >> become the fundamental language of American values? How about the 55<br>
>> >> millions U.S. Spanish -speakers? Do their language and culture also<br>
>> >> contribute to the American Values? Should U.S. citizens working for<br>
>> >> Univisions, Telemondo, UNI-MAS, etc. who may also contribute to the<br>
>> >> economic competitiveness of U.S. be required to learn English for<br>
>> >> U.S.<br>
>> >> citizenship? According to Stewart (1999:6-7), "The Hispanics are<br>
>> >> currently America's fastest growing ethnic community and their<br>
>> >> numbers<br>
>> >> are set to rise to 96.5 million by 2050 (quoting, The Guardian,<br>
>> >> 16.07.98)." Stewart observes that "This is not without problems as<br>
>> >> the<br>
>> >> United States does not have legislation which states that English is<br>
>> >> the official language of the Union; it has always relied on the<br>
>> >> desire<br>
>> >> of immigrants for social assimilation and mobility to consolidate the<br>
>> >> pre-eminence of English."<br>
>> >> During the 2008 Democratic presidential election primary debate,<br>
>> >> President Obama, Senator Obama at that time articulated, when he was<br>
>> >> asked by a CNN journalist weather English should be the Official<br>
>> >> language of the United States that, "We should not focus on issue<br>
>> >> that<br>
>> >> divide us, instead we should focus on how to fix our broken<br>
>> >> immigration system." It has been the politics of escape goat forever<br>
>> >> when it comes to regulating language policy in fair and realistic way<br>
>> >> in the U.S. President Obama, after winning 75 % of Latino votes<br>
>> >> without questioning weather they spoke English or not at the time<br>
>> >> they<br>
>> >> went voting now is suggesting learning English as a requirement for<br>
>> >> legal immigration status. If learning a language was an easy task,<br>
>> >> most college graduates U.S. would be speaking Spanish fluently. Since<br>
>> >> President Obama likes to look at fair game plays, would not t be a<br>
>> >> fair game to say all illegal immigrants must learn both English and<br>
>> >> Spanish as a requirement to citizenship?<br>
>> >> One may infers that requiring learning English alone is a support<br>
>> >> to English -Only movement. This approach undermines the substantial<br>
>> >> contribution of Hispanic culture to the values of the United States.<br>
>> >> The "Latinazization" (Benitez, 2007) of illigal immigrants may also<br>
>> >> be<br>
>> >> a valuable inference if we don't require illegal immigrant to learn<br>
>> >> Spanish as well. Will various English dialect speakers be required to<br>
>> >> learn American Standard English if that what Mr. President meant? The<br>
>> >> "World Englishes" (Mesthrie & Bhatt, 2008) as well as the world<br>
>> >> Spanishes (Stewart, 1999; Lorenzo-Dus, 2011) can only be used as<br>
>> >> requirement for national immigration legal status after they have<br>
>> >> been<br>
>> >> adopted as Official language of the nation. Otherwise they should not<br>
>> >> be mentioned in the fixing broken immigration system.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> In Conclusion, It is not only the immigration system that is<br>
>> >> broken, it is the entire public policy system that is broken. If Mr.<br>
>> >> President wants to start fixing this broken system of public policy<br>
>> >> the workable strategy would be looking at the policy of that public<br>
>> >> or<br>
>> >> social sector setting, fix it, that is, make it if it is a<br>
>> >> commonsensical argument and truly reflective of U.S. values, a law of<br>
>> >> the nation. Since thee is no federal law regulating languages in<br>
>> >> U.S.,<br>
>> >> it would illegal to require a given language learning as a<br>
>> >> requirement to U.S. citizenship. Requiring learning English will<br>
>> >> sound<br>
>> >> like a cultural hegemonic strategy and it will not reflect what the<br>
>> >> president calls "A smart 21st century" - a century of people and<br>
>> >> communities cohesion by consensus, that is people decide their<br>
>> >> intercultural democratic rules of governance not bias policy makers.<br>
>> >> Either English alone or English and Spanish as co-official languages<br>
>> >> for the United States- why not create a referendum on this issue and<br>
>> >> stick to what the U.S. diverse population decide. It will make more<br>
>> >> sense after people will look at these two global languages - both<br>
>> >> spoken by significant numbers of legal U.S. citizens in the ballot<br>
>> >> and<br>
>> >> let the people decide. It is only after that referendum that all<br>
>> >> cultural groups will live with the decision weather they like it or<br>
>> >> not. Because it will become the law of the land. Leaving the issue on<br>
>> >> the policy makers whose bias attitude and cultural hegemony have been<br>
>> >> demonstrated through centuries will never lead the U.S. to the Smart<br>
>> >> 21st century language policy. Should not a true vision for the future<br>
>> >> of the United States plan also for a language which the numbers of<br>
>> >> its<br>
>> >> speakers will reach 96.5 million in 2050? Should the U.S. language<br>
>> >> policymakers understand that a language policy that reflects the<br>
>> >> cultural reality of the country makes the country more prosperous<br>
>> >> economically and culturally? May be the example of Luxembourg, South<br>
>> >> Africa, Paraguay, and Switzerland will inspire us as we plan for a<br>
>> >> "smart 21st century". What do you think?<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> References<br>
>> >><br>
>> >> Benitez, C. (2007). Latinization: How Latino culture is transforming<br>
>> >> the U.S. New York: Paramount<br>
>> >> Market Publishing.<br>
>> >> Donnelly, J. (2003). Universal human rights: In theory and practice<br>
>> >> (2nd. ed.). New York: Cornell<br>
>> >> University Press.<br>
>> >> Lorenzo-Dus, N. (ed.) (2011). Spanish at work: Analyzing<br>
>> >> institutional<br>
>> >> discourse across the Spanish-<br>
>> >> speaking world. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.<br>
>> >> Mesthirie, R. & Bhatt, R. M. (2008). World Englishes: The study of<br>
>> >> new<br>
>> >> linguistic varieties. New York:<br>
>> >> Cambridge University Press.<br>
>> >> Stewart, M. (1999). The Spanish language today. New York: Routledge.<br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> >><br>
>> <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/fixing-immigration-system-america-s-21st-century-Economy" target="_blank">www.whitehouse.gov/issues/fixing-immigration-system-america-s-21st-century-Economy</a><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> <<br>
>> <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/fixing-immigration-system-america-s-21st-century-Economy" target="_blank">http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/fixing-immigration-system-america-s-21st-century-Economy</a><br>
>> >><br>
>> >> --<br>
>> >> *David M. Balosa*<br>
>> >> *Doctoral Student, PhD Program in Language, Literacy and Culture<br>
>> >> (LLC)*<br>
>> >> Research Focus: Intercultural Communication & Cultural Exchange<br>
>> >> Interculturalists GSO President 2012-2013<br>
>> >> *University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)<br>
>> >> **1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250*<br>
>> >><br>
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