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<p class=MsoNormal>FYI…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The Daily Times (Salisbury, MD)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/NEWS01/80306044/1002/NEWS01<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>FOREIGN TONGUE: Legislator wants immigrant families to keep
native languages<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>By Laura Schwartzman<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Capital News Service<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers want to fix a
"critical shortage" of foreign-language speakers in the United States
by urging immigrants and their families to preserve their native tongues.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Sen. James Rosapepe, D-Prince George's, said his bill to
establish a task force on encouraging "heritage languages" will
benefit the economy and national security.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>ADVERTISEMENT <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>"[We must] hold on to this tremendous competitive
advantage for America," he said at a Senate Education, Health and
Environmental Affairs Committee hearing Thursday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>While learning English is important for immigrants, Rosapepe
said the state's population of foreign-language speakers is a vastly
underutilized resource.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Nearly 14.5 percent of Marylanders speak a foreign language
at home, according to the bill's authors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Jerry Lampe, deputy director of the National Foreign
Language Center at the University of Maryland, said more than 80 federal
agencies need employees with proficiency in certain languages.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The rise of China as a global power and continued American
interests in the Middle East and South Asia make languages such as Chinese,
Arabic and Urdu important for national security reasons.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The United Nations General Assembly declared 2008 the International
Year of Languages, a prime motivation for introducing the bill.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>"I know so many people like myself who came here as
children, who may have known the language of their parents or their
grandparents, but in many cases did not keep it," said Rosapepe, who was
born in Italy and served as U.S. ambassador to Romania from 1998 to 2001.
"We see this all the time across the United States."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>But proponents of making English the official language do
not agree.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>"I'm opposed to any legislation which eventually leads
to taxpayer financed programs that encourage multi-language efforts," said
Delegate Patrick McDonough, R-Baltimore County, the lead sponsor of a bill to
make English Maryland's official language. "We need to promote English.
It's been the unifying force in this nation and that is the language that
people need to learn how to speak."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Rosapepe's task force would study heritage language
preservation and come up with ways to foster it. State government agencies, the
University System of Maryland, business organizations and members of ethnic
community groups would be represented.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>A major focus of the bill is to advise educators teaching
the American-born children of immigrants. At least 150 languages are spoken in
Maryland's public schools, according to the bill's authors, although children
often lose proficiency as families assimilate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Representatives from Chinese and African ethnic advocacy
groups said many parents are sending their children to study abroad or at
language-specific schools in an effort to preserve their cultural heritages.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Without initiatives to encourage native languages, "the
growing trend of African immigrants sending their children to attend schools
back in Africa" will continue, at a loss to Maryland and U.S. educational
systems," said Chuks Eleonu, CEO of the African Peoples Action Congress.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Henry Lau, chair of the Greater Washington Chinese-American
Alliance, said several Chinese-language schools have sprung up around the state
to meet the demand for cultural education. He urged lawmakers to assist the
schools and reward students who master their native tongues.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>"Heritage language skills will flourish in Maryland
only when there is an encouraging environment," he said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Copyright ©2008 The Daily Times. All rights reserved.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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