official English as **public poilicy**

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 6/4/2001 1:43:28 PM, abatefr at EARTHLINK.NET writes:

<< The point is not that the obvious needs to be stated, but that it is useful

to state **as public policy** what the de facto most-used language is. >>

Doesn't the census state "what the de facto most-used language is"? Why is
this particular fact worthy of being elevated to "**public policy**"? Should
Congress also pass a law declaring a balanced diet **public policy**?

<<It is in the best interest of every citizen and resident of the US to be
proficient

in English, and in the country's best interest. >>

As if immigrants don't know this without declaring English the official
language! I don't know of any place that ESL classes are not overwhelmed by
people who want to take them.

By the way, though, I would also think that, for the next decade at least, it
would also be "in the best interest of every citizen and resident of the US
to be proficient in" Spanish, "and in the country's best interest." If
declarations of linguistic facts **as public policy** are somehow
instrumentally worthwhile, then surely it would make sense to declare both
English and Spanish the official languages of the United States. And there
are no doubt portions of, say, San Francisco, where it would make sense to
declare, say, Tagalog one of the official languages of the city, since it
would certainly be in the "best interest" of American cities where there are
a large number of Tagalog speakers if everyone could speak Tagalog, at least
for a generation or so.

But of course declaring knowledge of this or that language to be officially
desirable is not going to do squat for making it happen -- especially when
the declaration is coupled with constraints AGAINST the use of the minority
languages. Leave it to the social conservatives to think that declarations
coupled with punishment is the way to effect desirable social goals --
without spending any tax money.