Make English The Official Language!

[Joe Lo Bianco]

The reason it is so difficult for politicians to understand is that it
isn't true (though I do concede this hasn't stopped them in the
past).  This piece makes you wonder, yet again, why "knowledge" has so
little power so often.  Joe





At 11:27 PM 19/04/2005, you wrote:
> >From the American Daily (Stow, Ohio)
>
>Make English The Official Language!
>By Dave Gibson (04/18/05)
>
>Can you imagine the wave of immigrants coming to America around the turn
>of the 20th century, choosing not to learn English or worse yet...allowing
>their children to wallow in their laziness and never learn English? Those
>immigrants (mostly Europeans) assimilated and carved-out good lives for
>their families. However, too many of today's immigrants seem to believe
>that we should adopt their language and culture.
>
>Many school districts, particularly those in the American Southwest now
>offer "English as a second language" courses. U.S. Public Schools are
>filled with children who cannot speak a word of English! Of course, the
>most predominant language amongst new immigrants (many of them are
>illegal) is Spanish. Can you imagine a Mexican school teaching Spanish as
>a second language?
>
>I know that I am not the only English-speaking American who has grown
>tired of sitting through a litany of Spanish instructions, each time I
>have the misfortune to phone a customer service line. Beyond the
>irritating effects of having a foreign language forced upon us--it is
>costing private businesses as well as the taxpayers untold sums of money.
>
>Around the country, municipalities are being forced to hire bilingual
>police officers, teachers, and social workers. The language barrier is
>becoming so vast that many cities and counties have no choice but to hire
>extra employees, fluent mainly in Spanish.
>
>There is one politician who is trying to stop the erosion of our language.
>Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has introduced the English Language Unity Act. The
>measure would make English the official language of the United States. It
>would also require immigrants to be able to speak English with some degree
>of proficiency, before being granted citizenship.
>
>It is not the first time Rep. King has introduced this bill. Hopefully,
>the Congress will have the good sense to pass it this time...But don't
>hold your breath.
>
>It is not only current English-speaking U.S. residents who would benefit
>from the bill, but new immigrants would as well. As Rep. King said:
>"English is the language of opportunity."
>
>Chairman of U.S. English Inc. ( a non-profit organization, devoted to
>making English the official language of the U.S.) Mauro E. Mujica recently
>said: "More than 92 percent of the nations in the world have an official
>language policy to facilitate communication and assist assimilation. Yet
>the United States clings to a costly and divisive system of providing
>services in multiple languages, including Social Security information in
>16 languages and ballots in 28 languages. By doing so, we have taken away
>some of the incentive for immigrants to learn English, and for English
>language learning assistance."
>
>There are currently 329 languages spoken in the United States.
>
>The English Language Unity Act of 2005 would force all U.S. government
>agencies to conduct their business in English. Thus, any immigrant seeking
>assistance from the U.S. taxpayers would have an incentive to learn the
>language very quickly.
>
>It is completely absurd to think that I as an American, could re-locate to
>say China or Honduras and expect never to learn the predominant language
>and succeed. Any new immigrant to the U.S. has a much better chance at
>success, if they are able to speak English. Why is that so difficult for
>our politicians to understand?
>
>Contact your Congressman today and urge him to support the English
>Language Unity Act!
>
>
>[Moderator's note: One wonders where this writers gets his statistics
>about how many countries have "official languages."  One also might ask
>how it is he constantly gets Spanish messages on help lines, or how many
>US government agencies conduct their business in other languages.  I never
>have Spanish forced on me! (hs)]
>
>Readers can respond to the author at
>http://www.americandaily.com/author/84#feedbackpoint


Joseph Lo Bianco

Professor of Language and Literacy Education
LLAE, Faculty of Education
The University of Melbourne
3010 VIC   Australia

Tel:    03 8344 8346
Fax:    03 8344 8612
Mob: 0407 798 978
Email: j.lobianco at unimelb.edu.au