Make English The Official Language!

[Anonby]

I like the line about the "erosion of the English language". Circle the
wagons!

Stan Anonby

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Lo Bianco" <j.lobianco at unimelb.edu.au>
To: <lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 9:01 PM
Subject: Re: Make English The Official Language!


> 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