American dream sounds good in any language

[Harold F. Schiffman]

American dream sounds good in any language

Learning English expands opportunities for immigrants So far, 28 states
have passed legislation declaring English the official language. The
latest was Arizona, where voters passed Proposition 103 last fall
"requiring the government to conduct business in English and limit
governmental multilingualism to common-sense activities such as health
care, public safety, judicial proceedings and tourism."

The explanation comes from U.S. English Inc., the organization promoting
efforts in states and Congress in pursuit of a national official English
policy. And the organization sounds both reasonable and conciliatory in
pursuit of its goal, broadly stated as "keeping the nation unified through
a common language." Those who might see this as a potential obstacle to
immigrants with limited education and poor language skills in their native
tongues, let alone the new one they have to master, apparently are not
only missing the point but also harming the very people U.S. English hopes
to elevate: "U.S. English believes that the passage of English as the
official language will help to expand opportunities for immigrants to
learn and speak English, the single greatest empowering tool that
immigrants must have to succeed."

And the chairman of the organization could not be more reasonable: "I
think we all agree that we do not want to live in an 'English-only'
society, but we are equally opposed to the existence of an
'English-optional' society." Of course the English English might disagree,
and often have in entertaining ways. George Bernard Shaw looked at U.S.
English the language, not the organization and famously found that England
and America are two countries separated by a common language. Lerner and
Loewe put that sentiment to music in "My Fair Lady," noting, "There even
are places where English completely disappears. In America they haven't
used it for years." And we now have a president with a secondary degree
from Andover, a bachelor's degree from Yale, an MBA from Harvard and a
vocabulary from "The Dukes of Hazzard." Still, it's English of a kind.

The opponents of multilingualism and other such accommodations are always
going to have to be a bit defensive about their efforts, which can sound
like jingoism a foreign-sounding word actually of British origin meaning
extreme nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy, as
Webster explains or chauvinism militant devotion to and glorification of
one's country, derived from the name of a French officer fanatically loyal
to Napoleon, who also had trouble with the English. And they can't be
blamed for those talk radio/cable news types who see the failure to learn
English as just another link in the chain of illegal immigration, crime
and poverty.

If common sense is to prevail, as the official English types sensibly say
it should, then the movement is going to have more and more trouble in a
nation devoted to commerce as much as it is to the Constitution.
Prudential Rand Latino, which brings Spanish-speaking real estate agents
in touch with Spanish-seeking home buyers, is common sense personified.
It's just good business to help people pursue the American dream no matter
what language they dream in. Along with the real estate services come
legal, business and banking support, all ready to serve this new and
growing market and the people in it.

Those who will prosper in the global economy will be those who understand
that communicating in the appropriate language is more important than
restricting the language in which people can communicate. Time, money and
emotion now going to the restrictive official English movement would be so
much better spent teaching not only English to those who do not speak it,
but also  and more crucially  better English skills and other languages to
those who will help keep America safe and prosperous.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/OPINION/701100316

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