Obama ’s Confused Lingual Policy

[Harold Schiffman]

Obama's Confused Lingual Policy

Barack Obama recently sent the conservative blogosphere into a tizzy
by suggesting that our children should learn how to speak Spanish. It
was touted as another nail in the coffin of our Anglo/Christian
heritage that so many Americans hold dearly. Actually, I'm going to
give him a little bit of a break. I think our children should learn
another language. But I sincerely doubt his motivation and certainly
his implication. To be fair, here's the quote — in proper context —
from Obama as he spoke at a recent campaign event in Georgia:


"I don't understand when people are going around worrying about "We
need to have English only." They want to pass a law: "We want English
only". Now, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with
that. But, understand this: Instead of worrying about whether
immigrants can learn English — they'll learn English — you need to
make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about
how your child can become bilingual. We should have every child
speaking more than one language. You know, it's embarrassing when
Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French,
they speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is
"merci beaucoup"."

At first, Obama appears to chide us into pandering to Hispanic
immigrants — telling us we should accommodate their language rather
than forcing our own language on them. Then he turns that into a plea
for our children to be bilingual. It's an effective ploy — he is a
master of such turn-arounds while stumping on the campaign trail.

But he is missing the point when he compares our language skills to
the language skills of Europeans. And I can prove it by asking and
answering three simple questions:

Why did I learn Spanish?

To know English better.
I took two years of Spanish while in high school — and a year of
French in college. They were some of the most rewarding educational
endeavors I have ever done. I learned more about how to conjugate
English verbs by conjugating Spanish verbs. I learned more about
irregular English words by studying French irregular words. I had a
greater understanding, a greater appreciation, and a greater respect
for my own language because I learned another language. Sometimes you
have to get away from a subject to actually study it.

Why do the Europeans learn English?

Because they have to.
English is the language of law, the language of science, and the
language of business. English has become what every French speaker and
every Esperantist hoped for their respective languages. It's the
language of the un. It's the language of the Olympics. It's the
language of nasa. In Europe, every country is the size of one of our
Midwestern states. Language barriers abound. Many countries have
multiple official languages and dozens of indigenous ones. They need
one communicative glue to hold everything together. It may not be the
best or most efficient language in the world, but English has become
that de facto glue.

Why don't all Hispanic immigrants learn English?

Because they don't have to.
I knew we lost the battle the first time I had to press "1" for
English at my local atm. I'm reminded of it every time I read the
signs in the aisles at Home Depot. (Long ago, I learned that the
Spanish word for "exit" is "salida". How long does it take Hispanics
to learn that the English word for "salida" is "exit"?) With bilingual
customer service, bilingual menus, and even bilingual ballots, we have
accommodated the Spanish-speaking world so much that their incentive
to learn English has completely disappeared.

Obama is right, our students should learn a foreign language. They
should do it to make themselves better students.

Immigrants to America should also learn a foreign language: English.
It's the glue that holds America together. And it's the glue that will
keep us together unless we choose to dissolve it by accommodating
foreigners who refuse to learn it.

http://themindofjoe.blogspot.com/2008/08/obamas-confused-lingual-policy.html

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