[lg policy] letters to representatives: lANGUAGE POLICY

[Ann Anderson Evans]

Our ignorance of "foreign languages" puts us at a tremendous
disadvantage in business, education, diplomacy, research, and yes,
war.  When people from almost any other developed or underdeveloped
country speak at least two languages routinely, we look a little silly
having our contracts, treaties, research papers, and military
intelligence translated for us by members of the societies which are
on the other side of the transaction.

I have known Haitians who spoke five languages, Africans who spoke
seven, and throughout Europe it is assumed that a person has mastered
at least two and usually more languages; some of them are dialects or
indigenous languages (such as Catalan, Vlax, etc.) and some are
national languages like French, English, Spanish, Greek, etc.  My kids
took four years of "French" in high school, but had maybe a 10%
mastery over the language.  This reflects the lack of seriousness with
which "foreign" languages are taught in America.  I would agree that
if we are to treat second languages as a toy, we should stop teaching
them, but my bedrock belief is that every American should know at
least two languages well.

Ann Evans

On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 12:01 PM, Ofelia Garcia <ogarcia at gc.cuny.edu> wrote:
> Where is the signature on this letter? Is this appropriate material to post?
> I don't send my personal letters to this group. If this is the kind of
> posting that we're getting, then I would want my name removed from this
> list. It is also MY country.
> Ofelia Garcia
>
> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 11:03 AM, Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Letter to Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI 2nd) , 6th-term Democrat
>> from Wisconsin.
>>
>> lANGUAGE POLICY
>>
>> To:
>> President Barack Obama
>> Rep. Tammy Baldwin
>> Sen. Herbert Kohl
>> Sen. Russ Feingold
>>
>> January 29, 2010
>>
>> We want English to be our official language. Immigrants who come to
>> our Country are required to learn English. We are waisting Billions of
>> dollars each year printing our information in dozens of foreign
>> languages. Why do you keep catering to all the foreigners when you
>> should be making them abide by our laws? By not making foreigners
>> learn our language, you are allowing them to set up little foreign
>> communities inside our country and not assimilate into our society. We
>> are wasting Billions of our school systems money to teach foreigners
>> in their own language.  Stop catering to foreigners and start working
>> for "OUR" Country for a change.
>>
>> Brodhead , WI
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>
>
> --
> Ofelia García
> Professor
> Ph.D. Program in Urban Education
> Ph.D. Program in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages
> Graduate Center
> The City University of New York
> 365 Fifth Avenue
> New York, New York  10016
> (212) 817-8279, 8282
> ogarcia at gc.cuny.edu
> Web Page: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/urbaneducation/garcia/index.htm
>
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