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by Fred C. Wilson III
August 20, 2011
“87% say English should be U.S.
official language.”
-Rasmussen Reports-
ENGLISH IN AMERICA
The English language in the United States has a unique and varied history. During the American Revolution it was considered by many influential Americans as the tongue of the Enlightenment the ideal language for democratic societies. To their discredit the Founders espoused the racist notion that English could be utilized to exclude non-English speaking groups from mainstream American politics and policies.
In the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries there was an influx of non-English speaking immigrants the majority of whom were German. These Germans settled mostly in Pennsylvania. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in 1751 infamously quoted: “Why should the Palatine Boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements and by herding together establish their language and manners to the exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying (Americanizing) them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our complexion?” (Above source: Professor Dennis Baron’s PBS special ‘Do you speak American?’) Sounds familiar? It should be; the Germans back then were the ‘Mexicans’ of today; feared, hated, and discriminated against. They were seen as ‘un-American’ intent on Germanizing the early Americans.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
There are some practical considerations for making English the common tongue for the U.S. I’m of the opinion that English should be made the official language because:
* If everybody spoke a common language it would solve a lot of communication problems.
* If legal documents, books, newspapers, magazines, TV News reports, and other modes of communication were written in English, all Americans would be able to understand them. Case in point: India is the world’s largest democracy. India has 27 primary languages and hundreds of dialects. English is second only to Hindi.
* America like India is a diverse country. A single language would unite Americans linguistically.
* If everybody spoke a common language I don’t think you would lose your ethnic identity. If you’re Filipino, Chinese, Mexican or anyone else, you won’t loose your heritage. We would all know who you are. No one will stop you from speaking Tagalog, Mandarin, Spanish; whatever your native language is at home, church services, ethnic neighborhoods, and so on.
* Other racial and ethnic groups will be able to share their culture with you more readily in a ‘national language’ English.
* You’ll become a better person if you share your culture with people different from you. They would also benefit from your cultural experiences. Think of the many people who’ve never tasted Crispy Pata, Tripe and Noodle Soup, Tostadas or other ethnic delicacies but will taste them for the first time because of your generosity?
* Meeting people of different races and ethnicity socially is much easier if everybody can understand what the other person/people are saying don’t you think?
* If people spoke a national language (English in our case) job search hassles would be minimized. An English Only language policy would better prepare immigrants to blend in with the common culture. Another case in point: How can people find jobs if they can’t fill out a job application or answer the interviewer’s questions if they don’t know the language? Reader you just can’t do it no matter how you try.
* I’ve listened to Canadians complain about their nation’s two language policy. The ones I spoke with don’t like it. Two languages mean two sets of government documents, two sets of street signs, currency printed in two languages English and French plus two sets of school books; a single language would halve all that.
* The thing that gets me is why some non-English peoples living in the United States vehemently insist that ‘native’ English speaking Americans learn their language while at the same time will never make any attempt to learn English?
The way I see it, a lot of APA’s (Asian Pacific Americans) are opposed to any proposed legislation to make English the official language. I think they fear this would make it easier for the primary culture to discriminate against them. This opinion may be true for some APA’s but to my knowledge not many Fil-Ams are opposed at making English the official language of the United States.
SPEAK ENGLISH!
Unlike some non-English speaking immigrants from Hispanic countries many of whom insist that ‘native’ Americans speak Spanish, Filipinos are eager to learn English to better blend with the common culture and advance professionally. Despite their numerous attempts at assimilation, Filipinos have suffered in the past for being ‘different’ as did the aforementioned early German immigrants.
Filipinos suffered similar if not worse discrimination than those early German settlers. During the first half of the 20th century they had to endure many deprivations; most were based on color and language. It wasn’t until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that things changed for the better for Filipinos and other APA’s (Asian Pacific Americans). Asian-Americans have Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement to thank for that.
Very recently a group of Filipinos sued the Delano Regional Medical Center in California. Hospital officials were accused of using punitive measures to force their Filipino staffers to speak English even during their personal time (lunch breaks, conversation among peers, etc.). This writer believes that such ‘terror tactics’ are clearly racially discriminatory. This issue is currently being addressed through the courts.
NEXT TIME
Next time Philippine Adventures will conclude with the ACLU’s stance on the ‘English only’ issue. We’ll interview some non-English speaking people who’ve suffered from racial discrimination over this issue. I’ll tell you what I think about the issue then leave you with some valuable sources in case you want to take this debate to the next level. Till next time stay inside and beat the heat, drive carefully, GOD be with you and your loved ones.
(vamaxwell@yahoo.com)