I was talking politics the other day with my mother-in-law; I was asking her which Republican candidates she likes and she asked me whom I was considering. I told her that I favored Senator Obama over Senator Clinton when my father-in-law piped in with, “If you vote for Obama you're voting for someone that doesn't want English to be the national language!”
Now, I am not familiar with the particular stance that Mr. Obama has on national language; still, I don't think he has advocated changing the national language to Mandarin. So what is the problem? Forgetting about the '08 campaigns for a moment, I ask you this: is there a valid reason that English should be the one and only acknowledged language of the U.S.?
Immigration is a hot topic right now, so we will start by analyzing the obvious concern of many Americans. What will happen to the country if the countless Canadians crossing our borders start imposing their culture on us? Will town hall meetings start being conducted in French? Will the maple leaf replace the bald eagle as our most recognized national icon? Do the words we speak directly influence the likelihood that we institute socialized medicine?
People of every culture emigrate from their lands to seek a better life in America. Language is a key component to cultural identity and helps to make the transition of these people easier by tying together communities and maintaining consistency in the family unit. It is hard to imagine someone arguing that immigrants should abandon their native tongue entirely, yet all to often we hear the complaint, “I just wish they would learn English.” Deconstruct that sentence. Who is the language barrier harder on? The person that uttered those words is presenting his or her self in a position of superiority - it is us versus them, and they are the ones at fault.
I brought up Canada sarcastically but to emphasize a point: concerns about language tend to be concerns over power. French Canadians are not a threat to the current system, so it is laughable to imagine French speaking schools in Michigan, but South American immigrants do build communities in parts of the country and so provide a threat to the establishment. Spanish is what people are afraid of; though I would imagine there are those that are equally afraid of Mandarin, Japanese, and Hindi.
But what are people afraid of? I am a white male; I have it made; I am sure to get a good job with no glass ceiling. If all of a sudden not speaking Bengali became a detriment to my success I might be a bit miffed. So I get why my kind could be biased. Is anyone else really worried about this? Does anyone believe that formally recognizing that other manners of speech exist is a danger to the fabric of society?
It should be granted that history would answer “yes” to that question. The past several times that a region in the United States changed its spoken language also saw a change in the ownership of that region. I am talking about the acquisitions of the southwest from Mexico, Louisiana from France, and the entire country from its native peoples. But, with those exceptions, does language really play that big a role in things?
I wanted to throw this in there: Louisiana Creole. I"m not sure exactly what I wanted to prove with that, but no one I ever met in Oregon ever complained about Louisiana Creole.
Europe does not get hung up on language the same way America does. Look at Switzerland, the ever-neutral nation of Nazi gold and chocolate. They speak everything in Switzerland; from Italian and French, to German and Cow Latin (an ancient and otherwise forgotten language derivative of Pig Latin), the Swiss horde language like they horde toothpicks and nail files in their spiffy red pocketknives. It makes little sense to compare the U.S. of A. and Switzerland, but the important thing to note is that many countries officially recognize multiple languages. Moreover, ninety percent of European schoolchildren learn English as a second language, and nine European countries claim that more than half of their population can hold a conversation in English.
I don't know the percentage of multilingual (English as a first language) Americans, but do you think it is anywhere near fifty percent? Conversely, nearly twenty percent of Americans speak a second language at home.
It might be beneficial to Americans to start becoming worldlier. Comprehension of linguistics not only strengthens communication skills, but also helps solidify work ethic in learning environments.
So, should English be our one and only language? Note that the federal government does not recognize any language, and three states are officially bilingual (Louisiana, New Mexico, and Hawaii). What would it even mean if the government was to rule on a national language? If we were put on the books as having two, or even three officially spoken words? Would it be giving “them” a foot in the door? Or might it instead indicate that we are finally ready to join the rest of the world stage?
