An English- Only Country?
That begs the question, should the United States be an "English-only" country?
In 1919, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote a letter to the American Defense Society that stated that "We have room for but one language here and that is the English language." Among that he also discussed that when an immigrant comes to America, their goal should be to at some point become an American and assimilate themselves into what it means to be one.
However, becoming an American is a lengthy process. It takes time to adapt to the American way of living, let alone learn a language completely different from that of which a person is used to.
When my parents immigrated to America they were fluent in French and knew just enough English words to get them from point A to point B. At a young age my parents forced their children to continue to speak French, a language that before we each entered grade school was the only one we knew. Now, although we understand and speak French, we can't do it nearly as well as we do with English. Not to say that because my family and I speak French, signs should be in French or schools should teach in French, but to say that because America does not necessarily acknowledge many other languages, English has had a big effect on who we are or who we were.
The United States is currently home to over 45 million immigrants which is 19 percent of the world's total immigrant population. Each of these immigrants come with their own language or their own version of a language. America prides itself on being diverse and accepting. As a "melting pot" having an official language is simply hypocritical. Making America an English-only country makes it difficult for the large population of America that is not English speaking to thrive. Although, some would argue that it is not America's job to become accustomed to the ways of an immigrant but the other way around.
The United States cannot, in any sense, accommodate to all the 350 languages spoken in the nation, but it doesn’t mean it has to exclude them. Rather than focusing on America having one official language, maybe it would be best to explore what America would be like if it was multilingual.
The second paragraph should end with a "?" if it's "begging a question."
ReplyDeleteAlso, quoting a President from almost literally 100 years ago and using his words and views to reflect on today seems more than a little fallacious. It'd be like me quoting Jefferson Davis to reference today's treatment of minorities or Adolf Hitler to reference today's treatment of Jews; it's taking people out of their historical context. Therefore painting the beliefs they held - valid or not in their own times - against the ones we have now is, again, fallacious.
Either way, the argument from the pro-English side is not to ban or "exclude" other languages from being spoken or used by Private Citizens. (See the First Amendment.) Take, for example, your parents country of France. They have an official language, French, but the French Government does not prohibit people from speaking whatever language they please.
Hi Liz,
ReplyDeleteI am very interested with what you had to say about language. I like how you brought up the reports. Also, I agree with Robert there should be a "?" at the end of your second paragraph. Very good information talking about 45 million immigrants and how immigrants come with their own version of a language. You explained those big topics very well in your post. Great information I enjoyed reading your post and I like your image as well. Can't wait to read more posts. Good job!
I don't agree with Jimmy that quoting a president from earlier in the 20th century is fallacious; it's historical and provides context. I'm not sure I understand the tone of the comment, either, to be honest. And just because someone's parents speak French doesn't mean they came from France. There are plenty of Francophone countries in the world.
ReplyDeleteTeddy Roosevelt understood that the best outcome would be that having immigrants speak English helps assimilation, and understandably we cannot take historical figures out of their time. Yet this is a current position for many American politicians. The interesting thing is that many current politicians (like former Senator Rick Santorum, or Rep. Steve King, or even former Governor Mitt Romney--all of the same political party) espouse this belief. The issue of English-only actually tends to be a sometimes-subtle argument against immigration from particular countries.
While there is social pressure in any country to assimilate to the customs and languages spoken there, at least in America it seems that there could be a benefit to respecting and becoming familiar with the languages and customs of those who are also here. That would take an isolationist stance and make it more approachable.