Must Everyone Speak English?

(CBS)  About half the states have passed laws that make English the official language of their state. Why is there a need for these laws? Isn't English already the language of the United States? Yes and no. What English-only advocates are bothered by are things like bilingual education, election information and ballots being in languages in addition to English, etc. The attitude is, "my ancestors had to learn English to get along in this country, why shouldn't the new immigrants have to do the same thing?" At first glance, it doesn't seem to be very controversial, does it? So, let's take a few more glances at it.

Not everybody learns English immediately when they come to this country. Some of us had ancestors who could barely speak English their whole lives. Many of these "old" immigrants — the ones from Europe that the English-only people seem to consider the "good" immigrants — lived in neighborhoods with other people from their homelands. That made it natural for many of them to speak the language from the old country at home. This is one thing some English-only advocates say they don't like about the "new" immigrants. They see them as cliquish people unwilling to assimilate.

One troublesome aspect of this movement is that while many people simply and sincerely believe that English should be the only language used in public schools and public documents, there is a more sinister attitude among some other people. Some people just hate people from foreign lands. I saw a bumper sticker on a car yesterday that read, "Speak English Or Die."

Believe it or not, I'm not the expert on heavy metal music that you may have thought I was. So, I had to go to the Internet to learn that "Speak English or Die" is the name of a song recorded by the group with the pleasant name, "Stormtroopers of Death." The chorus of the little ditty goes like this:

"You always make us wait
You're the ones we hate
You can't communicate
Speak English or die."

They also have a verse that says,

"You come into this country
You can't get real jobs
Boats and boats of you
Go home, you F&*%#ing slobs."

Obviously, I have no way of measuring how many of the pro English-only people have these prejudiced views. But just the fact that there are some is disturbing enough. These words are certainly a far cry from the inscription on the Statue of Liberty.

Many people claim that the main reason they're for this is to save money by doing away with public documents in non-English. But is that just an excuse for some bigoted people who hate "foreigners?" Are they the same people who get upset no matter where they travel in the world because the people they meet can't speak English?

One could get carried away with this "must speak proper English" thing. For one thing, if that were a requirement for public service, George Bush could not be our president.

The English-onlies seem to want one uniform language that all Americans can understand. That's not how English was ever spoken in the United States. If a person from one part of the country has trouble understanding a person from another region, should we outlaw regional slang and accents, too?

When President Bush pronounces "nuclear" properly, maybe I'll consider getting on board. When I stop hearing good American-born citizens say things like, "That's between you and I" (instead of "between you and me"), when I stop reading the non-word "alright," when I stop hearing people tell me that something was "funner" than something else, maybe then I'll think it's time we challenged immigrants to speak as well as native-born Americans. But until we can set a better example, it's hard to be upset about new arrivals who don't speak properly.

One thing the English-onlyites seem to forget is that America has always been a melting pot. There are examples of Spanish, French, Yiddish, and German words that have been absorbed by English and are now used by Americans every day. It makes for a richer language and culture. Is there any reason to think that in the future when we start to adopt some of the language of the "new" immigrants, that English will be any less enriched?

I know some people may say that my attitude "literally" made them explode, but unless they actually blew up, they, too, should learn better English before they criticize others.

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Lloyd Garver writes a weekly column for SportsLine.com. He has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover.

By Lloyd Garver

[jagfan4444]

Don't come to my home and expect me to change it to suit you.

Still, it does not hurt to learn another language...Just don't demand I do so. My tax dollars IMO should go to teach them English, not the other way around.

[ardeinne]

"A common language binds a country together, without it there is constant conflict. Example England that speaks English and Ireland/Scotland that speak Gaelic, centuries of conflict between them. Canada with it's French and English are constantly at odds with each other not counting all the native American/aboriginal dialects."

Why do writers on this topic always cite countries in which different languages cause conflict and not countries in which different languages live perfectly well side by side? I'd cite Switzerland, which has FOUR official languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansch. (Romansch, spoken by a relatively small group in the mountain area, is the least well-known.) When I attended school there we had to be fluent in two of the four. In my school's case it was French and German, probably the most common combination. I have not heard very much about serious civil disorders in Switzerland any time recently, have you? Another country that seems to be able to deal very well with dual official languages is Finland. A large minority of Finnish citizens are of Swedish descent (I think I was told it was something like 20 %) and Swedish and Finnish are both official languages in southern Finland. If you walk around Helsinki you see signs (both street signs and signs on private businesses) in both languages. Finns don't seem to be agitated by this.

You cite England/Scotland/Ireland and Canada as countries that "conflicts" over language that make them "constantly at odds with each other." For starters, Ireland and England AREN'T the same country. The troubles inbetween Ireland and England have, historically, not been about language. They were about the fact that England forcibly conquered and occupied Ireland. The conflict with Scotland, such as it is, is not about language either. The majority of Scots don't even know Gaelic. They speak something called Scots which is either a dialect or a language of its own, depending on whom you talk to. (Cf. the poems of Burns, which are written in "Scots.") Historically the major linguistic conflict in the UK, I'd say, was over the Welsh language. The problem there is that the English at one time tried forcibly to suppress the Welsh language. The Welsh were not allowed to teach it in schools, kids were punished for speaking it, etc. Now that both Welsh and English are accepted in Wales, there is very little conflict. Kids grow up speaking both. There are ample studies showing that this kind of bilingualism is, in fact, very helpful in children's intellectual development.

As for Canada: the conflicts in Canada, historically, have not been over language either. They were political, and caused by the fact that the English CONQUERED what is now called "French Canada," which was then just "Canada." The people living in "Canada" wanted to keep their culture, their religion -- and their language. The fact that they were able to do so makes Canada a much more interesting place than it would be if it was monocultural and monolingual. As for any civil disorders or conflicts: I think many countries would be happy to have the remarkable level of stability and civility that Canada has, which its official bilingualism does not seem to have affected very much if at all.

[pdchapin]

Studies have shown that recent immigrant families are converting to English at the same rate previous immigrant generations did. It takes about three generations for an immigrant family to convert to speaking English as their first language.

I support English as the official language, but this is different than defining it as the only language. As an official language, you should be able to go anywhere that official business is being conducted and not be at a disadvantage if you only speak English. It does not require the use of English where another language would be more convenient for everybody involved. It does not prohibit the printing of official documents in other languages as long as the English version is available (and the binding version if there is a conflict in translation). It does not impact what private individuals and businesses do. As an English only speaker I should be able to go to any government office, be it in Spanish or Chinese speaking sections of the city and do official business. I don't care what language the next person in line uses.

[Dunestrider]

That doesn't make sense. This is not England. I would expect the people from England would speak English, and people from Germany should speak German. The United States is not England. It is a mixture of ethnic groups. Spaniards landed here long before the British. And some say the Vikings landed here before the Spanish. So maybe Norwegian should be the national language?

[louiville12]

A common language binds a country together, without it there is constant conflict. Example England that speaks English and Ireland/Scotland that speak Gaelic, centuries of conflict between them. Canada with it's French and English are constantly at odds with each other not counting all the native American/aboriginal dialects.

Being able to communicate with each other is probably the most important thing in the world.

The Spanish dictionary defines "gringo" as a blanko who speaks gibberish.

It's asinine for any country to have more than one official language if they want to avoid unnecessary civil strife..

[krotec54]

Why yes, Everyone must speak proper English in America. Other countries would do the same with "foreigners" in their country that do not know the language and culture. The "new" immigrants, that study English will be more enriched with the culture of this country that they immigrated to, if they cannot adapt they have the freedom to migrate back to their native country and we can all be happy.

[puzzler125]

I choose to speak English with my English speaking friends, (note the lower case "s" Hammer) and to speak Spanish with my Spanish speaking friends. A veces hablo en espanol porque algunos de mis vecinos no les lo gustan! (At times I speak in Spanish because my neighbors don't like it!) I do it to tick them off because they get very confused when they hear a supposedly caucasian woman speaking in Spanish with a really good accent. I love to mess with peoples' stereotypes and I help my neighbors when they need translation skills. Since the United States I love welcomes folks from every country I welcome my brothers and sisters who speak other languages and apologize on occasion for the idiots who tell them to go back to their native countries.

[JILL77777]

Idiot, people who dont Speak English should be deported

[HAMMER77777]

What an idiotic article. We all must Speak English. In private conversations, one can Speak any language, but all government business must be conducted in ENglish. Yes, Speak English Or Die...i agree...comprende?

[robert1129]

What English are you referring to? The English spoken in the SW? There, everyday conversation includes numerous Spanish words by everybody there - government and non government. In LA, where the same applies but French words are predomint? In CA , where English is really a Heinz 57 of Spanish, Chinese, etc?