Thread: U.S. English-only laws harm immigrants

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/get ... 1201a2.htm

U.S. English-only laws harm immigrants

By DOMENICO MACERI
Special to The Japan Times

SANTA MARIA, California -- The Latino population has increased 500 percent in the past 15 years in State Rep. Courtney Combs' district, located between Cincinnati and Dayton. That has created a communication problem between residents and government officials, according to Combs, a Republican.
In these situations, government agencies and business usually do their very best to provide services in Spanish to accommodate these new arrivals.

Combs' solution goes totally in a different direction. He plans to introduce a bill in the Ohio Legislature that will declare English the official language of the state. The new law, if passed, would require government agencies to produce documents in English only by the end of the year.

Combs' "solution" to make English the official language has already been tried in 27 American states. It has not solved any of the problems related to language and immigration. The number of U.S. residents born abroad has continued to rise in the entire country regardless of the state official language policy. Immigrants are not learning English faster because of the fact that English has been declared the official language.

Official English legislation is mostly meaningless, but it does have a psychological impact. For some, it's a boost since it sends a clear message that English is the language of the country.

This is only partly true since more than 300 languages are spoken in the U.S. to various degrees. Some languages are spoken by small groups of people, but others, like Spanish, have millions of speakers. Thus English could be appropriately described as the dominant language of the U.S.

The negative impact of official language emerges as a slap in the face to immigrants. Since the U.S. is a country made up of people from every corner of the globe, official English legislation tells them their languages are not valid and as a result neither are they.

In essence, English-only laws go beyond language and try unsuccessfully to take away the welcome mat the U.S. has always extended to immigrants.

The slap in the face is much more painful to Native Americans, who have been living on the North American continent long before the first English word was ever uttered in there. Having taken the land away from Native Americans and having decimated their population, we're now telling them that even their languages are not valid.

Although Native Americans speak English, they see their ancestral languages as a symbol of pride in their culture. Official English adds insult to injury.

While official English legislation has few practical consequences, visible effects can be traced to it. Some companies follow suit and declare their job sites English-only areas. That may infringe on people's rights.

A number of companies have been sued because some employees claimed that their bosses told them to speak English and only English for no practical or legal reason.

Lawsuits because of language discrimination have increased significantly in the last 10 years. Some companies have had to pay considerable sums of money in damages to employees whose rights have been violated.

The damage caused by English-only laws affects the U.S. in other ways. The tragic events of 9/11 revealed that our vulnerability to terrorists is due in no small part to our linguistic limitations.

U.S. government agencies collect huge amounts of data in many languages that often is not analyzed in a timely fashion because there aren't enough people fluent in foreign languages. Some of this data may contain information that could very well prevent future tragedies.

English-only laws push Americans into believing that if something happens in other languages, it won't affect us. That's not true. Ignorance of other languages is dangerous. English-only laws decrease our safety.

When legislators spend their time passing English-only laws, you have to wonder what important issues -- perhaps involving life and death -- they are not willing to address.

Domenico Maceri teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California. His articles have appeared in newspapers and have been cited by the National Association of Hispanic Publications.

The Japan Times: Dec. 1, 2005

Well, this whole article is total BS but I will focus on one statement.

The negative impact of official language emerges as a slap in the face to immigrants.

A SLAP IN THE FACE TO IMMIGRANTS??? What in the hell does THAT mean? Have THEY not considered the slap in the face to AMERICANS that we get every time we are asked to "Press ONE FOR ENGLISH"??? They CHOSE to come to our country. WE didn't invite them. They knew when they came here that English is our language. SO, they must either speak OUR language or go back home where they can communicate in their own language.

And, the most insulting thing in the column is where he said that there are THREE HUNDRED languages represented in our country. Well, why are THOSE PEOPLE not being accomodated in THEIR language? Why is it ONLY SPANISH that is being crammed down our throats????

Where is the "harm"?

I'm feel the need to post pics about what's happening in my city. They're building a Chinatown in the middle of the city. Right now the place is under construction so it looks like a compund of some sort. This thing is going to be huge.

Whenever I see all of this I have to ask one question: What is wrong with being an American?