Thread: Pa. House approves making English official state language

What are it's prospects in the Senate? Will the Governor sign it?

I won't hold my breath that Rendell will sign. He is a total bleeding a**
liberal

http://www.pennlive.com

English-only act stirs emotions
Language debate stirs emotions
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
BY DIANA FISHLOCK
Of The Patriot-News
Carmencita Krone -- an immigrant who knows her English isn't perfect -- might seem like an unlikely fan of the Pennsylvania Official Language Act passed Wednesday night in the House.

But she is.

"I approve it 100 and 1 percent," said Krone of Harrisburg, who emigrated from the Philippines in 1983.

"I have a second language, but I tried to speak English, because this is the national language of this country. We say, 'When in Rome, do as Romans do,'" said Krone, a dietitian at Spring Creek Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Swatara Twp.

"It's really, really important for the people who come here to speak English," she said, adding that people need English to get a job or tell a doctor about a medical problem.

The bill, which passed 159-34 in the House, requires state and local governments and regulated private sector businesses to print documents in English only. That includes tax and real estate records, permits, wills and applications. Exceptions include when public safety, health or justice requires using other languages.

The state Senate is not expected to take up the bill until the fall. "I would guess a pretty strong majority of the Senate would support it," Senate Republican spokesman Erik Arneson said.

Gov. Ed Rendell views the bill as "a complete waste of time," said Kate Philips, his spokeswoman.

The bill elicits strong emotions in many people. Fans say it promotes national unity and saves money, and encourages immigrants to learn English and get better jobs. Detractors say the bill is xenophobic and divisive, throwing yet another hurdle in front of immigrants striving to make a life here.

Norma Melendez of Lebanon is one of those who has mixed feelings.

"I'm not sure how I feel," she said. "I know that people should know English when they come here, but when you have, say, a 45-year-old who's never been here before, it's not like you can set foot in the U.S. and -- boom! -- you know English."

Melendez, family involvement coordinator at Lebanon Middle School, understands both sides. "But unless you've gone to another country and started with no language, you don't understand. I think we're losing compassion."

She grew up speaking English, but her parents struggled with the language and still do, she said.

"We want people to be able to understand what they're getting themselves into, whether it be a legal document or a medical document," she said. If the state won't provide information in Chinese, Spanish or Vietnamese, people will need translators, she added.

The bill sends a bad signal to people trying hard to adjust to a culture that is overwhelmingly English-speaking, said Arthur N. Read, attorney for the Friends of Farmworkers, Inc.

Democratic lawmakers cited similar concerns on the House floor.

"Some might have enough English to get what they need at the grocery store, but that is different from understanding what is in a protection from abuse order," Read said. "Those kind of concerns are pretty real and ... the intent of the House is to deprive people of those kind of rights. That is very unfortunate."

Ken Nelson of Mechanicsburg said he needs only to look to Canada to see why it's important to establish English as the official language here. "The central thing that holds the nation together is language. Language is key to the unity," he said.

"The British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774 that permitted the French in Canada to keep their culture, namely their language. It was hailed as an act of great statesmanship," he wrote in a letter to the editor. "Two-hundred years later, a referendum in Quebec to separate from English Canada failed by the slimmest of margins. So much for great statesmanship."

Matt Brouillette, president of the Commonwealth Foundation, said the bill would save taxpayers money.

"I think if you go beyond English and require printing of documents or signs in [other languages], it becomes a hardship on the taxpayers," Brouillette said.

Ho-Thanh Nguyen didn't know a word of English when she emigrated here from Vietnam 31 years ago.

"When we were young, we could learn," said Nguyen, founder and president of Pennsylvania Immigrant and Refugee Women's Network. But she worries about older people who are illiterate in their native languages.

PAIRWN communicates in English "because they want their voices to be heard," Nguyen said. However, she thinks the bill will make immigrants feel unwelcome.

"The United States is compiling from many countries. It's not one language," Nguyen said. "We took over the land from the Indians. Why didn't we learn their language?"

Staff writers Jan Murphy, Charles Thompson and Monica von Dobeneck contributed to this article. DIANA FISHLOCK: 255-8251 or dfishlock@patriot-news.com.

"When we were young, we could learn," said Nguyen, founder and president of Pennsylvania Immigrant and Refugee Women's Network. But she worries about older people who are illiterate in their native languages.

They do the same as all 4 of my grandparents did.........rely on their children to teach them and help them prosper- NOT THE STATE or FED - to help them. That forced their children to learn English AS A FIRST LANGUAGE although they remained bi-lingual only within their homes.