ENGLISH IS OUR OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

There’s plenty of evidence, both anecdotal and by scientifically conducted studies, that 96% of second-generation immigrants in this country speak fluent English. That conclusion might sound astonishing, but it actually makes sense. The immigrant parents who come here often do not speak English and, because it’s far more difficult to pick up a new language during adulthood, they tend to learn enough English to get by, but not much more. Their children, however, pick up English in schools very quickly and, by the third generation, only about 10% of the 2nd generation’s kids are fluent in their parents’ native language.

The myth generated by the “English-Only” proponents is that immigrants, by and large, don’t want to learn English, but that’s just an urban myth. The opposite is true. A 2005 study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trust, a widely respected “conservative-based” foundation, concluded that an overwhelming majority of immigrants desired to learn English because they viewed it as a key to assimilating and gaining a piece of the American Pie. Interestingly, a similar percentage indicated that they found that social barriers hindered their efforts to learn English and so they used their native language because it felt comfortable to them.

Several weeks ago, somebody sent me an e-mail with a similar gripe and ended with the view that anybody who does not speak English should be denied entry into the United States. I believe that kind of thinking ends up limiting the gene pool – if you catch my drift – but it certainly is a popular viewpoint.

I shouldn't have to mention that from a legal position, English already IS our official language. So-called efforts to “establish” English as our official language are anything but that, because English as our official language is what already exists. What "English-Only" proponents want to do is forbid all branches of government from teaching English as a second language (which is how immigrant children best learn English in schools) and from accommodating non-English speaking people with government functions (no more Spanish pamphlets or non-English interpreters). Personally, I think that’s an ignorant idea – but again, it’s a pretty popular one.

Proponents of the issue seem to think that this is a major problem that has suddenly happened upon the scene; but I’ve got this sense that it is no greater problem today than it was when the Cubans, Haitians, Italians, Welsh, Irish, Chinese, Germans, Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese resettled here. If you ask me, what really drives this issue is disdain of immigrants. Half the folks who write me to bitch about the issue come right out and say so and half of the remainder can’t write a proper English sentence. You’d think that with spell-check available, that latter part of the pro-English crowd would demonstrate better grammar.