English Only

Recently, a bill has passed the Senate that would make English the only language of government.
"That bill says no person has a right, entitlement or claim to have the US government or any of its officials act, communicate, perform or provide services or materials in any language other than English."

I'd like to put a disclaimer here that my arguments are not very complete, but I encourage you to further research the issue.
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Press Release of Senator Inhofe

INHOFE TO SENATE: ‘MAKE ENGLISH OUR NATIONAL LANGUAGE’

Thursday, May 18, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) today, with bipartisan support, introduced his National English Amendment (S.A. 4064) to the Senate Immigration Reform Act (S. 2611) to make English the national language of the United States, except where use of another language is authorized or provided by law. Such exceptions currently include: natural disaster emergency evacuation (i.e. Hurricane Katrina) and a defendant’s right to an interpreter in U.S. Courts.

“For over twenty years they have tried to make English the national language,” Inhofe said.

“For many of those years I have listened to constituents at my town hall meetings ask, ‘why can’t we get this done?’ Well today we are going to succeed.

“This is not just about preserving our culture and heritage, but also about bettering the odds for our nation’s newest potential citizens. As the President said recently, ‘English allows newcomers to go from cleaning offices to running offices,’ I could not agree more.

“Recent polling established that a diverse majority, 84 percent of all Americans, agree with making English the national language, including 77 percent of Hispanics. Polling also concludes that 92 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats and Independents all support recognizing English as the national language.

“Under current law a naturalization candidate must demonstrate a simple, ‘understanding of the English language.’ However, the exam is not uniform and this subjective standard is both arbitrary and unfair. The Department of Homeland Security is currently reviewing the citizenship exam given to prospective citizens. My amendment offers specific goals for that redesign, focusing primarily on the applicants’ understanding of the English language and knowledge of American civics and history. By creating a uniform exam we ensure that all applicants have the same opportunity to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of English and American history, while maintaining a fair and equal standard for naturalizing new citizens.”
Widespread U.S. polling supports making English the national language with a recent Zogby poll showing 84% support overall, including 71% of Hispanics. Currently, 27 states and 51 nations have made English their official language. Furthermore, the Office of Management and Budget estimates that it costs taxpayers between $1-2 billion to provide language assistance under President Clinton’s Executive Order 13166 that created the entitlement to services provided in any language other than English.

Inhofe’s amendment requires those naturalizing to become a U.S. citizen pass a uniform English examine created by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); instructs DHS as to the goals for redesigning the citizenship exam, focusing on the English language and knowledge of American civics and history.

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It's really important to think about where this can go.

If the government is not required to provide any services in other languages, then there will be people, particularly in medical situations who will be underserved, and this could even be fatal. For example, if there are no interpreters, and a parent from another country; perhaps just a tourist visiting the country for a short time, or perhaps an American-born citizen; brings a child to a hospital and can't communicate the problem, the child may die. I've heard about a call to a 911 operator that only worked because the operator knew Spanish.

There are many people in the United States who are legitimately here, but are not proficient in English. While there are always some people who choose not to learn English, the vast majority try. However, old people and people who have no skill at language (remember Spanish/German/French/etc. 101? That sucked, huh?) may never become proficient in English no matter how hard they try. For these people, government documents and services in their languages are essential. A good example of this would be the Hmong population. They are in America because they helped us in Vietnam! We promised them that we would welcome them as heroes after the war. Many would have probably preferred to stay in Vietnam, but had they stayed, they would have been killed because of their collaboration with the Americans. Then the Hmong came here, as they had been promised, but rather than being welcomed as heroes, they've been treated as second-class citizens. Now people want to take away their access to government services in Hmong.

In addition to all of the immigrants who are here for whatever reason, there are also the native born Americans, particularly the Puerto Ricans who have Spanish as their first language. Why should they be forced to conduct official business in English if that is not their best language? They are legitimately American, but they have never been cultural Englishmen. How dare anyone disenfranchise them? They are AMERICAN CITIZENS!

"English Only" is a goal that can have some quite negative results. Granted, it can lead to less costs in interpreters and print costs if the government no longer has to print other language materials. However, the human costs are much higher! The initiative is meant to promote 'unity through language'; however, it can lead to more linguistic based division. It is really just another way to discriminate between those who can access government services and those who can't.