A prolific painter of portraits before and after the French Revolution ...

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ch07.qxd 12/2/04 11:59 AM Page 349 explaining: the writing process 349 First Draft The issue has been raised that the United States needs to make English the official language of the nation. Currently, the Senate is reviewing a proposal to require Puerto Rico to adopt English as its official language before considering it for statehood. While everyone agrees that it is important for all Americans to speak English, there is disagreement as to whether the government should adopt an official language policy.Those who support an official language policy (such as Richard Rodriguez) believe that without a policy, immigrants to America will not learn English. Those who do not support this policy believe that there is enough pressure on immigrants, and that they have enough desire to learn English quickly on their own. Some who oppose an official English policy believe that this policy will alienate immigrants and that Americans who support this policy are having a xenophobic reaction to recent immigrants from more diverse cultures initiated by 1960s immigration laws. I would like to explain exactly what these opposing positions are, using essays written by Richard Rodriguez, Samuel Hayakawa, James Crawford, and James Fallows. As a champion of English-only legislation, Richard Rodriguez believes that without the government to push them into learning English, immigrants will not learn the language. In “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” Mr. Rodriguez states, “What I did not believe was that I could speak a single public language. ...It would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish. . . . But I would have delayed—for how long postponed?—having to learn the language of public society [English].” Although Rodriguez was born in the United States, being the son of migrant workers, he had not been exposed to English until he had entered school. Without the church (he attended a Catholic school) to force him to learn English, he believes he would never have learned to speak English. Like all people on both sides of the issue, Rodriguez believes that it is necessary to speak English to succeed in the United States. Because Rodriguez was not motivated to speak English as a child, he feels that it is imperative for the government to push immigrants to learn English by making English the official language of the United States. People opposing English being the official language believe immigrants desire to learn English. Both James Fallows, in “Viva Bilingualism,” and James Crawford, author of Hold Your Tongue: Bilingualism and the Politics of English Only, oppose English-only legislation. Fallows, an English-speaking American who lived in Japan, feels that his experiences are contradictory to these beliefs. PROFESSIONAL COPY—NOT FOR RESALE
ch07.qxd 12/2/04 11:59 AM Page 350 350 Chapter 7 explaining PREREADING JOURNAL The topic of English-only makes a great prereading journal activity. The day before you assign this essay, ask your students to write in their journals (or e-mail or in the class forum) about their views on English-only legislation. Should states pass laws requiring that English be the “official” language? Will such laws encourage immigrants to learn English? Discussing their views in class before they read the essay will make students much more active and responsive readers of Bishop’s essay. While living in Japan—a country that “makes many more accommodations to the English language than America does to Spanish”—Fallows found that most English-speaking people learned Japanese in order to participate in society. In America, Fallows thinks the incentives for immigrants to learn English are greater. The only way to get any kind of white-collar job or to attend college, according to Fallows, is through learning English. English is how communities in America are built. Other English-only supporters, like former Senator Samuel Hayakawa, feel that a common language in the United States would better unite Americans. Hayakawa uses the example of Chinese- and Japanese- Americans, who didn’t get along during World War II. Now they have begun to form Asian-American groups. Hayakawa believes this is the result of having learned English. Hayakawa states, “A common tongue encourages trust while reducing racial hostility and bigotry.” Hayakawa believes that unless the United States implements an English-only policy, we will head the way of Quebec or India—“a chaotic mess which has led to countless problems in the government’s efforts to manage the nation’s business.” According to Hayakawa, this problem is already apparent. He blames the 50 percent dropout rate among Hispanic students on the current bilingual policy. People who do not support English-only, like James Crawford, do not believe that the differences in language will cause chaos. They further believe that an official English policy will separate Americans. In his book, James Crawford quotes Raul Yazquirre, President of the National Council of La Raza, as saying: “U.S. English is to Hispanics as the Ku Klux Klan is to blacks.” Crawford says that this is the consensus among Latino leaders. Crawford goes on to say that Latino leaders believe English only “is a Xenophobic, intolerant act.” Because I believe that Rodriguez’s experience might be unique and that there are many other people’s experiences pointing the other way— including my own—I think Hayakawa’s argument may be shaky. Possibly, Crawford and Fallows, because of their experience, may be correct. Crawford has spent ten years researching the issue, which gives his argument credibility. I think that although it is quite debatable, the new push for English as an official language may be due to a backlash against the recent influx of more diverse groups into the United States. But determining exactly how government laws might affect the motivation of immigrants to learn English is difficult. We seem to have different personal testimonies: PROFESSIONAL COPY—NOT FOR RESALE
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A prolific painter of portraits before and after the French Revolution ...

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