As the joke goes, those who speak more than one language are multi-lingual, while those who speak only one are Americans. Quite frankly, I am disappointed in the common perception that English is the official language and the rest of the world should speak enough American English to interact with U.S. citizens. That attitude smacks of snobbery and ignorance. Travelers who don't even bother learning a few choice phrases of the languages of countries they visit are effectively relegating native speakers of that language to second-class status during their transactions. In 1776, the language of diplomats was French, a status English has only recently enjoyed in the last sixty years, thereabouts. Yet, somehow, people are already convinced there will never be a need for any other language.
Shelving ones own heritage language in favor of an "official" language is akin to betraying your own family history. Language is not only a source of pride, but also a part of a culture and history. The heritage language becomes a source of embarrassment, and children deliberately forget and distance themselves from that culture and language in order to fit in with the perceived "official" culture. That may ybe fine and dand when you possess the physical characteristics of native speakers of the "official" language, but what happens if your skin is the wrong color?
The removal of racist regulation in U.S. immigration policy after WWII and the subsequent increase of non-Western-European-born immigrants has actually allowed the use of languages other than English. German, for example, lost its use due to World War I as German speakers tried to avoid being associated with the enemy. Chinese disappeared after the mid-19th century when the Chinese became the first ethnic group denied citizenship, marriage rights, union rights, and, afterwards, the only ethnic group in U.S. history to be barred from immigration; despite only a few thousand having ever walked on U.S. soil.
English became the unofficial primary language of the U.S. only because the majority of those in power at the time spoke English. For example, Pennsylvania had a large enough German population to warrant a vote in the Senate as to whether or not Federal documents should be published in German. Throughout history, the virtual prohibition on immigrant tongues ranging from Italian to German to Chinese has only established English and a virtual elimination of family histories. In exchange, much of what are called "American traditions" are actually practices adopted from overseas and given English names. Christmas, for example, has strong roots in Scottish history.
If I recall correctly, there is a very good reason the U.S. government never established an official language. Official support for one language effectively raises wealthy native speakers to the political elite, turning all immigrants and even some native speakers with poor command of the official language into second class citizens. Wealth has a substantial influence on language acquisition; children of impoverished families enter the first grade with a vocabulary over a thousand words less than the average student, let alone students of wealthy families, and the gap in academic performance only widens as they progress through the school system. Traditionally, immigrants both legal and illegal have been impoverished, although recently, there have been a significant number of wealthy immigrants. At any rate, establishing an official language in an immigrant nation with a myriad of languages runs contrary to the principles of a democratic system by alienating the vast majority of the population from participating in politics.
Look to the history of the Native Americans. If I recall correctly, most, if not all, Native Americans practiced oral tradition. The institution of English-only education on an entire generation of Native Americans irreversibly destroyed thousands of years of history with a single stroke. Many Navajo codetalkers in WWII had to be taught their own language. To this day, archaeologists can hardly piece together any history of the Native Americans prior to the 19th century, the institution of the reservation system. Virtually everything we know of Native Americans, who might as well be an extinct people as a result, comes from archaeological digs. I believe the Iroquois managed to implement a rough writing system just before losing some 3/4ths of their entire population, so some records to exist for one of hundreds of nations.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if schools mandated American Sign Language as the official language. While the wealthy would still pay for private tutors for their children, the issues of innate superiority of one native language or another would be moot. The grammar structure of ASL is significantly different from English, warranting its status as a separate language altogether. Amusingly, keeping the class quiet would be relatively easy.
Shelving ones own heritage language in favor of an "official" language is akin to betraying your own family history. Language is not only a source of pride, but also a part of a culture and history. The heritage language becomes a source of embarrassment, and children deliberately forget and distance themselves from that culture and language in order to fit in with the perceived "official" culture. That may ybe fine and dand when you possess the physical characteristics of native speakers of the "official" language, but what happens if your skin is the wrong color?
The removal of racist regulation in U.S. immigration policy after WWII and the subsequent increase of non-Western-European-born immigrants has actually allowed the use of languages other than English. German, for example, lost its use due to World War I as German speakers tried to avoid being associated with the enemy. Chinese disappeared after the mid-19th century when the Chinese became the first ethnic group denied citizenship, marriage rights, union rights, and, afterwards, the only ethnic group in U.S. history to be barred from immigration; despite only a few thousand having ever walked on U.S. soil.
English became the unofficial primary language of the U.S. only because the majority of those in power at the time spoke English. For example, Pennsylvania had a large enough German population to warrant a vote in the Senate as to whether or not Federal documents should be published in German. Throughout history, the virtual prohibition on immigrant tongues ranging from Italian to German to Chinese has only established English and a virtual elimination of family histories. In exchange, much of what are called "American traditions" are actually practices adopted from overseas and given English names. Christmas, for example, has strong roots in Scottish history.
If I recall correctly, there is a very good reason the U.S. government never established an official language. Official support for one language effectively raises wealthy native speakers to the political elite, turning all immigrants and even some native speakers with poor command of the official language into second class citizens. Wealth has a substantial influence on language acquisition; children of impoverished families enter the first grade with a vocabulary over a thousand words less than the average student, let alone students of wealthy families, and the gap in academic performance only widens as they progress through the school system. Traditionally, immigrants both legal and illegal have been impoverished, although recently, there have been a significant number of wealthy immigrants. At any rate, establishing an official language in an immigrant nation with a myriad of languages runs contrary to the principles of a democratic system by alienating the vast majority of the population from participating in politics.
Look to the history of the Native Americans. If I recall correctly, most, if not all, Native Americans practiced oral tradition. The institution of English-only education on an entire generation of Native Americans irreversibly destroyed thousands of years of history with a single stroke. Many Navajo codetalkers in WWII had to be taught their own language. To this day, archaeologists can hardly piece together any history of the Native Americans prior to the 19th century, the institution of the reservation system. Virtually everything we know of Native Americans, who might as well be an extinct people as a result, comes from archaeological digs. I believe the Iroquois managed to implement a rough writing system just before losing some 3/4ths of their entire population, so some records to exist for one of hundreds of nations.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if schools mandated American Sign Language as the official language. While the wealthy would still pay for private tutors for their children, the issues of innate superiority of one native language or another would be moot. The grammar structure of ASL is significantly different from English, warranting its status as a separate language altogether. Amusingly, keeping the class quiet would be relatively easy.
Facebook
Twitter