Via Jim Geraghty, I see Barack Obama
has argued against official English
initiatives by pointing to the benefits of people being
multilingual in a global economy:
You know, I don't understand when people are going around
worrying about, "We need to have English- only." They want to pass
a law, "We want English-only."
Now, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with
that. But understand this. Instead of worrying about whether
immigrants can learn English -- they'll learn English -- you need
to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking
about, how can your child become bilingual? We should have every
child speaking more than one language.
You know, it's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they
all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then
we go over to Europe, and all we can say [is], "Merci beaucoup."
Right?
You know, no, I'm serious about this. We should understand that
our young people, if you have a foreign language, that is a
powerful tool to get ajob. You are so much more employable. You can
be part of international business. So we should be emphasizing
foreign languages in our schools from an early age, because
children will actually learn a foreign language easier when they're
5, or 6, or 7 than when they're 46, like me.
Well, aside from the obvious differences between multinational,
multilingual Europe and the continental United States that might
explain why the ability to speak more than one language is more
common in the former than the latter, and aside from the liberal
condescension, there is this blindingly obvious point: Official
English initiatives have never been about eliminating all
foreign-language instruction in American schools -- that is,
getting rid of French and Spanish class. It has been about whether
immigrants and their children will receive bilingual education or
primarily learn English, by immersion or other methods. It has also
been about maintaining English as the official language of
government. But it has nothing to do with the points Obama is
raising here.
topics:
Education, Barack Obama, Business, Law
