Excerpts from editorial “English – only battle here”:
“While there is some truth to what critics say, the pluses out-weigh the minuses of having one language in which all citizens can speak to one another.
“Besides, English-only policies do not preclude an individual from becoming bilingual or trilingual…
“[A]n eventual court win …would not weaken the sound argument for a nation speaking a common language.
“In the U. S., that’s English.”
WATCHDOG: How delightfully provincial! The editor either wrote this ‘tongue-in-cheek’ (which we suspect) to provide grist for his conservative readers, or has never traveled outside of Central Pennsylvania.
Visit Florida, Texas, Southern California or New York City. Even downtown Philadelphia. Note what language along with English is commonly spoken. Clue: Santa Anna has been revenged!
More seriously, the purpose of government is to serve the public of its day…not that of a couple of decades ago. The Latino population has greatly increased in the county over recent years.
It is unreasonable to expect the first generation of immigrants to become fluent in English. If they need help in their own language, the county, city and school district should have people around who are bi-lingual. If they don’t, they must be discriminating in their hiring.
Some bi-lingual employees could be designated as interpreters and called upon when the need arises. That’s what most large businesses do… Or should do.
Perhaps we should worry less about others only speaking Spanish and more about our youngsters learning the language for the sake of career opportunities.
A sister company operates a Holiday Inn at the Newark, New Jersey airport vicinity. Most of the housekeeping, transportation and restaurant staffs are Spanish or Portugese speaking. Spanish is the language of many of our guests. How long would we stay in business if the hotel adopted the New Era attitude that business should only be conducted in English?
But excuse us. We have been outside of Central Pennsylvania.
For someone who frequently bemoans the lack of funding for gov’t programs, I find it odd that you feel the gov’t should foot the bill to accommodate Spanish, let alone the dozens of other languages spoken by people who choose to relocate here.
For health, safety, and legal reasons alone, there should be an official U.S. language. That’s not to say that other languages shouldn’t be used in tourist areas for visitors, but with residency there should be some responsibility.
I have also been far outside of Central Pa and I do not see other countries worrying about posting signs, etc. in English. And I would not expect them to.