Official_Language_Movement

CheckPoint: The Official Language Movement By: Two Opposing Views of Bilingualism The passing of Proposition 227 is an example of how the voters of California truly feel in regard to bilingual education in the United States. This type of education is viewed as “the poisonous brew… [that] threatens to destroy the tradition of American assimilation” (Ramos, 1999). The Spanish Ministry of Education and the British Council collaborated to design a pilot-program in which schools with low enrollment engaged in a dual-language English-Spanish program that shadowed students until the end of their required schooling. Instructional time was designed as a 60/40 split between Spanish and English, and is designed to teach 60% in the student’s fluent language, Spanish, with the remaining 40% in English. The instructional split allows students to learn in their native language while he or she acquires knowledge of the British culture, such as holiday traditions, seasons, and foods as well as the academics. Results from the parents and the students were astonishing, along with the school’s administration acknowledging a high increase on the “socioeconomic level of the students” (Ramos, 1999) since implementing the test program. Recognizing the overall positive effects of the experiment, “programs similar to this one can help ease the fears about bilingualism and bilingual education expressed by Californians in the last election” (Ramos, 1999). Ramos, F. (June/July 1999). Two Opposing Views of Bilingualism. ESOL Matters .Vol. 9, No. 3. Retrieved from: http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp'CID=196&DID=564 Bilingualism People speaking two different languages are considered bilingual, and with the daily increase of immigrants new to the United States, bilingualism may seem normal when in fact the United States is more abnormal in comparison to other countries. “The norm for most of the world’s societies” (Birner, 2010) is multilingualism, or speaking more than two languages. A person is not necessarily an immigrant by speaking two languages, and the majority of the time children tend to speak two languages more fluently than adults. One reason is because children are capable of learning more than one language at a time quicker and easier than adults. If taught at an early age or exposed to a second language through interaction at home with parents, grandparents, or caregivers, he or she is highly likely to become fluent in both languages. There are several “advantages to knowing more than one language” (Birner, 2010), such as cognitive development, the ability to communicate with relatives at home who speak their native language, the ability to identify with one’s culture, not to mention the positive side of bilingualism in today’s workplace. “For people of any age or profession, knowing a second language encourages cross-cultural awareness and understanding” (Birner, 2010). English speaking Americans look at Spanish translations on directions and public information negatively and may perceive the English languages is in danger, when in reality this may deem more appropriate in a “high Spanish-speaking population” (Birner, 2010). As more generations are born to parents who speak in a language other than English, the newer generations are more out to grow up speaking only English, therefore “bilingualism isn’t a danger either to the English language or to the bilingual speakers themselves” (Birner, 2010). Birner, B. (2010). Bilingualism. Linguistic Society of America. Retrieved August 24, 2010, from: http://www.Isadc.org/info/pdf_files/Bilingual.pdf Bilingual Politicians Gaining Clout Florida is known for housing large Hispanic communities, especially in the Miami-Dade County area, but in the last ten years or so “Hispanics make up sizable chunks of the population across central and southern Florida” (Corral, 2010). With the vast number of Spanish-speaking communities in the state, it should come as no surprise when politicians use a bilingual language as a method to obtain as many votes as possible in statewide elections. “Both Democrats and Republicans are engaged in a political war to lure them in” (Corral, 2010). The diversity between the Democratic and Republican candidates the Hispanics voted for in the past was evident in Senator John Kerry’s win by 52 percent, and by Bush prevailing over Gore in a 61 percent to 39 percent victory. Although speaking Spanish is not mandatory, “it’s more important for a candidate to be sensitive to the cultural and political distinctions of Florida’s diverse Hispanic communities” (Corral, 2010). As far as holding a statewide office, Senator Mel Martinez and Governor Jeb Bush are both bilingual, with an added bonus that the governor’s wife, who is Mexican-American, speaks Spanish fluently and appears often on “Miami’s influential Spanish-language radio stations” (Corral, 2010) talking about political topics. For some Florida politicians, addressing the Senate and other officials in Spanish may prove a valuable asset, but in communities consisting of traditionally white non-Hispanics, bilingual usage could prove a disadvantage, such as in “parts of North Florida and the Panhandle” (Corral, 2010). Corral, O. (February 15, 2010). Bilingual Politicians Gaining Clout. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, 1. Retrieved from: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.appololibrary.com/pqdweb'did=795142871&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=13118&RQT=309&VName=PQD A Nation Divided: The Consequences of Bilingual Ballots ProEnglish is an organization that endorses all legislation supporting the use of English only in the United States. Discrimination and preventing certain people from voting in the United States has been a battle amongst white non-Hispanics and other minorities as well as immigrants for many years. The Civil Rights Movement opened the door for black citizens’ allowance to vote by the passage of the “Voting Rights Act of 1965” (ProEnglish, 2010). The door was then opened for people of Spanish heritage in 1975 when the act was broadened by Congress for the provision of “multilingual election material” (ProEnglish, 2010), but this opened door also faced many oppositions. Many believed the necessity for these materials, which included bilingual ballots, was not needed due to immigrants’ requirements to learn English prior to becoming a citizen. If these people learned the English language, these extra measures would no longer become a monetary burden on election budgets as well as the local jurisdictions. The oppositions felt “the tiny number of U.S. citizens who require language assistance bring someone into the ballot booth to assist them” (ProEnglish, 2010), which would be fine, but how would that affect the people of the majority whose reading skills were not up to par, or didn’t understand the election ballots in the first place. Would they be allowed to also bring someone in while voting' A final point highlighted by ProEnglish was “increased likelihood of election errors and fraud” (2010) and with the increased number of cases filed in court, there seems to be no quick fix answer to the controversy. ProEnglish Action. (2010). A Nation Divided: The Consequences of Bilingual Ballots. Retrieved August 25, 2010 from: http://www.proenglish.org/issues/ballots/fivereasons.html