The Bilingual Education Fantasy, Part 2

A reader named Bartholomew has commented on yesterday's post (The Bilingual Education Fantasy), and I found his comments interesting and insightful.

Bartholomew comes from the Arizona/California region of the country, and notes that "Spanish if anything 'is' the native tongue of communication here," and has been for centuries (Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Texas and California having once been part of Mexico). He also points out that many Hispanics tend to have a "conservative core," with social, economic, and religious values that parallel those of most "conservative" Americans (to use a very generic label).

He's right, of course, and equally correct when he notes that "people will speak the language they want to speak, and in the Southwest, Spanish is permanent." But I think my basic point still remains valid: that language serves as one of the unifying elements of a national identity, and that the unifying language of the United States has traditionally been English. Bartholomew believes that "making an issue out of language - the way the pathetic French do - is tilting at windmills, and it invites disaster." Again, I agree with him in part: I wouldn't want to be accused of being a linguistic snob like most French, but on the other hand, I do think there's a legitimate case to be made for standing up for English as a way of helping assimilate the vast array of races, nationalities, and religions that have poured into this country in search of a better life.

I yield to Bartholomew's irresistable logic in his summary: "We have to prioritize, and fretting about language the way the French do is just dumb." At a time when we are faced with war, drug abuse, skyrocketing crime, iffy race relations, and a score of other problems, fussing about who speaks what probably isn't the best use of our time and effort. But language is important in very many ways, and the language we speak shapes us in ways we often don't realize or appreciate.

Tomorrow, I'll pursue this line of thought with some discussion of an interesting article from today's Washington Post about language study in the Middle East. For now, though, it's time to start fixing dinner and looking forward - sadly - to the end of the weekend and the start of a new work week.

Thanks for your interesting and thoughtful comments, Bartholomew. I wish you, and all my other readers, a good remainder of the weekend and a safe and successful week.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo