Language Accommodations for Immigrants

The United States has always been a melting pot of people from various backgrounds and cultures. As more and more immigrants try to make the United States home, more questions seem to be brought up about the differences that this melting pot seems to bring to our communities. Some immigrants come to this country speaking little or no English. Naturally, they are proud of their heritage and where they have come from. Some Americans take offense at this and expect everyone to speak English and act American. At the same time, immigrants want to hold onto their customs and culture. Should society make language accommodations for legal immigrants? There are three main thoughts on this issue. First, some people believe that this is America, so everyone needs to be American and speak English only. A second belief is that we should welcome immigrants to this country and embrace their various language backgrounds, and, finally, a third belief is that English should be the primary language; however, some allowances can be made.

The first view on this issue is that English is the only language that should be spoken in the United States, no exceptions. Senator James Inhofe (R - Oklahoma), a supporter of having English as our national language in the United States believes that if we only allow English, the country will save billions of dollars every year because federal documents will not have to be printed in other languages ("Make English" 1). He also says that he agrees with President George Bush's comment, "English allows newcomers to go from cleaning offices to running offices" ("Immigration Statement" 1). Inhofe has also said, "By not requiring immigrants to assimilate and learn English, we are also undermining our unity and importing dangerous, deadly philosophies that go against our American ideals." He uses the attacks on September 11, 2001 as an example of this. He also supports English as the only language in the United States because he believes that the large number of non English speaking immigrants have become segregated from mainstream America, resulting in only being able to obtain low paying jobs, increasing the dependence on government assistance (Press 2). English First, a grassroots group dedicated to having English as the national language, agrees with Senator Inhofe on the monetary concerns, stating that the organization has three main goals, one of which is to "eliminate costly and ineffective multilingual policies" (English First 1). Senator Inhofe and English First agree that making language accommodations for immigrants is a costly matter.

Another position on this issue comes from professional athletics. Chuck O'Donnell, a journalist with Hockey Digest, recently reported about how hockey teams are dealing with the different languages of its members. He reported that while some hockey teams are imposing English only policies in locker rooms, other teams are embracing the different language backgrounds of players and allowing team members to speak in whatever their native tongue may be. The belief is that this will allow the players to be more comfortable, allowing the athletes to play better (2). This approach to language accommodations embraces the many different languages and rejects the idea of forcing everyone to speak English.

A final view is that, while English is the language that should be spoken in the United States, certain allowances should be made for legal immigrants. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) opposes views such as the ones expressed by Senator Inhofe. LULAC recognizes the importance of immigrants knowing and speaking English; however, they see the need for "adequate multilingual services," citing the attacks on September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina as examples of the need to communicate with everyone in emergency situations (Olmos 1). The organization also claims that "just one percent of U.S. Government documents are published in a language other than English," implying that only making documents available in English may not save the government that much money after all (1-2).

It seems as though this language debate is a hot topic in the United States. I understand that everyone has a right to their own opinion on the matter, and I agree with views expressed by LULAC. While I do believe that learning English is important for immigrants, I believe it is impractical to think that every immigrant will learn English. The majority of immigrants probably will go on to learn the language; however, the few who do not learn English will be susceptible to becoming victimized in emergency situations if warnings are not provided in their native language. Because of this, I believe that some language accommodations are necessary to guarantee the safety of all immigrants.

Works Cited

EnglishFirst.org. 2007. June 2007. http://www.englishfirst.org/
Inhofe, Senator James M. "Make English Our National Language." Addressing the Senate. 8
May 2007.
---. Press Release. 15 May 2006.
---. Press Release. 16 May 2006.
O'Donnell, Chuck. "Breaking Down Language Barriers - how hockey teams cope with team
members who speak different languages." Hockey Digest May 2001: 1-3.
Olmos, Lizette Jenness. "LULAC Opposes 'English Only' Amendment." League of United Latin
American Citizens. 19 May 2006
.