English-Only Debate
1.
What is the overall problem being discussed?
The topic of the issue that has
been debated in the CNN transcript is Uncovering America: One nation, one
language? The problem is, if one has to live in United States he has to speak
English. According to the latest poll on, should people be allowed to vote in United
States if they cannot read and write in English? Indicates that, majority of people
argued that they should not be allowed vote in U.S. if they don’t speak
English. This problem mainly focuses on Hispanics living in us, who go on using
their own language, and the fear of Americans that this would lead to overwhelm
the English to a small numbers, and soon even the laws in U.S. will be written
in Spanish.
2.
What is the demographic situation in U.S with
regard to Hispanics?
The Population of the Hispanic
people in US is the largest and fastest growing minorities in US. The L.A.
County has the largest Hispanic population from any other county in United
States; it has a population of nearly 4.7 million and is still growing like
crazy.
There are cities were Hispanic
immigrants can live there whole life speaking there on language and without
speaking a single English word. One
among is Miami’s Little Havana where signs, billboards, and even newspapers, is
in Spanish.
According to the census, out of 2 million peoples in Miami Dade county 1.5
million people speak Spanish at their home while only 0.5 million speak only
English at home. Half of the Hispanics population in U.S. lives in the states
near the Mexican border, which are Texas and California.
3.
What are the basic arguments of Spanish
advocates?
As far as Spanish advocates are
concerned they argue that this debate is heated up by the peoples like
congressmen who want to divide the country into two. According to pro-Spanish, people
all over the world want to learn and speak several languages which is a key
that determine their future. The Spanish advocate strongly argue that it is a
stupid mistake to have only an official language, English, and he says that it
offers ammunition to the people who are against the immigrants or the Latinos,
in U.S. He also says that everyone in U.S.
recognizes English as a national language and it binds the people in U.S.
together, but the peoples who want to make it official are the one who wants to
remove the bilingual ballots, and take certain rights or services.
4.
What are the basic arguments of the pro-English
advocates?
First of all the pro-English
believes that for a person to be able to vote should understand the debate that
leads to that vote, so surely they say that one should have to speak English in
order to vote. The pro-English advocates argue
that the problem
here is a nation that needs something to hold its people together, a glue,
which is according to them it is the language--English which holds people
together regardless
of their origin, and the language they spoke before. Pro-English says that a
country with two languages is the wrong way to go; it separates the people
rather than having one language that binds everyone. They say that the need of
an official language is a great concern now, for the fact that U.S. is turning
to a bilingual nation and that should be stopped.
5.
Are there deeper issues that underlie the
language debate and, if so, what do those issues appear to be?
Yes there are deeper issues
regarding this debate. The issue, only English, boils up people’s blood. The
fights that past of some cities that are held by the group of local politicians;
to declare English as the official language has driven some Hispanics out of
them and have makes people uncomfortable
as they were in a an unwritten battle. The belief, One nation, one language,
and the language has to be English is a major threat to the Hispanics living in
U.S., they could be denied of voting, or refused to hand service. And according
to the pro-English they fear that gradually English would be taken over by
Spanish language and the most they are concerned is, and hence even the law
will be written in Spanish in future in US.
6.
Are there areas of agreement between the two
sides, and if so, what are they?
Yes there have been agreements in
some arguments between the two parties. The pro- English tend to agree with the
argument of pro-Spanish, that all over the world people desires to learn
several languages and says that they wish everybody to be bilingual or
multilingual. Also the pro –English says that it is right for a Spanish speaker
or may be even an illegal immigrant to get services, for example, emergency
service.
On the other side the pro-Spanish
they too agree with pro-English in some. They say that most of the Hispanics
realize that they need to learn English, and there are people who go to the
English spoken classes and they feel sleepy not because they are bored but they
are sparing their resting time for learning English. At same time they agree
that talking in a foreign language in front of people who does not understand
what is been spoke is disrespectful and that they hold the same opinion that it
has to be considered in that sense, because some people thinks that the foreign
speakers are talking about them, whether they were talking or not.
7.
Does it appear that the division between the two
sides will get worse, or are there signs that the division may naturally
resolve itself?
No the division between the two sides
will not get worse, rather it is believed to naturally resolve by itself.
Studies by researchers at Princeton and university of California at Irvine have
found that by the third generation, Spanish
would disappear
from the Latino families virtually. A majority of Hispanics believe that they
must learn English if they wanted to ahead in US though it was easy to get
there by only speaking English. The Hispanics have realized that the English is
inevitable for them to get a better job and some say that if they wanted to go
global they better know English.
A bilingual or a multilingual
country does not separate the country into divisions instead it brings
different cultures, behaviors, under an umbrella and helps them to be mingled
each other. The historical contemporary facts indicates that English has never
been threatened as the prevailing language of United States, and it also
remarks that what is endangered instead is the
non-English languages that immigrants bring with them. This fact says us
that, this issue will be buried within a few generation by it’s on.
