U.S. English

I think it is interesting that Miller points out in his article "English is Broken Here" the use of a Latin term in his writing (Pluribus unim; meaning "from the many, one") and how he contends that "not everyone need speak English all of the time, but it must be the lingua franca of civic life" (Miller, 2005, pp.471). This was one of the topics of discussion in class. It seems like he contradicts himself when he says this because "lingua franca" is in another language and therefore has almost nothing to do with the English Language. Another point of his that I liked was when he speaks of the ballots and how "Hispanic organizations argued that English-language ballots were the equivalent of literacy tests" (Miller, 2005, pp.471). This to me means that he is breaking down the Hispanic community in order to make his next claim that there was low turnout among the Hispanics and compares these "literacy tests" to those in the South that were given to Blacks in order to keep them away from the elections. In other words, Miller seems to imply the connotation that there is some discrimination among communities other than those that are white. However, Miller then continues to point out and seemingly changes his view by stating that "Low Hispanic turnout was mainly due to the fact that so many Hispanics were not citizens and therefore ineligible to vote" (Miller, 2005, 471). In this statement it's as if he corrects his way of thinking in order to satisfy his audiences appetite for cultural refuge. In other words, people reading his article might wonder what he is really trying to get across to them, but he seems to stay neutral throughout the reading. This allows his readers to utilize their own belief system while allowing them to also form new understanding or interpretations of his thoughts.

The fact that congress pretty much has the power to do anything they want, specifically with our language, makes me nervous. Simply because those of us who do not speak English and want to or already live in the United States may find themselves back in their native land. In other words, if they struggle with the English language and/or do not have any desire to learn it than they might end up forced to leave (worst case scenario). Whereas this Nation, the United States, thrives on hard working people, specifically those who immigrate here from other countries. Without them this country would have gone limp years ago, without a backbone of immigrants to support it. However, I agree that if "Non-English speaking Immigrants" decided to learn the English language so that they can better their lives and if that is the goal, than there is nothing wrong with the idea of making the English language legislation.

WOW!! This cartoon was an eye opener for me, "This Modern World." Tomorrow really gets to the issue at hand and the use of language within the genre of cartooning. I though it was interesting when J.F.K went to Germany in hopes of identifying with the people in his speech when he says, "as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'" Which could either mean "I am a citizen of Berlin" or "I am a jelly donut." Hence April's title, "I am a jelly donut." I think that Tomorrows point of view is a bit extreme, but it still illustrates his point very clearly that if we were to make the use of English in this Nation as a law then we would live in a world that would be on the brink of disaster.

This entire idea about speaking English as a law seems to be going forward apparently. What's the deal, no offense, but what if fast food restaurants like McDonald's, for example, wanted to make English speaking people speak Spanish, French, Chinese, or Creole? How would the world react and would McDonald's be able to survive? Likewise, how will the United states be able to survive without diversity in language? Without an ability to communicate to other nations and countries this Nation would most certainly collapse. Although, I could understand how other countries have declared their own language and how it would make sense for them to do that. But because they are not a melting pot like the United States they can declare their own language with ease. So, if I wanted to go to France and suddenly had a craving for a McDonald's Cheeseburger, would I get arrested if I didn't order it in french? What's wrong with being able to speak your own language and possibly learn a new one? If I was a threat to the United states because I speak three different languages, I think that I would be at the bottom of their fugitive list.

I have to say that I love languages and that being multilingual has helped me to learn about new aspects of cultures, language, and myself. When I was a little boy in the second and third grades we would have to go to a language class. I chose to learn Spanish because their was a really cute Hispanic girl that I liked in my class and I wanted to impress her. However, I found that I did not do very well, at all. My teacher would yell at me for not knowing what to say. By the way, she was Cuban and they can be very mean too. Since I didn't do very well in Spanish class I still felt a connection to the language and also to my friends, who were mostly Hispanic. I think it also taught me how to appreciate others that weren't like me. As I got older I tried other languages throughout my education, like Italian, but still no success. When the time came for me to serve an LDS mission, I was glad to have had some exposure to language because I was sent to Italy. After living in the country for one year and learning the Italian language I was "transferred" to another, smaller country called Malta. Man, I thought Italian was hard, forget that! The people there speak Maltese which is a combination of French, Italian, and yep, Arabic. It is a language that is 90 percent Semitic. I spent the next year learning how to speak Maltese and it was tough. Today, I still have that connection with many different groups of people and sometimes if I hear a language being spoken by someone I can pick up on some of the things they are saying. It's amazing stuff.

Hope that helps.
Dan