No Danger of Spanish Overtaking English

Creator's Syndicate ^ | June 20, 2006 | Froma Harrop

[RWR8189]

Some years ago, I visited a cafe in an American border town, right across the river. Not a soul was conversing in English.

But this was no "They're all speaking Spanish" experience. The town was Madawaska, Maine. The river was the St. John, and the language was a kind of French.

Last year, I came across a parallel, southern version of border dining -- in Brownsville, Texas. Local friends took me to Betty's Tortas, where everyone was speaking Spanish. A student of Spanish, I tried to order, but the language of Cervantes got me nowhere at Betty's. The confused waiter turned to my Latina dining mate, who, in her rapid-fire border Spanish, told him what I wanted.

My reaction to places with U.S. post offices but little English spoken was: Big Deal. It always nice to find parts of America that don't seem like every other part. What makes our northern border different from our southern one, of course, is that millions of Canadians aren't coming into the United States for work. But that's an immigration issue -- which should be kept separate from language.

Believe me, this column does not advocate giving any language other than English an official status. English is our tongue and may she forever wave. Rather, this is a call to reconsider heated claims that Spanish is gaining on English as the language of the United States. That's not really happening. Madawaska and Brownsville are exceptions that prove the rule.

It makes little sense to look at border areas as a predictor of what will follow in Denver and Dallas. Families often spill over both sides. And if a border town is isolated from the big U.S. population centers, it can become a cultural cul-de-sac.

Elsewhere, however, English dominates. American-born Latinos, who now make up 60 percent of the country's Hispanic population, are rapidly moving away from Spanish. The two Spanish-language media giants, Univision and Telemundo, now worry that the immigrants' children seem to prefer "American Idol" to their offerings. Latina magazine, aimed at "today's Hispanic woman," is already mostly written in English.

The immigrants themselves are another matter. Immigrants have always clung to their native language. In the late 19th century, entire towns in the Great Plains spoke the German or Slavic tongues of their immigrant settlers. "Champagne music" man Lawrence Welk was born in German-speaking Strasburg, N.D., (in 1903) and didn't learn English until he was an adult.

I, too, bristle a bit when the recorded message at the bank starts off with "Press one for English." I don't mind if the bank offers a Spanish option, but it should make English the default language. J.C. Penney's bilingual policy is quite unnecessary. You don't need a sign above 10 racks of dresses that reads "Vestidos" -- or "Dresses," for that matter.

The recent Senate vote making English the "national language" is also mostly symbolic, especially since it exempts programs already offering services in other languages. The measure was added to the Senate's immigration bill -- and intended, perhaps, to distract the public from the bill's glaring inadequacies.

Does anyone doubt that English is our language? Perhaps the Senate should resolve that hamburgers are the national chopped-meat sandwich.

Speaking of food, I found it odd that the French toast at the Madawaska breakfast place was called Canadian toast. Proprietor "Big Daddy" Gervais said he didn't know how the name had come about.

Move a few more miles south of the Canadian border, and French toast is again French toast. And nearly all the people, including the ones with French last names, are speaking the language of Katie Couric.

English in the end is the conqueror, not the vanquished. Just ask the French minister of culture, who spends half his hours trying to stop his citizens from using English words. Americans have excellent reasons for wanting to control their borders, but fear of Spanish taking over should not be one of them.

 

fharrop@projo.com

Copyright 2006 Creators Syndicate

[AngelesCrestHighway]

but fear of Spanish taking over should not be one of them...unless you have the U.S. government speaking spanish...

[samtheman]

I live in a heavily Spanish-speaking neighborhood (mixed in with some old-time New Jersey folk and a sprinkling of yuppies) and I agree with this article. I think young Hispanics want to speak English. Like rock'n'roll, English is here to stay. It will never die.

[R. Scott]

A student of Spanish, I tried to order, but the language of Cervantes got me nowhere at Betty's.

No, Castilian Spanish is not the Spanish of Central America. From the above statement alone I would have to conclude that Froma Harrop is well sheltered from some of life’s realities.

[LegendHasIt]

Well, I notice that the announcements at our local Walmart, and the constant commercials they play on their TVs hanging every twenty feet from the ceilings are ALL in Spanish now.

And I'm 150 miles north of the border in what used to be a very upper-middle to middle-upper income community.

They don't even pretend to cater to their English Speaking customers anymore.

[BJungNan]

The author of this article is obviously not very well traveled. In Southern California, you can go into a WalMart or other similar mainstream stores and find many employees that do not speak English.

I don't mean limited English. I mean no English as in being completely incapable of understanding any question, no matter how slowly or simply put, that an English speaking person might ask.

This is not in a border town. Contrary to the writer's impression, it is not cute. It is a pain.

[BJungNan]

I live in a heavily Spanish-speaking neighborhood (mixed in with some old-time New Jersey folk and a sprinkling of yuppies) and I agree with this article. I think young Hispanics want to speak English. Like rock'n'roll, English is here to stay. It will never die.

I'd love to hear your Spanish speaking neighbor speaking with a Jersey accent. Then I'd love to see you try and function in an area where you can not go into a store and get service, where the literature is printed first in Spanish and English as an aftertought.

You really ought to get out of Jersey, see the world.

[FastCoyote]

"I live in a heavily Spanish-speaking neighborhood (mixed in with some old-time New Jersey folk and a sprinkling of yuppies) and I agree with this article. I think young Hispanics want to speak English."

That may be the case in the northwest, but here in the southwest there is an anti-english movement among illegals. The illegal in my favorite illegal taco shop had a t-shirt that said "no hablo ingles", which is by the way a declaration of war rather than a statement of fact.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

There are many more Latinos than Quebecois. As for the Germans, most Americans probably don't know that after Spanish, German is the largest language that isn't English in the United States; and a large segment of the American population of German descent immigrated over a century ago. English usage could be under an attack from Spanish, and English should be more widely promoted in Latino neighborhoods. Also, some Americans of European and African descent should recognize that there can be Americans of Latin American and Asian, etc., descent. Assimilation has two parts: a. the individual has the responsibility to adopt American culture and become fluent in English and to try to become part of American society. b. but mainstream American society (primarily of European and African descent) have an obligation to recognize the naturalized immigrant (and their descendants) as a fellow American, as a full American, and to encourage the naturalized immigrant to become part of the American mainstream population. While some Freepers seem to recognize both, some only consider a. (liberals could tend to not promote either, and instead promote multiculturalism, which is divisive and detrimental to all of American society.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

There are many more Latinos than Quebecois. As for the Germans, most Americans probably don't know that after Spanish, German is the largest language that isn't English in the United States; and a large segment of the American population of German descent immigrated over a century ago. English usage could be under an attack from Spanish, and English should be more widely promoted in Latino neighborhoods. Also, some Americans of European and African descent should recognize that there can be Americans of Latin American and Asian, etc., descent. Assimilation has two parts: a. the individual has the responsibility to adopt American culture and become fluent in English and to try to become part of American society. b. but mainstream American society (primarily of European and African descent) have an obligation to recognize the naturalized immigrant (and their descendants) as a fellow American, as a full American, and to encourage the naturalized immigrant to become part of the American mainstream population. While some Freepers seem to recognize both, some only consider a. (liberals could tend to not promote either, and instead promote multiculturalism, which is divisive and detrimental to all of American society.

[doberville]

They built it. They KNEW you would come.

[NonValueAdded]

I can tell that the author has never been to Miami.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

They could be extremists, and not representative of all Latino immigrants, or Americans of Latino descent. Just as Americans of European descent shouldn't be represented by racists who would kill those who aren't of European descent (same goes for those of African descent), Latinos who promote sending Americans of European descent to Europe and forming some Aztlan shouldn't be considered as a representation of mainstream Latino immigrants or Americans of Latin American descent.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

They could be extremists, and not representative of all Latino immigrants, or Americans of Latino descent. Just as Americans of European descent shouldn't be represented by racists who would kill those who aren't of European descent (same goes for those of African descent), Latinos who promote sending Americans of European descent to Europe and forming some Aztlan shouldn't be considered as a representation of mainstream Latino immigrants or Americans of Latin American descent.

[Jimmy Valentine]

Funny article about the type of French spoken at the Canadian border.

A friend tells me that French Canadian movies are shown in France with French subtitles.

Sounds about right to me. Canadian French is full of false stops, slang, slurring etc. such that it is very hard for a schoolboy to understand.

[TexasCajun]

* Press 1 for English

* Press 2 for Spanish

* Press 3 for Ebonics

[RoadTest]

True. There is, and always has been, a very powerful Americanization force in this nation, thank God. It has always transformed the language and culture of immigrants to American. That's as it should be. If they should have kept their language and culture then they should have stayed in the country they came from.

As for the Arabic Muslims, they are an enemy within the gates insofar as they don't assimilate, and the incarceration of the Japanese Americans in WWII comes to mind as a solution. They could be offered the option of going back where they came from. What nation has survived a Trojan horse?

[spintreebob]

"Harrop is well sheltered "

Yes, the author seems totally ignorant of reality and writes a vapid article of no significance.

[SmoothTalker]

"My reaction to places with U.S. post offices but little English spoken was: Big Deal. It always nice to find parts of America that don't seem like every other part."

Problem is these parts are not just confined to the border. There are several towns in NC now where it is hard to find English spoken and our schools are full of young spanish speakers, many of whom are in ESL programs and speak little English.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

I was in El Paso for 10 days about two years ago. Most of the local population is Hispanic. I noticed that in restaurants, shops and stores either people spoke English to each other, or people would use both languages in a conversation. For example, a waiter, Hispanic, would approach customers, Hispanic, and ask them in English if they wanted to order. The customers would reply in Spanish, which was understood by the waiter, who replied in English, the customers would reply then in Spanish. Both parties understood both languages, but the individuals spoke the language that was probably their best speaking language. When I lived in Germany, I understood others better than I could speak German to the locals.