National Language Essay, Research Paper
Good Morning
Recently the United States Congress has been debating whether or not to declare that English is the national language of the United States and that all instruction in public schools is in English. There is no question what the language of this country is, it is irrefutably English, it was the language of our Founding Fathers and the language that the Declaration of Independence was written in, as well as the United States Constitution. I resolutely believe that the United States Congress should make this declaration. There are of course other matters at hand with teaching English to non-English speaking people.
As we have seen in countries like Belgium and Canada, opposing language-speaking sides argue over what the official language should be. This has lead to enormous divisiveness in those countries and could lead to their splitting up into separate countries. This is particularly true of Canada where the French-speaking population of the province of Quebec is considering seceding from the rest of Canada, where most people speak English. The government of Canada has spent millions of dollars on bilingual education, which nevertheless has caused the polarization of society. According to a Canadian commentator, Fred Hamilton, it costs with about 30 million people 350 million dollars a year to maintain a satisfactory bilingual education system. It could cost the United States ten times that amount. Do we want our country to be divided as much as Canada is because of language? And in the case of Canada we are only talking about the division caused by two languages, namely, English and French, but if in the United States instruction is given in all languages other than English, then ten or more languages may have to be taught. Do we really want this to happen here?
Suppose everyone went to different classes everyday. For instance, the Chinese children go to their classes, the Russians to theirs, and Spanish to theirs and the English speakers go to their Standard English classes. What is going to happen to the relationship between different ethnic groups? They will just become farther and farther apart. This is what bilingual education is doing to our children, segregating the country. Haven?t you seen all those commercials about everybody being different and to get along, like on Nickelodeon? Well if we are split up so much we will not even know the other kids. If Congress finally declares that English be the official language, the country will become closer and racial discrimination will lessen, because everyone will be able to speak the same language. The only problem is teaching everybody English.
If good jobs and a nice lifestyle are wanted (you know, the American dream), good English has to be fluently read, written and spoken. A non-English-speaking person can?t just have the educational background and not know English fluently, because what would you be able to do to make a decent living. Therefore, learning English should be the main goal of all non-English-speaking people in this country. In bilingual education the children learn elementary studies in their language and are meant to convert them over to English, but normally they focus on the subjects and forget about learning English. According to the Federal Government?s Office of Bilingual Education, in the 1992-93 academic year, 2.7 million school children were classified as LEP, or ?Low English Proficiency,? out of a school population of 51.3 million. That is about five percent, but this figure grows every year. As a result many of these children will not end up with good jobs. We should avoid dumbing-down our citizenship standards and sustain the English proficiency. The only way to do this is by teaching English until the person knows it fluently, and only then can the person go into mainstream English classes. The best way to do this is by learning English half the day and taking normal classes like math and history, but in English, for the other half.
In the January 31, 1999 edition of New York Times Magazine, Nonna Yelan?s Russian class, Wang Ip?s Chinese class and Luisa Martinez?s Spanish-speaking classes are discussed. These are all bilingual education classes. In Nonna Yelan?s and Wang Ip?s classes, the children dive right into English and become fluent very quickly while learning subjects like math and History in English. In Luisa Martinez?s Spanish-speaking class, the children don?t learn much English, but learn elementary studies in their own language. This is in part because the Spanish-speaking children did not have as much education before as the Chinese and Russian did. The only way to handle this is by working harder on teacher English, not studies in their native language.
Only after the non-speaking person can fluently read, write and speak English they will have the opportunity to go to good Colleges and get good jobs. Therefore learning English is their main goal in school. The January 12, 1999 edition of the New York Times claims that 22 states have already made English their official language, hopefully more states will follow. Congress?s declaration will not only help non-English speaking people assimilate into English speaking culture, but will bring the country closer as a nation. We will not have problems like Canada and Belgium over our country?s language.
I hope you find my argument compelling.
Thank You
Другие работы по теме:
Language And You Essay Research Paper Language
Language And You Essay, Research Paper Language and You In my opinion, language is certainly the most essential quality human beings have inherited. It is the only way to communicate, and it sure is fascinating how we can convert
National TV Turn-off Week- What A Dumb
Idea Essay, Research Paper In a time when millions of people are starving each year and thousands are killed in war zones, worrying about how much television we watch sounds like a stupid idea. Right? Well, that?s what people all across North America are doing every day. In fact, there is a full week dedicated to the cause: National T.V-Turnoff Week.
Taking Versus Giving Essay Research Paper Speak
Taking Versus Giving Essay, Research Paper Speak to the people of Israel and take for me a contribution from each person according to the generosity of his heart take My contribution (Shmot 25:2).
Greg Sirico Essay Research Paper Adv American
Greg Sirico Essay, Research Paper Adv American Gov. November 14th ?98 McCulloch v Maryland Can congress incorporate a bank? Can a state tax the national government? These were some of the key issues that brought up in the Supreme Court case of McCullloch v Maryland. James Madison, the judge in this case, rules in favor of the National Government.
Business Knowledge Essay Research Paper Using Your
Business Knowledge Essay, Research Paper Using Your Business Knowledge 1. Babysitting-I make very good money and it?s a very good learning experience on how to deal and take care of children which is something that everyone needs to eventually learn in life.
Da Peoplz Language Essay Research Paper I
Da Peoplz Language Essay, Research Paper I wuz goin to da markit ta pik up sum food, when I said “yo G, wus up wit you.” He got pot an dope all ova ‘is coat, he got unuf *censored* ta fill up a boat. He took out a joint an a huge-ass gat, I said,”Yo man, thas phat!” He gave it ta me so I could look at it, and I said, ” yo, ware dyou get dat *censored*?” He tol me ware he got it, an got my ass ova dare, but wen I arived, it wuz a *censored*in nightmare. big tuf guys all ova da plase, I got scared, so grabbed my mace.
Poem Du Fu Essay Research Paper It
Poem: Du Fu Essay, Research Paper It is often contended that the greatest and most important works of Chinese poetry was produced during the Tang dynasty. Many critics consider Du Fu to be the greatest Chinese poet during the dynasty and quite possibly of all time. His unique style and mastery of Chinese language is unparalleled.
Dwight BollingerS
“The Origin Of Language? Essay, Research Paper Essay Question I found Dwight Bollinger?s essay entitled ?The Origin of Language? to be a very interesting work. I especially enjoyed the section about the chimpanzees. Although we know
Good Citizen Essay Research Paper The good
Good Citizen Essay, Research Paper The good man and the good citizen are not one and the same. What can be said about one cannot be necessarily said about the other. It is essential for the
Bush Tax Proposal Essay Research Paper IPI
Bush Tax Proposal Essay, Research Paper IPI adresses the tax cut proposal that President Bush is presenting before Congress. IPI feels that althouh Al Gore had a good plan for the national tax cut by decreasing the national income tax, George Bush’s proposal was much better because it not only lowers income tax, but also eliminates estate and death tax (accounting for almost 66% of the 1,437.8 billion dollar cut).
Changes In Life Essay Research Paper Today
Changes In Life Essay, Research Paper Today we live in a society that is always changing. This is because of technology. New technology allows us to work faster and better than before. Unfortunately, people have not learned to live together in peace. If I ruled the world, I would try to bring all people together.
American Fed Essay Research Paper American federalism
American Fed Essay, Research Paper American federalism is a form of government in which the constitution distributes governmental powers between the national government and the subsidiary governments of the states. Article I, Section 8, and the Tenth Amendment are good examples of this definition. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution defines the powers delegated to the national government, such as the power to regulate commerce and to enact laws necessary and proper for the execution of its powers.
Learning Language Essay Research Paper People will
Learning Language Essay, Research Paper People will face a lot of difficulty, when they learn a language that is not his first language. One of the big obstacles is that there is a culture gap that makes the language is even more difficult to learn. The essays Hunger of memory and Mother Tongue contain good and bad examples on how to learn a new language.
Literacy And Ideology Essay Research Paper The
Literacy And Ideology Essay, Research Paper The fate of the world is in the hands of literacy. Literacy has a relation to many parts of society s existence, including individual cultures, the ideology of those cultures and the spoken word of the people. In addition, proposing standards for good English could affect literacy.
The Importance Of The Bibles Many Interpretations
Essay, Research Paper Having several different translations of the Bible is very important. Each translation highlights different aspects of the book. Providing familiar language to special groups, some interpretations make it easier to understand. Having one translation of the Bible would not make sense , but, several different versions make the Bible able to be read by almost everyone.
Assembly Language Essay Research Paper When programming
Assembly Language Essay, Research Paper When programming in assembly language, we have to specify operations in a much greater level of detail than we would have to do in a high level language. Furthermore, we get relatively little help from the assembler in finding errors. Assemblers can only check the syntax of each line, and check that every symbol or label used is defined somewhere.
Costa Sakellariou Essay Research Paper Costa Sakellariou
Costa Sakellariou Essay, Research Paper Costa Sakellariou Visual art can definitely be seen as a language. With every artist there is always some sort of meaning that they are trying to convey to the viewers of their work. The means of how they deliver that message is the language in which their work uses. In Costa Sakellariou?s work I especially felt there was some sort of language being spoken.
Preface To Lyrical Ballads By Wordsworth Essay
, Research Paper Preface to Lyrical Ballads is written to express the new style, which is used by many poets, such as Wordsworth. This style will be known as the romantic style after centuries. Wordsworth explains “what is poetry? What kind of language should be used in it? What kind of setting? And who is a poet?”.
England And Global Language Essay Research Paper
This essay will be about the prohibition of English words in France by law. It is quiet a big problem to forbid words only because the government is afraid that it s own language could die. The spread of English all over the world and it s position as global language can t be stopped or disputed and that is why I think that it is irresponsible to outlaw English words.
Miller Spring Essay Essay Research Paper Miller
Miller Spring Essay Essay, Research Paper Miller Springs Essay My science class and I went to Miller Springs to learn about sediments and nature a few days ago. The good and bad sides of the trip I will explain below.
Prop 63 Essay Research Paper The Official
Prop. 63 Essay, Research Paper The Official English Language Proposition 63 will make English the Official Language of the United States and I am against The official English
Defining Culture Essay Research Paper Some definitions
Defining Culture Essay, Research Paper Some definitions of culture emphasize its basis in meaning. All human activity involves meaning, and this is what distinguishes it from the activity of non-human animal species. Culture, then, arises exclusively from human activity and excludes other species.
The Good And The Bad Essay Research
Paper In colleges there are good and bad courses that people take. Some of them are happy to take those classes and some of them are not, like me. I took many courses from a college and now I can compare which courses are good or which courses are bad.
Federal Government Essay Research Paper How does
Federal Government Essay, Research Paper How does the constitution divide power between the national government and the states? The constitution did not give the national government or the states total supremacy. Instead, power was distributed. The national government was given certain express powers, while some powers were reserved to the states.
Summary And Responce To
“Black English” Essay, Research Paper Summary and Response Word Count 366 Summary In the essay titled, ?If Black English Isn?t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is??
Communication Skills Essay Essay Research Paper Communication
Communication Skills Essay Essay, Research Paper Communication Skills Essay Communication skills are all around us, from the day we are born until the rest of our lives. How many times have you seen communication skills required for a job in the classifieds and wonder what it actually means. A communication skill is some type of skill used in communication, From talking, body language to even listening.
The English Language Essay Research Paper This
The English Language Essay, Research Paper This House affirms that the British Empire was a great success whose effects are still beneficial to the world. The world distribution of English users is divided into three categories : English as a native language; for example, UK, USA, Australia, English as a second language; for example, India, Singapore, Ghana, Philippines, and English as a foreign language; for example, France, Japan, Thailand.There are 72 countries with Englishs as an official language and 9 countries with English as a first language:Australia, Great- Britain, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourgh, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the USA.
Language Acqusition Essay Research Paper Children begin
Language Acqusition Essay, Research Paper Children begin by imitating what they hear their parents say as best as they can, repeating random phrases. Parents do not punish the child for childish speech errors by not responding or correcting the error, but reward correct phrases by responding positively.
What Is English Essay Research Paper English
What Is English? Essay, Research Paper English, well what is English? We all know that it is a language. But, what is the study of english? It is the study of literature in the english language. People attend english classes. This may be to learn the English Language or to learn about english literature or writing.