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Mike D’Errico

Prof. Paul Matsuda

ENGL 401H – Critical Analysis Draft 2

October 11, 2005

Regaining the American Culture

In “Abolishing America, Not Continued; Official English Will Send A Message,” author

Sam Francis (2003) argues that multilingualism in our country is leading to the “the cultural

disintegration” (para 1) of the United States. “It is difficult if not impossible,” he says, “to

maintain a national unity of any kind, political or cultural, if a common language does not exist

as a means of communication…” (para 3). After stating his beliefs about the issue, he goes even

further by supporting representative of Iowa Steve King in his bid for an “English-only” bill in

congress. In the end, he lays out a plan for “the obvious solution to the Babelization of America,”

which is to stop immigration immediately. However, this would seem to go against the very

culture Francis is trying to preserve, for our country was founded and created by immigrants

from all over the world. If there is one thing that will unite us as a people more than any

congressional legislation, it is tolerance and acceptance of other cultures. As a fierce advocate of

an “English-only” society, Francis seems to downplay the importance of the cultural diffusion

which benefits our society and expands the American culture.

It probably occurs to very few Americans that when they visit an ATM machine or

put together some gadget bought at K-Mart or Wal-Mart, they are witnessing the

cultural disintegration of their own country. The reason is that ATM machines and

the assembly instructions for most mass-marketed products now come in at least

two, maybe more, languages

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Francis uses this as an opening statement to his essay, assuming that the American culture

is a completely English-oriented community. On the contrary, we are a nation composed of

citizens from all over the world, seeking a free way of life. In Emma Lazarus’ poem titled “The

New Colossus,” which appears at the base of the Statue of Liberty, she opens with a line that

echoes the democratic values which our nation was founded on. “Give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…,” she asks, almost as a plea for justice. As more

refugees came to America, seeking freedom and security, more languages followed them. This

has in no way destroyed our cultural melting pot, but has done more to create a national culture

which transcends all language barriers.

In the second paragraph of this essay, Francis presents an interesting fact as he states,

“The Census… reported that there are now 329 different languages spoken in the United States”

(Census, 2000). When used as fuel for his argument in support of an “English-only” system, this

fact fails to persuade the reader. The fact that there are 329 languages being spoken in America

does not show the “cultural disintegration” (para 1) of our nation, but it rather shows how

culturally diverse we are as a people. It also shows how difficult and tedious it would be for

“English-only” legislation to pass in Congress, as this would only cause nation-wide confusion,

challenging non-English speakers to attempt to understand a foreign language.

Nevertheless, Francis showed his support for Iowa’s representative Steve King, who

introduced a bill to Congress which would require that “all laws, public proceedings, regulations,

publications, orders, actions, programs and policies” (Francis, para 4) be conducted in English.

This could have definitely proven dangerous to our society, considering that at the time the bill

was introduced in 2003, California alone accepted 176,375 immigrants to their state (Census,

2000). If even half of these immigrants could not speak English, that would have been over
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80,000 citizens of our country that would be clueless to the laws and policies of their own nation,

and ignorant to the current affairs surrounding it.

This may seem drastic, but Francis was not alone in his support for King’s bill, as he

mentioned U.S. English, a prominent lobbying group which urged the passing of the bill. When

Francis asks the question, “Just how serious is the threat of linguistic (and therefore cultural and

therefore political) anarchy?” (para 7) Mauro Mujica, the chairman of U.S. English, attempts to

answer this question by referring to a New York Times report about the culturally diverse city of

Hartford, Connecticut. “Half of Hartford’s business owners do not speak English…In the bank,

they speak Spanish; at the hospital, they speak Spanish; bakery suppliers are starting to speak

Spanish. Even at the post office, they are Americans, but they speak Spanish.” At the same time

however, “the Census Bureau reported that almost half of the city’s Hispanic population speaks

English ‘less than very well’…” (Census 2000). In a community which is 40.5% Hispanic, it is

no wonder that the people will speak Spanish. This does not seem like “linguistic anarchy” at all.

However, Francis does not end the discussion here. In paragraph eight, he proposes what

he calls “The obvious solution to the Babelization of America,” which is “to stop immigration

now, send back the illegals, take a hard look at least some ‘legals’ and cleanse the culture of the

Open Borders lobby and its lies and foolishness.” How can we preserve our culture if we betray

the principles from which our culture was created?

It was not only a strong political argument which this article lacked. Throughout the

entire essay, Francis failed to mention how an “English-only” system would affect the people

most closely tied to the issue. He does not talk about the teachers who are helping non-English

speaking students ease into learning the English language, or the students who would suffer

academically with the abolition of bilingualism.

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In an effort to hear another side of this story, we can look at “Banishing Bilingualism.” In

this essay, authors Susan Katz and Herbert Kohl describe the condition of teaching in California

as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The board of education has decided to end the granting of the two major

teaching credentials--CLAD (Cross-cultural Language and Academic

Development) and BCLAD (Bilingual Cross-cultural Language and Academic

Development). These credentials meant that prospective teachers get training in

the theory and practice of teaching bilingual children, respecting the use of

students' home language and culture while helping ease their transition into

English-language schooling.

They describe the potential dangers to our education system, stating that “By the end of

2003, when 45 percent of the students in California public schools will be living in non-English-

speaking homes, these credentials will be phased out.” While some say “English-only” education

is done in the student’s best interests, Katz and Kohl believe that these restraints will only cripple

the student-teacher relationship. “Children's ability to bridge the knowledge from home with

learning at school will be impaired. School failure will be perpetuated on an institutional basis”

(para 8).

In other situations, the debate about multiculturalism is a little more serious. In Gabriella

Kuntz’ narrative, “My Spanish Standoff,” she describes what it was like living as a Peruvian

immigrant in a Hispanic community of Texas.

“I personally experienced that look, that unspoken and spoken word expressing

prejudice. If I entered a department store, one of two things was likely to happen.

Either I was ignored, or I was followed closely by the salesperson…My children

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were complimented on how ‘clean’ they were instead of how cute. Somehow, all

Hispanics seemed to be lumped into the category of illegal immigrants…” (para

7)

In this community, it did not matter what language was spoken, as Hispanics experienced

prejudice either way.

This negative trend of hate is popping up around the country, particularly in high

immigration areas. In California, the state with the highest rate of immigration per year, there are

42 active hate groups. In Texas, where 91,799 immigrants were legally admitted to the state in

2004, there are forty. No matter how much politicians and lobbyists argue whether English

should be the official language or whether we should continue teaching bilingualism, the hatred

will not go away. It will take a change of attitudes. We need to regain our acceptance of other

cultures, and even more than that we need to reach out to them in an effort to further our own.

Francis may think that this would “abolish America,” but it seems that diversity is the one thing

that this nation needs to progress.