Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich apparently has a problem with the Spanish language and its usage in the US.
When speaking to the National Federation of Republican Women in 2007, Gingrich highlighted his sentiments when he said that gaining a mastery of the English language is more beneficial to students.
“The American people believe English should be the official language of the government,” Gingrich said. “We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”
These comments were made during the 2008 presidential campaign, and Gingrich has apologized for the insensitivity of his comments since then. But whether or not he recanted his statements does not matter. His words show a feeling of superiority and that he believes speaking English fluently is some sort of class symbol. The statement itself is such a broad generalization — it seems Gingrich is implying only people who live in poverty know how to speak Spanish.
Besides how blatantly offensive the remarks were, it was also a ludicrous suggestion. The Daily Cougar supports universities and other academic institutions that require foreign language credits. In many professions, just being able to speak English is not too unique of a skill. In the same speech, Gingrich also criticized the government for creating voter ballots with multiple languages.
“The government should quit mandating that various documents be printed in any one of 700 languages, depending on who randomly shows up,” he said.
So not only are immigrants the product of ghettoes to Gingrich, their right to vote should also be limited because of their lack of language skills.
There is no room in the White House for this sort of arrogant, elitist attitude. Perhaps Gingrich has forgotten that the history of this country is to bring cultures together and acclimate to them accordingly. No politician, let alone a presidential candidate, should be resistant to Spanish speakers.
Newt was defending the notion from past experience with immigration into this country of foreigners coming in, assimilating, leaning the language of their chosen new home, and becoming productive, contributing, tax-paying citizens. That's what's suppose to happen, and did, for many who came through Ellis Island. Pandering to foreigners unwilling to learn their new home's language is, quite frankly, an insult. That's what he was trying to articulate. And the government enables it by using a muti-language approach in its documentation, etc. Ergo, foreigners have no incentive to assimilate and instead set up in their own enclaves, but now as citizens culterally competiting with their neighbors. Talk about a class struggle! Not exactly the melting pot anymore, eh?
Printing documents in Spanish is a matter of practicality. First-generation immigrant populations seldom all learn English, especially among older adults. This is across the board and a historical trend, regardless of language and assimilation opportunities. It's just a fact of life. There are still populations within the city's Vietnamese and Cambodian population, for example, that don't speak or read English. Even my own great-grandmother was bilingual — in French and German — and lived most of her adult life in Crowley, Texas.
John, you're actually making my point. Was that what you intended? It is not an inherent irretractable "fact of life," it is what the government has allowed English in the US to become — second-rate. Miami, for example, is so heavily populated with Cubans, there was actual debate a few years back (when it teetered on bankruptcy,) about letting Spanish be the official city language. This wasn't very "practical" for their tourist-based economy, they finally realised.
Either the staff at the Daily Cougar is not printing all of his quotes or they are heavily biased and inserting what they think into his quotes and drawing conclusions from them that do not exist.
Look I hate Newt Gingrich as much as the next person but at least hound on for him for something he says and whats racist about wanting one language. Do you guys realize that the majority of all countries have one national language?
As the primaries unfold, t's interesting to see where our GOP candidates stand on bilingual education. Check out Language Magazine's November issue to read an article that flips the argument against second language learners using their mother tongue at home and against bilingual education.
http://www.languagemagazine.com