Make English Official Language - Commentary by Frank Gillispie

Make English our Official Language – Commentary by Frank Gillispie

Should we make English our official language and require all immigrants to learn it? I believe it is essential that we do so.

The purpose of language is to communicate, to exchange ideas, information and emotions. It is through language that we develop and pass on our culture and heritage. And it is vital that any newcomer who wants to be a part of this nation adopt that culture and heritage. And they can not do so without mastering our common language.

That is not an easy thing for non English speaking people to do because English is not a coherent language. Especially American English. Our language started out as a Germanic variation used by the Anglo-Saxons who occupied England many years ago. Almost immediately other peoples with other languages started filtering in. Each new group added words from their native language to the lexicon. The Vikings came in and added words from their area. The French contributed words as well as the Spanish. And although England tried very hard to eliminate the Celtic language from Wales and Scotland, a few Celtic words slipped in.

American English is even worse. Along with all the other influences, our language was infused with words from the Native Americans, and others from the African slaves. A few Hebrew words slipped in along with several torrential languages. We still call it English, but it is truly a hybrid language.

Among the problems this creates is the development or words with multiple meanings, words spelled differently and pronounced the same and words spelled the same and pronounced differently. In a few cases all the above applies. When you are using words from several languages, this kind of thing happens.

For example, we might confront a bear in the woods. If we kill the bear, we then must bear his weight in order to get him out of the woods. Then, when we remove his skin to make a rug, we leave the bear bare. Can you imagine a non English speaking person trying to figure that out? Or how about two, meaning one doubled; to meaning going toward; and too, meaning as well as or also. Hair can be the soft material on your head, or a long eared animal. Squash is an eatable vegetable or mashing something flat, or a game.

So, I think it is important that all immigrants to this nation learn English. But it is clear that we will have to cut them some slack. (I forgot to mention our strange idioms.) We will have to be patient with them, encourage them, make a special effort to understand what they are saying and to make our own words as clear to them as possible.

And as this process develops, we will invariably adopt some of their native language into our everyday use, just as our ancestors have done for the past two thousand or more years. By learning our language, and adding to it, the new arrivals will more quickly become an enriching part of our culture