When I was growing up in rural Virginia in the 1980’s, I
almost never encountered any language other than English, except in French
class. Today, any company worth an automated menu system begins it with “Press
1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish.” I know I am not alone in wondering when I
hear these ubiquitous answering systems, “Am I still in Virginia?”
The number of Spanish-speaking people in America* has skyrocketed
in the past few decades. According to the US Census Bureau, Spanish is now the
primary language spoken at home for more than 38 million American residents. (I
say ‘residents’ because roughly 1/3 of these people are in America illegally or as guests and are not citizens). In case you struggle with math, 38 million is more than
10% our nation’s population of 330 million. It is the equivalent of five States
where every man, woman, and child speaks Spanish as their primary (or sole)
language.
Now, let me be clear. I have nothing against the Spanish
language or the people who speak it. However, I’ve wondered why Congress has
failed over the decades to address the growing bilingualism in the United
States. By 2012, the number of Spanish-speaking Americans had more than
doubled since 1990, and I suspect 1990 was not the beginning of the growth
curve. It was reported in 2015 that America now has more Spanish-speaking residents than Spain. As a
nation, it is utterly foolish not to ask ourselves if this is desirable. Is
this really the road we want to travel? Fortunately, we don’t have to ask that
question in a vacuum. Other nations have large chunks of their population
speaking different languages, including our neighbor to the north, Canada. As
it happens, I lived in Quebec, Canada for two years, so I have some personal
experience on this issue.
A House Divided Cannot
Stand
Une Maison Divisée
Contre Elle-même Ne Peut Subsister
Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, of Cuban descent and fluent in Spanish, has frequently employed Spanish to woo Hispanic voters in their native tongue. While this might be a smart
move politically, I believe it sends the wrong signal that the USA should officially embrace national bilingualism. For this, some might think I'm xenophobic, but nothing could be further from the truth. My position is grounded in common sense and personal experience. Although I was raised on a rural farm
in Virginia surrounded only by English, I fell in love with the French language
in high school. So much so that I made the highly unusual decision (in my
field) to pursue a postdoctoral position outside
the United States in French-speaking Quebec. For two years I worked at McGill
University in Montreal and I lived in one of the most diehard Francophone suburbs
of the city (Verdun). Many people in my suburb did not speak English at all. So
let me emphasize that I am referring to national
bilingualism, not individual bilingualism. Alors, je me parler une deuxième langue, but a nation that speaks two languages is a
nation divided. Language does more than string together words, it embodies
culture. Nowhere is this lingual and cultural divide seen more clearly than in
Canada.
The cultural and lingual division of Canada into English and
French provinces has led to serious political problems. Anyone who follows
Canadian politics is aware that Quebec goes through regular cycles of
threatening cessation from Canada. (In typical French fashion, however, their
actions never quite equal their rhetoric). In Quebec, anti-Canadian sentiment
can run high, especially on July, 1st.
July 1st is Canada Day. It is somewhat analogous to
Independence Day in America. As a patriotic American, I thought I would share
in Canadian patriotism my first July 1st in Montreal. That’s when I
quickly discovered that Quebec is not Canada. While I was still hanging my
Canadian flag on my front porch, one lady barked rather rudely (in French,
which still sounds beautiful even when barked) while others looked rather
snidely in my direction. Stubbornly, I left the Maple Leaf hanging on my porch
but was later told that it might have been literally dangerous doing so.
If you think that kind of animosity can’t happen here, then
just wait until Florida is completely Spanish in language and in culture. It
can happen here. And I predict it eventually will. It's worth noting that Marco Rubio has been accused of speaking one political message in Spanish and quite another in English. A political maneuver that not only fosters division but should disqualify him from the race, according to some political leaders.
Half the Space, Twice
the Cost
Moitié de l’Espace,
Deux Fois le Coût
Not only does national bilingualism divide a nation
culturally and poltically, it creates a waste of resources. Do you have any
idea how many pages are printed by the federal government every year? (Hint: it’s
a LOT). Now double it. Every communication from the Canadian government must be
done twice, once in English, once in French. Every product sold in Canada has
labels in English and labels in French. This much is already becoming common
here. I bought a product the other day from a big box store and was struck by the fact that half the box
described the product in English while the other half described it in Spanish. In effect, this company
lost half the space they could have used to persuade me to buy their product to merely repeat what was already said once in another language. The instructions inside?
Twice the paper, twice the ink, twice the length, twice the
cost. And when you call the big box store just to find out what time they close, you first have to press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish.
I don’t know a single person who regards bilingualism in an
individual as a bad thing. On the contrary, virtually everyone (myself
included) thinks quite the opposite; that mastering more than one language
expands your thinking in ways that few other cerebral accomplishments can. But
national bilingualism is a disaster. And if it’s still possible to exit this
road, we should.
*For those who might be confused, I use “America” here in
the traditional sense to describe the United States of America, not the
continents.