Press 1 For English: Is America Destined To Become A Multilingual Nation?

The quickest way to divide people is to have them speak different languages.  America has always been a nation of immigrants, but one of the things that has always united us as a nation has been the English language.  In the past, it was always understood that if you wanted to thrive in the “land of opportunity” that you had better learn English and learn it well.  Unfortunately, times have changed.  Today, many radical activist groups are actually referring to the English language as a “tool of oppression” and are demanding that special accommodations be made for those that do not wish to learn the English language.  But what languages are we supposed to accommodate?  Overall, there are 325 different languages spoken at home in the United States today.  So which of those languages should receive special treatment?  How far are we really going to take all of this?  Someday, instead of your telephone telling you to “press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish”, it may tell you to “press 323 for Italian, 324 for Arabic or 325 for English”.  Yes, that is kind of a ridiculous example, but we really should examine where all of this is headed.  Is America destined to become a multilingual nation where we all struggle to understand one another? (Read More...)