‘English-only’ rule about to be tested
January 6, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Behavior, Communication, Employment law, Immigration, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
In what could be a landmark event — and a constitutional test — some voters in Tennessee will go to the polls to decide if county government can institute English-only policies. And business leaders there are against the proposal. The vote is scheduled to take place January 22, when residents cast ballots on a referendum mandating that Davidson County employees and officials would have to use only English when communicating with one another and the public. Some officials say they’ll carve out exceptions for emergency situations, such as those involving police, fire or medical personnel. The city of Nashville is within county boundaries.
In an interesting twist, business leaders and Nashville’s mayor have come out strongly against the proposal, for at least two reasons:
- The county in recent years has managed to convince some foreign-owned companies such as Nissan to move in and hire residents. Business leaders fear that foreign owners will take the vote as a sign that they’re not welcome.
- The county also has a fair number of low-wage jobs that have been filled by legal immigrants who lack English proficiency. The mayor and employers are concerned that immigrants will work elsewhere if forced to communicate solely in English.
The Nashville Metro Council passed a version of an English-only bill in 2007, but the mayor vetoed it — leading to a drive to put the matter to a public vote.
Here are two local views on the measure, one for and one against.
What do you think? Take our poll at the right and let us know.
Tags: Davidson County, employers, English-only, Nashville, Nissan
January 13th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Being a Country of English origin, Logic should be used. I went to Walmart, there was a plastic cigarette container with a large amount of smoke comming from it. The smoke was enough to let me know there was a fire in it, I went into the store approached the person who checks your receipts when you exit and told her there was a fire on the side of the building. Her response was “a fire”, I repeated it and she then said “a fire”, at that point I knew she didn’t understand so I asked her if she spoke english; her reply was no. I then walked the length of the store to the customer service area where there was a line! I walked up in front, excused my self and said there is a fire on the out side. She said you need to tell it to a supervisor. Well all this could have been done at the entrance. Just think if this was a full alarm fire. Schools, business, stores, post offices etc should be english as this is a English Country.
January 13th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I think it is interesting that this question is coming up in Tennessee. I have many relatives in Tennessee and see them often enough that I can understand most of what they say most of the time – but not always, and they are speaking English! With the diversity in accents already in existence in Tennessee, one would think there would be more tolerance for others, but then again according to my family I’m the one with the accent because I’m from up North.
As far as using the experience in Walmart as an example for why this would be a good thing, perhaps one should look at the company as a whole and see they are not being run very well if the customer service person, who did speak English, sent a person trying to help to someone farther up the line in terms of responsibility.
Finally, this is not an English Country! My family came from England, Italy, and Ireland back in the 1600’s. You would be hard pressed to find a truly “English” person in this country unless you find one who actually came from England – I mean born there in the last 100 years and has moved to or is visiting the United States. And, if you ever watch the BBC you will notice we don’t really speak “English” anymore either.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hey Debbie…it’s spelled “coming” not comming. Perhaps you should take some English classes yourself before you pass judgement on others.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Cynthia…if we’re going to correct/criticize spelling errors, please note that “judgment” does not have an “e” between the “g” and the “m”.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I agree that those in certain spots need to be able to speak English. It is our official language, not Spanish. Speaking English well to me is essentially a requirement to be employable, but may not be necessary in some jobs that don’t involve interaction with the public. Still, by curtailing to those that don’t speak English you are only leaving them at more of a disadvantage in this nation, they need to fully integrate themselves to thrive and fit in if they are to live here. I wouldn’t expect to get by just speaking English if I lived in Mexico.
The better question is though, do we have to actually have legislation on this? It seems like it could be a hassle, however it may be the only way to ensure that most people are speaking English where it is essential. And if you do legislation, it should be more than just a county, it should be federal as they’ll just move around as they please if it detracts them from certain counties.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Robin, I agree on what you said about families here coming from all over the world. My parents came over from Germany right after the War but you know what? They stopped speaking German and have only spoken English since and became legal citizens. They said they are now in America and now they will speak English. In fact, until the last few years most immigrants felt this very way
because it was excepted of them but since it is taken for granted now and people can speak whatever they want they will not learn English and it is easier not to make the effort to learn English.
Cynthis, Debbie may have spelled coming wrong but when she says that word we sure can understand her.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
You’re absolutely correct! I proved my own point…never throw stones.
You all bring up good points and it’s great that we live in America where we are all free to form our own opinions. Here’s my thoughts: If you seek employment where the customers only speak English, then of course you need to be able to communicate with them. BUT if during the course of my shift, my co-worker and I decide to carry on a conversation in a different language then I don’t think my employer has the right to tell us we must stop.
Ross…Maybe I need to read the WalMart story again but I don’t think it mentioned that the employee was from Mexico. I think it’s awful that anytime a subject like this comes up, people automatically assume it’s the Mexicans.
January 14th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I think that this has been a hot topic for some time, and that IF you do live in the United States where the primary language is English, then don’t “dumb down”. Learn to speak the main language so that people don’t “assume” things about you or others that you or others will take offense to. I work for people of different ethnic origin and find it rather RUDE that they carry on a conversation in their language knowing full well that no one understands them, but them.
I go out of my way to make sure that they can understand, or come close to understanding something that I am saying if I am trying to get a point across.
Face it, if no one can understand what you are saying, they are going to assume that there is a reason for the continued resistance to the English language. One of the main things in any company is the ability to effectively communicate on a whole…it is very frustrating if one party cannot understand what the other is saying.
I have long been a believer that as long as I am in America, I should be able to understand what is being said.
If I CHOOSE to move to Mexico, India, Africa or some other country, then I and ONLY I need to ADAPT.
That is my 2 cents
January 14th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
It seems that those who do not like the English Only are normally not true Americans. When immigrants from way back then had to take their citizenship tests, guess what, they were in ENGLISH and they had to learn and understand ENGLISH before they passed the test. Everything was done in English. It is only now in the past decade or so that we ENGLISH SPEAKING CITIZENS are being forced to make everyone understand in their own language at TAXPAYERS cost. I do not believe that you should be able to take your driving tests in your own language because our street signs and caution signs are not in their foreign language, they are in ENGLISH. I do not believe that cities should provide everything in Spanish and whatever other language at taxpayers expense. GET REAL THIS IS AMERICA AND WE HAVE SPOKE ENGLISH SINCE IT’S BEGINNING AND THERE SHOULD BE NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!
January 14th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
To: Private Party, If you noticed I said the very same thing as you did but in different words.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Amen Private Party! The most frustrating thing that I hear on a daily basis on a phone call is for English press 2…when did English become 2nd?!? Arrgghh
January 15th, 2009 at 9:58 am
H.B. I didn’t read all the comments before I wrote mine, I just wanted to make sure my own feelings got written down before I logged off. Sorry…Message still remains the same here, SPEAK ENGLISH, PERIOD. Kuddos to your parents, they have become true American Citizens.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Cynthia, I did not assume Mexican, I didn’t mention it anywhere in there. I said Mexico as an example of a place I could live and where I would need to learn the language. The person in your story could have been Hispanic, Latino, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish/Spaniard, etc, for all that it matters.
January 16th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
It doesn’t matter where you originally are from; the main problem is that we all need to communicate better. That starts with everyone speaking the same language. English is the predominate language of this country and like it or not, it is what we all need to use. If you’re bilingual that’s great, but use common courtesy (which seems to be a challenge for many) and speak english when in public. And it’s not just the language but the dialect. Proper communication should be a priority.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I went to Europe last spring and I visited Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy. While I do not speak any of the 4 languages spoken in those countries, I did make an effort to learn a few words so that I could get by. I was by no means proficient. Therefore, I was grateful that most signs in the subways and airports were posted in multiple languages, including English, and that people who spoke English were kind enough to realize that I don’t speak French (or Spanish or Portuguese) and speak to me in English so that I could understand.
I am sure that many Americans who visit other countries do so with even less knowledge of the language than I had, and assume that everyone will speak to them in English. Why should we not treat our guests as politely and speak to them in their native tongue if we have the resources?
I realize that the above arguments refer to immigrants and not tourists, but the Nashville legislation does not make any distinction. If such legislation passed on a national level, tourism in America would plummet.