Testimonials

Sometimes, when trying to explain why English should be made our official language of government and business, and the responses I get are unexpected and unfavorable, I like to relate an experience that occurred in London, England, while I was employed by the Department of Defense.  To me, this experience represents the most convincing proof that we badly need English to be declared our official language. 
 
In our office about half of our employees were British and I believe one or two were from the Irish Republic.  I frequently had conversations with one of our employees, Ken, a very proud Welshman.  One day, after picking up our mail, he couldn't wait to tell me about something he'd experienced while at the Navy building.  Ken was waiting by the elevator to pick up the mail upstairs. When the elevator door opened "a clean-cut all-American lad in a Navy uniform" stepped into the elevator with him. Immediately after the door closed, the American began speaking to him "in absolutely flawless Welsh."  By Ken's description of the event he was astounded and asked the young American where he learned to speak Welsh like that.  The American replied that he was from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and his parents came from Wales.  When he was a child, he said, his parents told him that in their home he must always speak Welsh but away from home he must speak English because he's an American. The young American told him that he wasn't happy about having to speak Welsh but now was very pleased to be proficient in both English and Welsh. 
 
I enjoy telling this story.  To me it should be the final word in showing how preserving one's native language and culture in the home or ethnic community enriches American culture; it should also show that the responsibility for doing so is strictly a private matter rather than an obligation of the state.  Outside these areas the state should be duty-bound to ensure that all Americans are proficient in the English language and are thoroughly assimilated into American society.

- Fred Hawkins, NC

<< Previous | Next >>