U.S. should resist linguistic terrorism of English-only laws

Language is a difficult subject to discuss dispassionately because it’s our essence. So when two languages come cheek to jowl, as English and Spanish have in the United States, it becomes a hot issue. As Chicano poet Gloria Anzaldua wrote in Borderlands: La Frontera: “So, if you really want to hurt me, talk badly about my language. I am my language.”

Linguistic terrorism has plagued children of immigrants and Native Americans for generations. Alberto Alvaro Ríos wrote in his book Capirotada: A Nogales Memoir: “If speaking Spanish is bad, and our parents speak Spanish, then they must be bad,” he concluded, “and we became ashamed of them.”

Fueling the language debate are clashes arising over illegal immigrants fleeing dire circumstances. But anti-foreign-language fervor has been around for a long time. We disrespected the languages of Native Americans and African-Americans because non-white minorities spoke them, and we shunned German during World War I. Now it’s Spanish.”*

*From: www.baltimoresun.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

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