Gingrich decries bilingual education

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich equated bilingual education Saturday with "the language of living in a ghetto" and mocked requirements that ballots be printed in multiple languages.

I am not really sure where i stand on the issue but his "the language of living in a ghetto" is appauling and just plain racist IMO.

"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100.

In 1995, for example, he said bilingualism poses "long-term dangers to the fabric of our nation" and that "allowing bilingualism to continue to grow is very dangerous.

Since 1975, the Voting Rights Act has required ballots and other election assistance in languages other than English in jurisdictions where at least 5 percent of voting-age citizens are not proficient in English and literacy rates are below the national average

I think that this law seems fair, and should be followed. It's one thing to not want ballots to be printed in other languages but his reasons seem to based on prejudice and nothing more.

news.yahoo.com...;_ylt=AvXvcc4Y5Cp4HhN_hxFxt16yFz4D

[edit on 4/1/2007 by ImpliedChaos]

well, that does sound awfully racist, but even the non-racist reasoning is wrong

i'm all for a bilingual state. other countries pull it off perfectly, like switzerland (ok, technically they're tri-lingual). it's a changing world and we need to adapt

Well, as racist as that starement may be, I do agree with English
being our sole national language.

As it is English is the msot spoken language in the world.
(Actually Mandarin is, but that's just because China has so many people.)


English was the language of the founders of this nation, and has
continued up to this day to be the primary language of this country.


Apart from that I want to see a single world language, that is everyone
is fluent in a universal language, even if they also speak another
language(s).

Originally posted by iori_komei
Apart from that I want to see a single world language, that is everyone
is fluent in a universal language, even if they also speak another
language(s).

they tried that with esperanto. the problem is that languages adapt and change and evolve over time. remember latin? it evolved into several languages within a relatively short time period.

a universal language isn't going to work because different areas are always going to produce different dilects which will inevitably become different languages

and i love the existence of multiple languages because there are just so many things i can't properly express in any one language.

they tried that with esperanto. the problem is that languages adapt and change and evolve over time. remember latin? it evolved into several languages within a relatively short time period.

a universal language isn't going to work because different areas are always going to produce different dilects which will inevitably become different languages

There's one big difference though.

When they tried that, they lived in an unconnected world, one where it
could take months to relay a message, and therefore since they were
not in contact with other areas that spoke the langauge there's changed
over time.

However, inthe world we live in today, if the language changes,
it changes for everyone, nto just a single group.

The notion of English being the primary, or official, language of the United States is only common sense. Seriously, how can you expect to advance in a country if you don't speak the language? When one first arrives in a country sure bilingual education is a good idea. Past a certain point though, it is a self-defeating process. You have to learn the language in order to function in any society. French in France. Spanish in Mexico. Etc...etc...

Originally posted by seagull
Spanish in Mexico.

Actually, that would be Mexican in Mexico.

Spanish and Mexican are seperate languages, even though Mexican
came from Spanish.

It's sort of like the difference between AMerican English and
Commonwealth/UK Engish, though with more pronounced
differences.