Speech #980149502

Americans know instinctively that. without a common language. our differences. now a source of national strength and personal pride. would become unmanageable and irreconcilable. For that reason. our definition of American citizenship has always included an acceptancethough not necessarily full masteryof our language. We now find ourselves in the midst of the largest immigration wave in American history. Because so many new immigrants speak the same language. we are drifting toward ever greater quasiofficial recognition of that language. For too long. we have allowed ourselves to be pressured into giving up on the timetested ways of acculturating new immigrants. In too many cases. we have permitted English to take a back seat in the public schools. while we instruct nonEnglishspeaking students in their native language. We have acquiesced to separating English from the essence of citizenship. and while our naturalization laws still call for a knowledge of simple English. our voting laws require us to provide ballots and voting materials in certain foreign languages. Instead of expecting applicants for publicly subsidized benefits to struggle with standard application forms. we have taken on the burden of translating these government forms into the applicants native language. The same trends are at work in State and local governments.