English has become a second language. Some cities even publish election ballots in several languages so as to accommodate citizens who cannot read English. The promoters of such policies ignore the facts that nonEnglishspeaking person theoretically could not have passed the naturalization examination. which requires English competency. and that it is difficult for nonEnglishspeaking voters to examine the qualifications of candidates since campaigns and most. media coverage use the English language. The growing problems of illiteracy in English is shown by every census. In 1970. only 8 million Americans spoke a language other than English at home. but by 1980 that figure had increased to 20 million. The current policy of providing vernacular ballots for immigrant Americans provides no incentive to them to learn English. In fact. by condoning Government sponsored bilingualism. the United States is discouraging foreignborn Americans from learning English. Command of the English language is indisputably a quality that one must possess to become successful in our country.
Keywords matched
naturalization immigrant