(AP Photo/Juanita Cousins)
On January 22, the people of Nashville, Tennessee rejected an English-only measure that would have prevented city government workers from providing services in other languages. The proposition was spearheaded by Councilman Eric Crafton and opposed by a very diverse coalition including the mayor, various civil rights movements, business leaders, ministers, and educators.
The proposed amendment to the Metro charter read:
English is the official language of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. Official actions, which bind or commit the government, shall be taken only in the English language, and all official government communications and publications shall be in English. No person shall have a right to government services in any other language. All meetings of the Metro Council, Boards, and Commissions of the Metropolitan Government shall be conducted in English. The Metro Council may make specific exceptions to protect public health and safety. Nothing in this measure shall be interpreted to conflict with federal or state law.
Voters struck down the proposal 41,752 to 32,144; after months of heated debates. The special election had an unusually high turnout and drew national attention.
The results demonstrated solidarity with newcomers who find it difficult to learn English. In 2007, the US Census Bureau estimates that 8.7 percent of the population speaks English less than “very well”. While some new immigrants might never get a full grip on the US language, it is important to help them integrate by providing support in their native language. By incorporating them into the overall community we help secure the assimilation of future generations.
According to Ruben G. Rumbaut’s study on linguistic acculturation, only 7.8 percent of first generation immigrants favored to speak English at home; the majority said they communicated in their native language. More interestingly, the study also revealed that later generations are more likely to speak English at home by a wide margin. A whooping 73.4 percent of second-generation immigrants preferred to speak only English at home, and subsequent groups had even higher percentages.
“The idea that the United States will devolve into riots and become Quebec unless everybody speaks English and English only, is absolutely not true. Demography will take care of the problem itself—it is not really a policy issue,” said Rumbaut professor of sociology at University of California - Irvine in an article from the Population Reference Bureau.
Immersion can be a powerful tool to learn any language. But as public policy it would only work if the only reason immigrants came to the US was to learn English. Our government needs to find ways to help them become productive citizens of our country not just fluent English speakers.
Councilman Eric Crafton on WSMV Channel 4 Nashville.
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