There will always be ways to pander, and this one is too easy for those who are bilingual.  I agree, however, that the mainstreming of a second language is dnagerous for our nation.  While it would make us stronger if we all could be bilingual, our official language must always be English.  It is that lanhuage which also keeps us connected to our Anglo Saxon roots, for which we should all be proud.

The rest of the world has to learn english as a second language, so never fear. Hispanics made the cut for having their button pushed by Jacoby, a weekly ritual for him. So weird having pols pander to a major voting block. What ever happened to the shamrocks, anyway? 

A common language is vital in building a cohesive community.  It is a rare day to agree with this writer, and should be noted.

Richmond12 -

1) "our official language must always be English"; sorry, no.  The United States does not have an officical language; we have a *common* language.  That's the whole point of the English Only movement, to make English our official language.

2) "It is that lanhuage which also keeps us connected to our Anglo Saxon roots, for which we should all be proud."  By all means, be proud of your Franco-Anglo roots.  But the US population is not predominantly from Britain; even in this region, the descendants of those of UK origin include a lot of people from Ireland, Wales, Scotland.

But yes, English is our common language, is our language of government and commerce.  It is the most versatile modern language in current use because it readily adopts new words and concepts, and is still growing and adapting to modern usage.  Whether it should be legally declared as our official language is a different issue.

With Jeff Jacoby's premise, how in the world did Switzerland become a successful country?  Other countries invest in their people to become multi-lingual as part of their educational systems.  The Scandinavian countries come to mind.  Because we don't is no reason to find some flawed rationale to endorse an all English policy.  In colonial times, 40 different languages were spoken in Philadelphia.  Move along the streets today of any large city and listen to citizens talking to each other.  English is only one of many that is spoken.  English is taught in schools as the primary language.  To broaden the scope to incluce fluency in others would make our nation stronger to stronger.  Ability to speak in a second language is a plus instead of the fearful insecurity expressed by this author that because he can not understand another language.  Having many different languages as part of our culture is a strength, as it has been from our very beginnings.

Would the US have fallen apart if large immigrant groups had not adapted to English-only discourse rules? Imagine if the Irish had not had their language and culture beaten out of them by their English overlords in Ireland and America. State House debates today would feature speeches in English and Irish. On the South Coast, city council business in Fall River and New Bedford would be conducted in Portuguese. Schools in Brookline and Newton would be conducting classes in Yiddish. An Italian belt would stretch from East Boston to Lynnfield.

Would such language communities have made the people here un-American? Would it have caused an economic decline or a civil war? I think not. I think instead it would simply have meant that I would have grown up with friends speaking several different languages, and I would have learned a host of foreign language conversational skills that I now lack. Diversity of language in this country is not a weakness, and it is nothing to fear. 

Let's call a spade a spade. The Republican party is desperate to find a way to become relevant again.

They have successfully alienated the disenfranchised (that is to say, anyone who is bold enough to say out loud that they need government support of any kind), people of color, and anyone who is not a gun-owning heterosexual.

These two men speaking Spanish has ONLY to do with winning back Hispanic voters -- not Chinese, Korean or any other worthy culture or ethnicity.

it's transparent, and therefore annoying.

This column is a stretch to make a point other than that. Jeff mailed this one, and it shows.

It is beneath contempt to think that all it takes is Hispanic speeches to convince people to vote for you.  It is policies.  Here is where republicans always fail.  Their policies are so transparent it won't do them any good.  To say it in Spanish doesn't make policies that hurt "the lower incomes" any easier to sell. Just ask Mitt Romney.

The English Only argument demonstrates nothing but the unreasoning fear driving its adherents. To live in the United States while speaking little or no English is to be, by definition, an outsider, and no amount of political pandering is going to change that.

The private sector can use any language(s)it wants, but no taxpayer money should be spent on the production of print materials (ballots, court documents, public notices, etc.) by the government in any language but English. And if you don't speak English and need a translator (in court for example), you, not the taxpayers, should pay for it.

I didn't read Jacoby's piece as advocating an "English-only" policy. It seems to me that it is an asset for anyone to be multi-lingual; however, it is also important for people to learn English, the common language in this country, in order to be able to communicate in the broader culture. English is also necessary for people to be able to avail themselves of educational and economic opportunities. Those who speak only English might also find it useful to learn another language.

It is rare that I agree with Mr. Jacoby's sentiments. This is one of those times. For all our diversity, which is indeed wonderful, the one commonality that makes us who we are as a nation is the English language.

My company conducts business around the world. Yes, our official language within the company is English, but I'm always amazed at how many of my European or Asian collegues speak numerous languages. One friend of mine speaks perfect English, French and German and pretty good Italian. Only the republicans would promote a strategy to try to make Americans LESS fluent in foreign languages. Let's all worship Jesus and only speak English. Screw everybody else...........

what a useless column.  as thought provoking as a 4th of July exhortation to be patriotic.  again: why does the Globe employ and publish this guy ??  Krauthammer and a dozen other conservative columnists are better.  this guy always seems as if he is phoning it in.  a hack, pure and simple.

Foreigner talk is weird!!!

Sorry, had to get that out.

Kudos to Gomez for being able to speak two languages fluently and for attempting to win hispanic votes for his party. His party in the wider US may not be ready for it anytime soon, but they ahve to start somewhere. 

The new left will NEVER abide by any movement, law or program that 'forces' non-english speaking Americans to learn English (the horror!). And this is certainly pandering for votes (the same way Gomez is). It helps perpetuate the idea that the American right is inherently racist and the left is here to protect 'those people'. Plus, they are on the correct side of the arguments cited above concerning making our society more advanced by learning/living more than 1 language (like Western Europe).

But "D vs R" aside, there is a large portion of our society who feel that we should 'honor' our various heritages but 'live' as Americans (and speak the common language). This is not to be ignored or insulted as 'racist' or 'too dumbed down to learn another language'. It's unfortunate that those of us who believe this are grouped with the xenophobes who have a knee-jerk hatred of just the SOUND of a different language. It's embarrasing, but we live with what we are. 

Every group coming here in large numbers has experienced scorn and racism but it's a fact that many hispanic-speaking Americans have not adopted english and have no reason to. There is no 'common' anything in America anymore (blame whichever side you want). If you can go to the bank, watch TV, vote, etc in spanish, why should you change? Simply live within your closed community of friends & family.

We must have an 'official' language for the simple reason that we cannot accomodate 'all' the languages currently being spoken (at the voting booth for example).

Peace y'all

How does Switzerland do it GFawkes? Do they vote using ballots in 4 different languages? Are their schools taught in the language of each region? What about the Swiss who speak some 5th language?

thanks

Jeff' I agree.  It irritates me to no end that Hispanics refuse to communicate in English.  Many of them choose not to really learn and understand English.  Having lived in Chelsea and presently near Lynn I have frequently experienced this. They choose to speak Spanish to their preschool chldren, and then send them to school without a very good knowledge of English. They are then at a disadvantage amdren from homes where English is ong chil

Jeff' I agree.  It irritates me to no end that Hispanics refuse to communicate in English.  Many of them choose not to really learn and understand English.  Having lived in Chelsea and presently near Lynn I have frequently experienced this. They choose to speak Spanish to their preschool chldren, and then send them to school without a very good knowledge of English. They are then at a disadvantage among children from homes where English is the primary language.

"English has always been integral to the American identity. Without a common language, the miracle of E Pluribus Unum would never have been possible."

Finally! Proof that Jacoby's columns are satire! I always suspected it...

Gomez should be extra careful on how he, or his staff, manages his campaign in Spanish. The very sentence that he uses is problematic: “Me llamo Gabriel Gomez, y yo estoy anunciando que voy a correr para ser senador de los Estados Unidos.” To run for (meaning to compete for) as intended in his sentence, could not be translated as “correr”. A better substitute could be: “Me llamo Gabriel Gomez, y estoy anunciando que voy a presentarme para ser candidato a senador de los Estados Unidos.” If his intention is to garner the Latino vote by using Spanish, he should be doing in a way that is grammatically correct. Scrutiny for his abilities will be from both Spanish and English speaking voters. This register voter will be looking for clues on how well he will be able to represent the constituency that he is courting when he uses the Spanish language.