Subject: re : 6 . 933 , misc : english only

jack aubert is absolutely correct . the teaching of standard english is a thing that i do not hesitate to say should be compulsory nationwide ( although this does n't necessarily mean that it has to be so via a federal - level mandate . ) i have nothing at all against personal or familial or ethnic bilingualism and i spent a great deal of time and effort to render myself bilingual as a teenager , when the odds were against me . if it were up to me , most people would master a second language in childhood . however , english is an essential ingredient of the glue that binds the u . s . together . it is far more cruel to help non - english speakers in the u . s . to get along without it than it is to require that they learn it ( and to provide the necessary educational infrastructure . ) a substantial majority of formerly-non - english - speaking immigrants to the u . s . hold this position , and if they do not feel denigrated by having to learn english , who are the other " experts " that would claim it is degrading ? ( i have n't seen anyone express that opinion yet on this list ; have i missed any such posts ? ) > national plural mono-lingualism is a curse ! damn straight it is ! ! - - marion kee - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - marion kee | i do n't speak for cmu , knowledge engineer , center for machine translation | and cmu returns the favor . carnegie mellon university pittsburgh , pa , usa | all opinions are my own .
