Keep the US English Speaking

Hewko, John, The Christian Science Monitor

Whether we like it or not, the universal language of discourse in America is and should be English. I speak from experience. My parents were immigrants and my wife is an immigrant from Argentina. I speak six languages and have spent 15 of the past 20 years living and working abroad. Bilingual education is bad policy for the United States and for its immigrants and should be discarded, once and for all, as a failed and misguided idea.

My parents came to this country from Ukraine after World War II. My father was 19, my mother 11. They spoke no English when they arrived. Today, my father's English is perfect, although when he says words such as "European" or "worm" you can …

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Publication information: Article title: Keep the US English Speaking. Contributors: Hewko, John - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: December 3, 2002. Page number: 9. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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