Language is in the news again today. *sigh*

May I add this perspective to the "English Only" debate?

My Mother and her ESL Class, OSU 1971

From my experience, all culture springs from language.

Be it music, or poetry or even the practice of your faith, it is all tied to rhythm of the language of your family and community raised you in. When you lose your language, even your accented English and your slang, you will surely lose your culture eventually. The folks who insist in "English only"* are in this respect spot on; no matter what they contend, their agenda will eventually rob you of the very essence of what makes you, you.

Lingua Franca, the language of trade? That's still English mostly, worldwide. It's the language of money and people who value money will want to learn it. But should they lose their language in the process and all that goes with it, they will lose more than any amount of money will ever be able to buy. And America is a democracy right? Where the majority speak Urdu, should not the savvy Capitalist retailer learn Urdu to service the trade? My own people have been pulling off that handy trick for centuries.

My Father's International Students at OSU, 1971

So using only the language of native Texans may I state, sin embargo, la cultura siempre prevalecerá cuando hablamos nuestra lengua materna. Rodina je kdo mluví česky doma děti jednolodní, kteří tančí polka. Et les gens qui parlent français cadien tendance à avoir des enfants qui ne peuvent cuisiner un repas complet en un seul pot noir. Najszczęśliwszych ludzi, których znam języka polskiego w domu i odtwarzać muzykę z krewnymi.
Aber der Grund, niemand spricht Deutsch, weil sie ihre Sprache zu sprechen aufgehört und jetzt gibt es tatsächlich wenig bis gar keine deutsche Kultur in Texas heute. מייַן אייגן קולטור ריזיידז אין די אָפּפאַל קענען פון געשיכטע דאַנק צו די צילגעווענדט באַזייַטיקונג פון אונדזער מענטשן פון אונדזער געבוירן שפּראַך. צי ניט לאָזן דעם פּאַסירן איר!

Finally, I'll share with you Marc Savoy's posted essay on the subject from an entirely different perspective; you live here in French speaking Louisiana and you DON'T speak French?:

*(ironic that this country can't even create a language of its own and still uses the language of the Colonial oppressors, right?)