Katherine posts the video of the wide range of folks who (like her) oppose Nashville’s referendum called by supporters English First and by detractors English Only. The issue has reached a climax in the media since early voting started last Friday here in Music City. Beyond those against the initiative seen in the TV ad, a group of university leaders that includes our own chancellor Nick Zeppos has written a letter voicing opposition to English First. From Vanderbilt News Service:
“The irony of the city known as the ‘Athens of the South’ becoming the first major metropolitan community in America to pass ‘English only’ is a distressing prospect,” the letter states. “As academic leaders, we are concerned about the impact – literal and symbolic – on our mission of teaching, learning, curing and discovering.”
Such goes the argument against English First. It is simply appalling, according to its opponents, that a big national city like Nashville would symbolize our opinions in such a way. Last August, the Vanderbilt Hustler (which I edited at the time) ran a column by Neily Todd denouncing English First, and it follows this same pattern:
As Nashville continues to grow, these ties to foreign cultures will only increase. Globalization continues to erase national borders. We cannot afford to hold ourselves back by refusing to acknowledge the need to be able to communicate with people of any culture, in any language, at any time.
Todd’s column, however, was also a bit misleading about the effects of enacting the initiative. In her bizarre hypothetical scenario intending to discredit it, she falsely stated that speakers of foreign languages would not be allowed to have a translator if public health or safety situations. Ginny Welsch repeats this claim in her Tennessean column today. Here’s the exact language to the referendum:
A new section numbered 1.08 will be added to Article 1 of the Metropolitan Charter.
The new section shall state the following:
“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.”
For Ratification
Against Ratification
The referendum, as seen here in its entirety, seems pretty sensible in theory, but it may be unnecessary or redundant; Tennessee’s official language is already English. Still, Nashville English First does try to clarify the intention behind the idea, echoing the explanation of its Metro Council sponsor, Eric Crafton.
[The initiative] would require that the Nashville Metro Council’s official actions and communications – those that have legal authority to bind or commit the city – be done in English and not in other languages. Official meetings of the city council as well as of all city boards and commissions would have to be conducted in English. No person could demand city services or communications in another language unless specifically required by federal or state law.
It’s shaky and unclear, which is my largest problem with the initiative. The exceptions are accounted for only in vague clauses, which could muddle things when common sense should override silly policy. I found a similar referendum from a town in Texas which enumerates the exceptions Nashville’s does not. I find the vagueness of English First bothersome, though the general concept is not that unreasonable. The issue of a single language in government is one of efficiency, not any sort of “racist” need to unfairly impose hardship on speakers of other languages.
The larger issue for me is that of encouraging a culture of English speaking in America. Multiculturalism has transformed what was once a “one generation” period of language transition to encouraging the continual use of foreign languages in the United States. The extremes are quite ridiculous when it comes to government policy concerning services, as Brett Baier reports here. More importantly, encouraging English encourages assimilation into the American identity which, despite multiculturalists’ claims, unites us as a people. No one wants to crap on where you came from, but we should all respect where we came to, and what language we speak.
The verdict? I hate to say no to an initiative I morally agree with, but the shoddiness of the language (no pun intended) in the actual refrendum means the folks in support should go back to drawing board. I don’t expect the very blue Nashville to pass this.
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Great site.