What's to Understand?

You know, you don't have the talk the same talk to come to an understanding. Really. 

A older Polish fella named Stanley was a drain cleaner who used to come by the old barn to get his snakes and machines repaired. I liked Stanley. He was cool guy.

He was from the mountains of western Pennsylvania, where his father worked in the coal mines. Stanley liked to tell the story of his father and his father's best friend, an Irishman who lived nearby. Both Stanley's dad and the Irishman were from their respective old countries. Stanley said that his father's heavily accented English and the friend's brogue made it hard enough to understand either of them in routine conversation. When they were drinking, they each lapsed into their native tongues.

Stanley explained that the two buddies would sit on the porch of Stanley's family home and drink on Saturday nights, recovering from the work week. As the drink took effect, they fell into Polish and Gaelic (quiet, Ron) respectively. The fascinating thing was, despite speaking different languages, they were always in total agreement. Stanley said his dad would rattle off something in Polish and the Irishman would nod approvingly. He'd then give his opinion on the matter, whatever the matter may be, in prosaic Irish. And Stanley's dad would reply in the Polish equivalent of, yeah, yeah, shaking his head in agreement. All this even though the one didn't know a peep of Gaelic and the other not a syllable of Polish.

It does make you wonder what might actually have been said. But it was a release valve for them any way you slice it.

Expecting English isn't Wrong

The single most important way that we can get along with our fellow man is to understand him. This understanding can occur in many ways, but the critical one is through language. We have to be able to understand what he says in order to get along well with him. And that is why anyone coming to America to live must learn English.

This is not a xenophobic assertion. It applies to any situation where a newcomer enters a foreign nation. If someone were to take a job in Warsaw it would be incumbent upon them to learn Polish. The Poles would not be obliged to learn English for the new arrival's benefit. Such a fact is so obvious that it should not have to be stated. For one thing, it's a practical necessity. For another, it only shows a decent respect for one's new culture. You're in their house: you do things, as a rule, their way.

To be sure, there's nothing wrong with a neighborhood of, say, ethnic Poles living in the United States having signs in their stores in Polish. Nor is it wrong to keep your old customs within your own household or group. But if you really want to become part of a new culture, and presumably you do if you've moved into one, then you are more obliged to learn the language of your new home than your new neighbors might be to learn yours. That might be nice of them but it is not obligatory. They were here first; you came to them. You're the one who needs to adapt.

If you insist on having things your way, well, it is that which is truly arrogant as opposed to the majority of the nation wishing to keep things as they are. Why should a newcomer demand such consideration? But more, it will in the long run keep you separate. Language will be a wedge which will keep you from being understood and accepted. That would not be the fault of the general populace. And you and your family will be the ones who suffer most.

Anyone short of thieves and ne'er do wells should be welcome in America. It is our reasonably open borders which made us great. But if you really want to be an American, speak English. Only then will you fully understand Her.