Please Press 1 For English

Peggy Noonan soft-pedals her position on the English as our official language debate. I agree with her and as usual, it's a well written piece. But the reality is that you can't conduct business via automated telephone in America today without first having to select either English or Spanish. Sort of puts the lie to the whole you must learn English debate. If business is spending the money to accommodate two languages, the horse is already out of the barn on this one.

So I turned around and went back. I wanted to say something--I don't know what, find out where she was from, encourage her. I said hello, and she looked at me and I patted her arm and said, "Happy Fourth of July, my friend." She was startled and then shy, and she smiled and made a sound, and I realized: She doesn't speak English. "God bless you," I said, because a little while in America and you know the word God just as 10 minutes in Mexico and you learn the word Dios. And we both smiled and nodded and I left.

I went into Bloomingdale's and wrote these words: "We must speak the same language so we can hearten each other."

Comments

[Phoenix]

I bought a bottle of 409 cleaner. I've been using it forever. I noticed everything written in English on it was also written in Spanish. jeeez.

Anyway, Ms. Noonan's last line is really nice. It's much better to see the problem that way, and she's right.

[selda]

yes this is not a good situation press 1 for english...teddy roosevelt said way back in the beginning of the 20th century we have room for ONE language ONLY!!!!!!it is a terrible thing when we as AMERICANS have no longer control of OUR native language...I have to hear a message first i n english and listen to it being said (a waste of my t8ime and it irritates me)in spanish on my att&t voice mail ...I have complained but to no avail...I hate bing treated like a second class citizen!!!!