Sandra Murphy

June 22, 2004

Are We Headed for a Modern Day Tower of Babel?

Genesis 11 relates the story of the Tower of Babel. Humankind, in all its sinful pride, determines to build a glorious tower that will touch the heavens. The Lord says, “Indeed the language of the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do  will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”  Humankind’s language is confused by the hand of God. Instantly, people begin to speak in different languages. Confusion reigns, and the Tower of Babel is abandoned in despair. Progress comes to a screeching halt.

Is a common language really the key to unlimited progress and potential success as the Tower of Babel narrative would indicate? Many Americans believe so. In fact, there is a strong movement encouraging the United States to adopt English as the national language and to enforce laws that require every American to speak it. Ironically, many Americans already assume that English is the official language of the United States. That is not the case.  In 1981, Senator S.I. Hayakawa of Hawaii proposed the English Language Amendment. The purpose of this amendment was to require that English be recognized as the official language of the United States. The English Language Amendment was defeated. Since that time, almost every state has considered some form of Official English legislation, and thirty one states have passed such legislation (Crawford 39).

The move to legislate English as the official language of the United States is fueled by a number of factors. One of these factors is the increasing number of non-English speaking residents, both immigrant and naturalized. The US Census Bureau reports that as of 2005 nearly 51 million residents aged five years and older do not speak English (United States Census Bureau). This number has more than doubled since 1980, and this rate of growth has created significant problems for schools and social service organizations as they attempt to respond to this linguistic challenge (Kent 1).

It is not only conservative Americans who believe in the importance of a common tongue, however. The majority of immigrants also believe that the acquisition of the English language is essential to personal success.  In fact, one of the largest groups dedicated to promoting the importance of English, U.S. English, Inc., was started by an immigrant in 1983 and continues to be chaired by an immigrant today (U.S. English, Inc.). Ruben G. Rumbaut, sociology professor and co-director of the Center for Research on Immigration, Population, and Public Policy at the University of California-Irvine, declares, “The last people you have to tell that English is important are immigrants. English is already the de facto language of the country and of the world” (Kent 2)

In this area, it is easy to find examples where life is reflected in literature. At least two of the short stories in Imagining America center upon efforts by immigrants to become fluent in English in order to succeed in American society and business. In The English Lesson, by Nicholasa Mohr, the reader meets a dedicated class full of recent immigrants determined to master the intricacies of English despite long working hours and difficult commutes (Brown 21-34).  In The German Refugee, by Bernard Malamud, Oskar Gassner struggles to learn English through a series of private tutors in order to prepare for a position as lecturer for the Institute for Public Studies (Brown 35-46)).

                Research consistently validates the eagerness with which immigrants embrace English. Although historically it took three generations for immigrant families to become fluent in English, today’s immigrants are mastering the English language far more quickly.  A recent study showed that 99 percent of second generation immigrants master English, and by the third generation most immigrants have lost the ability to speak in their native language (Kent 2).

Research also documents the link between language acquisition and economic success.  Immigrants who speak English well earn double  the amount earned by immigrants who speak English poorly or not at all. This earning disparity hold true regardless of the immigrant’s level of education. In fact, immigrants with a high level of English proficiency earn more than native born Americans with low level English skills.  In many respects, English is central to success in the workplace. Immigrants without English proficiency are less likely to be employed, less likely to work steadily, and are more likely to work in undesirable sectors of employment (U.S. English, Inc.).

Research does not, however, provide a solution to the question of whether or not the United States needs a common language. In fact, it doesn’t always indicate a true problem exists.  If anything, the research reinforces the value of asking these questions and searching for answers. Are we headed for a modern day Tower of Babel? Should immigrants retain their native language? Should the United States enforce a law mandating English as the language of the nation? It is difficult to say. Perhaps we, like Eva Hoffman, should begin to search for “a language that will express what the face knows, a calm and simple language that will subsume the clangor of specialized jargons and of partial visions, a language old enough to plow under the superficial differences between signs, to the deeper strata of significance (Hoffman 228).

Work Cited

Brown, Wesley and Amy Ling, eds. Imagining America. New York:Persea Books, 2002.

Crawford, James. Language Loyalties; A sourcebook on the Official English Controversy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Kent, Mary and Robert Lalasz. “In the News: Speaking English in the United States.” Population Reference Bureau. June 2006. 20 June 2008. <http://www.prb.org/Articles/2006/IntheNewsSpeakingEnglishintheUnitedStates.aspx>.

Rodriguez, Richard. Handout Excerpt. Hunger of Memory. David R. Godine: Boston, 1982.

United States. Census Bureau. Languages Spoken at Home (Table 5.2). 3 Jan 2007. 21 June 2008 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0052.pdf>.

U.S. English, Inc. 21 June 2008. 22 June 2008 < http://www.-english.org/>.